Female Official Of The Tang Dynasty System

The female official system is a traditional imperial system of the Central Plain dynasties. It grows mature continuously with the development of the feudal society. This article plans to relate the female official system of the Tang Dynasty in three aspects.Part One is the development and evolution of the female official system. Firstly, the female official system before the Tang Dynasty. Since its establishment, the female official system had had different settings in different times with a process of continuous changes. The article looks at its skeleton of development, fluctuation and perfection from the development and evolution of the female official system before the Tang Dynasty. Secondly, the female official system of the Tang Dynasty. The female official system of the Tang Dynasty perfects itself on the basis of inheriting and developing the systems of past dynasties. The female officials of the Tang Dynasty are clearly distinguished as inner officials and palace officials, among whom inner officials are the emperor's wives while the palace officials refer to the people who administers the daily living affairs of the emperor in the palace.Part Two relates on the female officials of the Tang Dynasty. This part, from the origins, characteristics, relationships with family members and end-results of the female officials, reveals the fact that the Tang Dynasty, with Wu Zetian, the unprecedented female emperor, has improved the positions of the women substantially compared with former dynasties and has relaxed its grip on women to a large extent, but because of the fact that the Tang Dynasty is at the same time the peak of the development of the feudal society, the unfair treatment of men with respect and women with contempt of the feudal society still would not change. There is no exception for these female officials living in the forbidden palace. Although they live a rich life of fine clothes and delicate food, they still cannot escape the destiny of being the emperor's vassals and the miserable fate of being driven and exploited arbitrarily, and neither can they get rid of the doom of being political victims.Part Three explains the influence of the female officials to the Tang Dynasty society. As far as politics is concerned, there is no lack of a group of talented people with political minds and judgment, who contributed to the development of the Tang politics. However, on the other hand, with their special status and particular relationships with the emperor, they were also likely to spread rumors and cause political corruption; as far as economy is concerned, the increase in the number of female officials and the extravagant and wasteful lives of the emperor and his favored wives's family members aggravated the economic burden of the government; as far as culture is concerned, the female officials were well-educated, with a deep culture in literature and some talents of them had added to the brightness and beauty of the prosperous Tang culture with their pens; as far as social customs are concerned, the cultural and enterntainment llife of the palace and clothing and make-up had influenced the Tang society, causing the women outside the palace scramble to imitate, making them fashion.