天災是人類史上經常面臨的自然現象，它不獨厚於某地區、某國度；它不分古今時常挑戰人類的生活史，中國史冊有關災異之說屢屢不絕，自然災害頻繁，因「災」成「荒」。天災既是人類無法預知卻又必須面臨的苦難，它可反映人民的抗災蓄藏力，也可以考驗政府的應變能力，玄宗朝43年之間天災總計達57次之多，天災幾乎年年都發生。玄宗君臣間對災異的思維，及對救災的處置與因應措施為吾人所關注，本文希冀從政治的觀點切入，順而略述玄宗朝救災文化。 內文計有四大段落，旨意：（一）開元天寶期間的天災（二）災異觀與君王救災行動（三）施惠行仁的救災（四）水旱之災的祈祭文化－祈晴與祈雨。

A natural disaster is a phenomenon faced frequently in the history of mankind. It does not merely happen in a certain area or a country; it also challenges human life history regardless. A lot of legends in Chinese history books repeatedly depicted natural disasters. Since they appeared frequently, many of the disasters switched to famines. Natural disasters are unpredictable and unavoidable sufferings faced by human beings, which not only reflected the potential ability of people against them but also tested the government resource of dealing with them. During the 43 year resion of Emperor Xuanzong, the Tang Dynasty, natural disasters accumulated 57 times. Therefore, many studies focused on the deliberation of the emperor and the officials regarding famines as well as the planning of rescue and settlement. The author would like to state the models of rescuing by means of political viewpoints. The article will be divided into 4 parts as (1) the natural disasters during 開元天寶,(2) the attitudes toward disasters and the rescues of the emperor, (3) rescues by charities, and (4) rituals of floods and drought.