Taizong (太宗) | 24 Histories

Overview

Taizong was a Tang Emperor.

PeriodSui and Tang

IdentityHistorical · Male

Roles

Found in

Life and dates

Attested activity

AD 639 十三年
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 44, passage 73
AD 626 to AD 649 初
Dated from the passage context · New Book of Tang 20, passage 89
AD 626 to AD 649 太宗
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 72, passage 74; New Book of Tang 52, passages 13, 27
AD 627 to AD 717 太宗之制...百年
Dated from the passage context · Old Book of Tang 27, passage 35
AD 626 太宗即位
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 44, passage 71
AD 626 to AD 649 太宗時
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 44, passage 140

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AD 627 to AD 649 貞觀
Dated from the passage context · Old Book of Tang 27, passage 2
AD 627 to AD 649 貞觀年中
Dated from the passage context · Old Book of Tang 27, passage 5

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Child of Gaozu (高祖)
son 子
father 父
Strongly inferred · New Book of Tang 52, passage 13

Key source chapters

Places and affiliations

Tang 唐
Relation Ruled
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 52, passage 13
Polity Tang 唐 · Relation Ruled
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 44, passage 71
Polity Tang 唐 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 27, passage 2; New Book of Tang 20, passage 89

Works and attributed material

Speech · Speaker
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 27, passage 2

Events and relationships

Approved mourning reforms
Ritual · Ruler
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 27, passage 3
Asked about rejection
Examination · Questioner · With Wang Shidan (王師旦)
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 44, passage 141
Established charity and ever normal granaries
Administrative · Founder
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 52, passage 27
Expanded Confucian education
Administrative · Issuer
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 44, passages 71-74
Ordered debate on mourning dress
Political · Ruler · With Wei Zheng (魏徵)
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 20, passage 89
Relation Ordered · Person Wei Zheng (魏徵)
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 20, passage 89

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Relation Ordered · Person Linghu Defen (令狐德棻)
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 20, passage 89

Assessments and attributes

Assessment noted inconsistencies in mourning dress grades · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 20, passage 89

Source notes

Historicity historical
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 20, passage 89; New Book of Tang 44, passage 71

References in the histories

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 72Volume 72 Book of Later Tang 48: Biographies 24: Zhang Chengye, Zhang Juhan, Ma Shaohong, Meng Hangqiong · 1 passage

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設使高祖再生，太宗復出，又胡為哉！ Even if Gaozu were reborn and Taizong reappeared, what could they do!

New Book of Tang, Chapter 20Volume 20 Treatises 10: Rites and Music 10 · 1 passage

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初，太宗嘗以同爨緦而嫂叔乃無服，舅與從母親等而異服，詔侍中魏徵、禮部侍郎令狐德棻等議：「舅為母族，姨乃外戚它姓，舅固為重，而服止一時，姨喪乃五月，古人未達者也。 Early on Taizong observed that kin eating from one pot wore finest hemp, yet elder brother's wife and husband's younger brother had no mourning; maternal uncle and aunt were equally close yet dressed differently. He ordered Wei Zheng, Linghu Defen, and others to debate: "The uncle is mother's clan; the aunt is outer kin of another surname—the uncle weighs heavier, yet mourning lasts one season while the aunt's is five months: the ancients missed this.

New Book of Tang, Chapter 44Volume 44 Treatises 39: Selecting and Appointing Officials 1 · 3 passages

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及太宗即位，益崇儒術。 When Taizong came to the throne, he gave even greater prominence to Confucian learning.

太宗時，冀州進士張昌齡、王公謹有名于當時，考功員外郎王師旦不署以第。 Under Taizong, Jinshi candidates Zhang Changling and Wang Gongjin of Jizhou were celebrated in their day, but Vice-Director Wang Shidan refused to pass them.

太宗問其故，對曰：「二人者，皆文采浮華，擢之將誘後生而弊風俗。」 Taizong asked why. He replied: "Both men write in a flashy, ornate style. Promoting them would mislead later students and corrupt public morals."

New Book of Tang, Chapter 52Volume 52 Treatises 48: Finance and Economics 2 · 2 passages

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議者以租、庸、調，高祖、太宗之法也，不可輕改。 Opponents argued that zu, yong, and diao were the fiscal foundations laid by Gaozu and Taizong and must not be lightly discarded.

自太宗時置義倉及常平倉以備凶荒，高宗以後，稍假義倉以給他費，至神龍中略盡。 Taizong had established charity granaries and ever-normal granaries against famine. After Gaozong they were repeatedly diverted to other expenses, and by the Shenlong era the reserves were nearly gone.