rulers such as the empress Wu 690 one of the few women to re

rulers such as the empress Wu (690- one of the few women to reign over China it did not pay enough attention to active political obedience. Thousands of shrines and monasteries nder o5),o, reestablished the power of the central were destroyed. Buddhism remained an impor- he Tannt. Like earlier dynasties, notably the Oin tant minority religion in China, but its period of the Tang government reduced the power nd enendent landlords. Their taxing power was ed, in favor of direct payment by peasants to The government required the free peas- submit to military training, which greatly sed the power of the state and its role in in growth was forcibly brought to a halt. The Tang. depen even more than their Han predecessors, clearly that they had both the right and the duty to regu late the beliefs of their subjects in the interests of bolis state. political loyalty The dynastic decline of the Tang began in aividual lives. Finally, the government established the late 700s. Governm prehensive, accurate censuses of people and as the means for imposing fair but also eliable taxation. A growing bureaucracy accompa ed these new measures, and the civil service ex- minations, based on political knowledge but also Chinese philosophy and literature, were revived. As before, this examination system provided relatively able bureaucrats, although drawn mainly from the upper classes, and also promoted cultural unity within the empire. Indeed, the bureaucratic system was greatly elaborated under the Tang. Examina- tions became stricter, and education counted far more than birthright as the aristocratic role faded in favor of a scholar-bureaucrat ideal. Bureaucrats even amassed the authority to correct the emperor by citing relevant Confucian wisdom or historical Read the Document Tang Daizong on The Art of Govemment on MyHistoryLab.com Earlier population growth, the result of Tang prosper- ity, had increased as poverty; there w not enough land to go around. The Tang policy seek landlord protection and spurred a series of major popular protests. Attacks by nomads from central Asia increased. The Tang dynasty was fi nally displaced by civil war in 906. However, this time chaos did not last long, for the traditions centralized rule were too powerful to lapse. The dynasty might fade, but the bureaucratic state was virtually indestructible A new dynasty, the Song, came into power in 960. Again, it broke the power of local military leaders, encouraging them to enter civilian life The Song dynasty did not regain all the territory building roads and the Tang had held; indeed, northern China, along An Essay Question from canals, and orga the Huanghe River, remained in the hands of no- nizing justice and madic invaders, including some Mongol groups. Examination System on defense. A new The founder of the Song dynasty, a northern gen- agency, the Board eral named Zhao Kuangyin, realized that he could examples. The Tang dynasty resumed the tradition of extensive government functions, regulating trade, Read the Document the Chinese Imperial MyHistoryLab.com of Censors, was created to supervise the bureau not take on all enemies simultaneously, so he was cracy and guard against misconduct. willing to allow the continued presence of the The Tang program ultimately included a vigor-nomadic warriors in the north. But he developed ous attack on Buddhism as a potentially subversive element. Although early Tang emperors had fa excellent strategy for assuming control of the prosperous southern states, and he extended his vored Buddhism, the religion was finally officially influence into Indochina. Despite sporadic war- rejected, as alien and subversive, mainly becausefare, the Song dynasty was economically dynamic,

Solution

The examination questions are based on Chinese philosophy, literature and most importantly based on the political knowldege. All these knowledges are required to be a capable bureaucrat which could be judged through the civil service examinations and the nature of questions asked in such examinations.

Earlier to the TAng dynasty the people of upper classes used to enjoy favourism in becoming bureaucrat even if they did not hold relevant political knowldege. Later the dynasty made strict rule in this regard and focuses on capacity and talent rather than giving people birth right to be involve in civil system. And for judging the capabiilities the exams and nature of the questiosn of these exams were of great importance.