"Order" was an important issue in the classical Chinese period, but the traditional research on "order" in the T’ang Dynasty mostly fell on the political system level, dividing the T’ang Empire into two parts: internal and external. It focuses on the exchanges between different ethnic groups of Hu and Han; externally, it focuses on the "international order" of the interaction between the T’ang Dynasty and neighboring countries, and even the overall "world order". To this day, the academic circles continue to pursue this kind of research horizon with empire as the main body.
Different from the past, this dissertation selects from the writings of different genres in the middle and late T’ang Dynasty, and selects the "order" thinking contained in it, especially pays attention to how the An-Shi riots had a strong impact on the hearts of the T’ang people, thus directly or indirectly prompting them. Take some sort of "order-building" action. This kind of research perspective with "people" as the main body can, on the one hand, break away from the stereotypes of traditional discourse; In difficult times, the significance of its judgments, choices and actions, and then highlight the importance of humanistic values.
This dissertation grasps the core proposition of "order", through the four aspects of "natural order", "national order", "social order", and "imaginary order", it wants to go from the universe to the individual, from the whole to the individual, from the outside to the heart, in order to grasp the minds and actions of people in the middle
and late T’ang Dynasty trying to rebuild the order. Following this approach, this paper develops the following four themes:
First, the writing of "natural order": based on the interaction between man and "heaven" and "nature", it explores how the ruling clique in the T’ang Dynasty viewed "heaven" and "nature", especially when encountering threats to the safety of people's lives and property. What are the measures they will take in response to disasters? In addition, and more importantly, before and after the Middle T’ang Dynasty, the traditional view of "natural order" was loosened, and there was an obvious turning point in the thinking of heaven and man. This also affected the writing characteristics of natural disasters during the "Post-Anshi Rebellion" period, showing a change from "self-blame" to "sacrifice".
Second, the writing of "national order": examine the compilation process of the three important books in the T’ang Dynasty, and the significance of the construction of the national order reflected in it. From the editor's point of view, the compilation of similar books, on the one hand, deepens their own concept of human relations and order; Readers' imitation can eliminate any hidden dangers that may endanger national order in the future. On the other hand, from the perspective of literati readers, class books are firstly the basic reading materials for them to understand the world, and secondly, they are the stepping stones for them to become officials. That is to say, the series of processes from compilation, circulation to dissemination of books provided T’ang people with "correct" knowledge and worldview; at the same time, the encouragement of the electoral system in the T’ang Dynasty made literati subtly obey the moral concepts shaped by books , and this was the process of constructing the state order of the T’ang Empire.
Third, the writing of "social order": examine how to accept the concept of order shaped by classics, join the court and become a group of bureaucrats, and how to face the reality of the human world. Compared with the past, scholars of the T’ang Dynasty under the vast territory of the empire often suffered relegation once they made mistakes, especially when they moved to the "south" far away from the core area. This situation is not uncommon in the literature. Through research, it can be seen that the groups of scholars who have been exiled to other places still abide by the duties of "scholars", actively engage in educational activities, and maintain the stability of local social order since the Middle T’ang Dynasty.
Fourth, writing in "imaginary order": In the middle and late T’ang Dynasty, a large number of "biographical" texts and novels emerged, reflecting the ideal state of the literati group's inner yearning outside the real environment, and then constructed through literary brushwork. This "imaginary order" refers to the establishment of a complete and rational world by literati based on personal moral values and using literary techniques. T’ang people frequently narrated prosperous times and chaotic events, using the "biography" style to invoke "story" and narrate "memory" to summon collective memory. Not only that, but they also created three "other worlds" such as "underworld", "dreamland", and "illusion", pointing to the re-arrangement of the order in the real world. On the one hand, these works reveal all kinds of unease, helplessness, anxiety and hesitation in the literati's heart; on the other hand, they reflect the rational world constructed by them.