The Temple in Jerusalem › Gaozu of Tang » Origins and History
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- The Temple in Jerusalem › Ancient History
- Gaozu of Tang › Who Was
Ancient civilizations › Historical places, and their characters
The Temple in Jerusalem › Ancient History
Ancient Civilizations
According to Jewish tradition, the original Jerusalem Temple was ordained by Yahweh /God, as described in 2 Samuel 7:12 where Yahweh commands Nathan to tell David:
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
As well as the postexilic text, 1 Chronicles 28:2-7, where David declares:
I had planned to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God; and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, 'You shall not build a house for my name, for you are a warrior and have shed blood'…He said to me, 'It is your son Solomon who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him. I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues resolute in keeping my commandments and my ordinances, as he is today.'
SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND
The construction of the First Temple period marked a transition from nomadic or migrant to a settled and established lifestyle.The Israelite, or Judean, community was no longer mobile, and therefore, the portability of the Tabernacle was no longer a priority. Not only was the community no longer mobile but a monarchy was also established, representing a significant transition in the political and socio-economic way of life. Interestingly enough, within close proximity to the Temple a palace was established, architecturally symbolizing to the Israelites that Yahweh was working through the king. In a sense, the Temple became the king's 'private chapel', presenting the Temple as an elitist form of worship, a concept that was strengthened by the power of the developing priestly class.
LOCATION
FIRST AND SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM WAS A RELIGION OF SACRIFICE, AND IT WAS IN THE TEMPLE THAT SUCH PRACTICES WERE ENACTED.
The location of the Temple was not selected by chance but was rather erected on a site of great significance within the biblical tradition: Mount Moriah. It was upon Mount Moriah that Abraham was commanded to bring his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to his God. His devotion ensured, God saved Isaac and created his covenant with Abraham (Gen. 22). In a rather poetic manner, the establishment of the Temple on this location appears to make complete sense. First and Second Temple Judaism was a religion of sacrifice, and it was in the Temple that such practices were enacted. The fact that the Temple was established on the same location that the Judeans believed Abraham nearly sacrificed his own son was surely no coincidence, and indeed this was precisely the message that the Judeans sought to create. Instead, the building was likely established before Gen. 22 was recorded, making the text an attempt to legitimize the location, and therefore, the establishment of the Temple. All in all, the building and the text are to be understood as representing two parts of a complicated system of sanctification and legitimization by the community in order to rationalize the transition from a migratory and mobile form of worship to one of alleged permanence.
TERMINOLOGY
Although the Temple is referred to as a single institution here, it is important to note that the Jerusalem Temple was rebuilt at least three times in antiquity. The first was erected under Solomon, as is described in great detail within 1 Kings 5-6, approximately during the 10th century BCE. The second was built by returning exiles in approximately 515 BCE, while the third, and most elaborate, was developed under Herod in approximately 19-9 BCE, although it remained under renovations until its destruction in 70 CE. Generally, the Temple established by the returning exiles and Herod's Temple are conflated in scholarship and referred to as simply, the 'Second Temple', or the 'Second Temple period'. Although the physical characteristics described will refer to Second Temple evidence, the term 'Temple' here will represent all three as it is the general establishment of the institution that is of interest rather than the architectural differences between all three.
Second Temple Model
WORSHIP & SACRIFICE
As the Temple became the center of worship with sacrifice playing an important, even crucial, role within ancient Judaism, laws and obligations were established in order to accommodate sacrificial requirements imposed on the Judean community, both within ancient Palestine and in the Diaspora. Both the book of Exodus and Deuteronomy attest to three mandatory pilgrimages: Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot.
Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the festival of unleavened bread, at the festival of weeks, and at the festival of booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed; all shall give as they are able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you (Deut. 16:16-17).
Three times in the year you shall hold a festival for me… No one shall appear before me empty-handed…Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God (Exodus 23:14-17).
These passages suggest that not only were acts of pilgrimage required but so were tithes and sacrificial offerings as is demonstrated in Deuteronomy 16:6.
[B]ringing there your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and your donations, your votive gifts, your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and flocks.
Such passages demonstrate the significant economic role the Temple played in the ancient world. With large influxes of pilgrims, institutions such as hostels, public mikva'ot, money changers, and so on, would have developed in Jerusalem in order to accommodate and meet the needs of the individuals travelling to maintain sacrificial requirements.
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
The sacrificial practices that occurred within the Temple were reflected in the architectural design, with the division of the Temple platform into two separate courts: the Outercourt (non-Judean and Judean granted access), and the Innercourt (only Judeans granted access). The Innercourt was then divided into three smaller courts including the Court of Priests, which consisted of the Temple and altar, as well as the Court of Israel, and the Court of Women. As a result, worship was sexually segregated and access to the Holy of Holies was permitted only to the High Priest. As the Innercourt was accessible only to the Judeans, the Temple was marked as a space for Israelites alone, thereby demarcating the boundary of the Judean ethnos(people).
THE END OF THE TEMPLE PERIOD
Although access to the ancient synagogue was not restricted to the Judeans alone, several of the Temple rituals were transferred to the synagogue following the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Rituals such as the blowing of the shofar and the waving of the lulav during Sukkot were practiced within the synagogue, preserving the Temple traditions as well as a ritualistic aspect of Temple Judaism. While sacrifice was only permitted in the Temples, generations following the destruction of the Temple sought compromises and adaptations in order to preserve their cultural and ritualistic heritage, and in many situations the synagogue provided a means of continuity.
Gaozu of Tang › Who Was
Definition and Origins
Emperor Gaozu (also Kao-tsu, formerly Li Yuan, r. 618-626 CE) was a Sui military commander who led a rebellion against his former masters, seized control of the state, and founded the Tang Dynasty (618-906 CE). Overshadowed in the ancient history books by his son Taizong, who succeeded him as emperor, Gaozu was, nevertheless, responsible for unifying Chinaand laying the political, social, and economic foundations for one of the golden eras of Chinese history.
THE FALL OF THE SUI
The Sui dynasty had ruled China since 581 CE, but already by the early 7th century CE, the Sui were facing seemingly insurmountable problems to their reign. A Sui expedition had met with disaster in 598 CE when it attacked the kingdom of Goguryeo ( Koguryo ) in Korea and northern Manchuria. The Chinese ran out of supplies, hit heavy rains, and had to return home. A second invasion was launched in 611 CE, this time by sea but was destroyed in a storm. Going for third time lucky, the Sui attacked again in 612 CE, but Goguryeo won a resounding victory at the Battle of Salsu River. According to legend, of the 300,000-strong Sui army, only 2,700 ever returned to China. Two more attacks were rebuffed in 613 and 614 CE.
GAOZU WAS A DUKE OF TANG WITH FAMILY CONNECTIONS IN THE IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD & SOME TURKIC ROOTS.
The lack of victories in Korea could be blamed on no one else but the commander who had led them, Emperor Yangdi, and the consequent hardships endured by the Chinese peasantry in terms of service and taxation led to widespread rebellion in 613 CE. The situation was only fuelled by more military losses, this time to the Eastern Turks, and the emperor's reputation for excessive spending and a debauched lifestyle. The Chinese government would be taken over by one Li Yuan, later to be known as Emperor Gaozu.
EARLY CAREER
Li Yuan was born in 566 CE. A Duke of Tang with family connections in the imperial household and some Turkic roots, he was able to rise to a prominent position in the Sui administration. Yuan started his career as one of Emperor Wendi's (r. 581-601 CE) personal bodyguards, and he soon became a close favourite of both the emperor and his consort Empress Wen-hsien.Taking on roles as prefect and governor in several cities and regions, Yuan acquired additional ceremonial posts at court. He was made vice-president of the Imperial Household Department during the reign of Wendi's successor, Emperor Yangdi (r. 604-618 CE). In 613 CE Yuan was made vice-president of the Court of Imperial Insignia which meant he was in charge of the capitals arsenal. Part of his responsibilities was the sending of arms to the army invading Korea.
Sui Dynasty Map
LI YUAN BECOMES EMPEROR
Floods, conscription in the army, or compulsory labour in the state building projects had all taken its toll on the peasant population. Nine rebellions swept the kingdom between 613 and 614 CE, and although all were ruthlessly put down, rebel soldiers still roamed at will and Sui authority was dangerously weak in several regions. Yuan was given the task in 615 and 616 CE of clearing the Ho-tung (modern Shansi province) of bandits. The general also managed to repel Turkic border raids there.
Yuan, made the military commander at Taiyuan after his exploits in Ho-tung, set up his headquarters at Chin-yang. With much of the northern territories now no longer under Sui control, Yuan was encouraged by his supporters to seize power himself and restore some semblance of order. Yuan saw that the time was ripe for the Sui regime to be toppled, and so, at the age of 51, he made his move and led the 617 CE rebellion.
Making himself supreme above the other warlords who controlled various territories across the kingdom with a series of alliances, false promises, and gratifications, Yuan proved himself much more than a gifted general. He had first guaranteed the northern frontier by making a deal with the eastern Turks, promising them future booty in return for men, horses, and weapons.Convinced by a deceptively worded letter that Yuan intended to make his new state a vassal to their own, they gave him 2,000 horses and 500 soldiers for his cause.
Thus bolstered, Li Yuan set off with his army - now numbering some 30,000 men - to attack the Sui capital at Ta-hsing ch'eng.On the way, the army defeated several Sui forces and was swelled by the addition of more rebels and bandits, including a large force led by his well-connected daughter Lady Li. The Tang army now numbered 200,000, and the capital was besieged for five weeks and then taken in November 617 CE. Emperor Yangdi had already fled, and Yuan put on the throne in his place a puppet emperor, the young Yang Yu (title: Kung-ti). Many of Yuan's followers were opposed to this and called for their leader to make himself the emperor of a new dynasty. When Yuan conquered the eastern capital of Luoyang he did just that, declaring himself emperor in 618 CE and his new kingdom Tang after his family fiefdom.
Gate Towers, Chang'an
Yuan's next task was to set about quashing all dissent to his rule across the country by whatever means suited the occasion.Alliances, amnesties, rewards, court titles, and, surprisingly rarely, brute force, were all used so that by 624 CE, Emperor Gaozu, as Li Yuan would become known, had established control of China. Ta-hsing ch'eng remained the capital but was renamed Chang'an after the old Han capital. Appropriately enough, Gaozu selected the following name for his reign: “Military Virtue”.
GAOZU ENSURED ALL REGIONS WERE REPRESENTED BY OFFICIALS AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS
Taizong, the Tang's second emperor, would largely be the figure given most credit for establishing the Tang dynasty in traditional Chinese histories, but a re-examination of neglected contemporary records by modern historians has sought to rebalance the biased and often fabricated accounts which minimised Gaozu's role in taking power and forming the dynasty.Gaozu first set about bolstering the defence of China's northern borders against further Turk attacks. Then he took important steps to centralise government and increase its efficiency, albeit using a good number of the same personnel who had previously held positions of responsibility under the Sui. This provided much-needed continuity and government experience to the new dynasty but also ensured the old elite had a vested interest in its continuance.
The three main ministries of the Secretariat, Chancellery, and Department of State Affairs were maintained, but the high degree of overlap between them was minimised. In the new system, after a short period of confusion where Gaozu himself often intervened, the Secretariat drafted edicts, the Chancellery reviewed and amended them, and the Department of State Affairs was charged with putting them into practice. Another development was that Gaozu ensured all regions were represented by officials at the highest level.
Korean Ambassadors to the Tang Court
Gaozu relaxed the harsh law code of the Sui and began the process of replacing them with a more codified and detailed system of records, especially for the state administration. Land reforms were made to increase tax revenues, which were made more uniform across the country. He continued the Sui policy of improving the country's irrigation and transport networks, notably irrigating 80,000 acres with diverted waters from the Huang-ho River in 624 CE. The state actively promoted education and preparation for the reinstated civil service entrance examinations. A new coinage was minted from 621 CE in an effort to battle the massive counterfeiting that had gone on under the Sui. All markets across China were supervised by an appointed official who controlled such matters as official weights and measures as well as inspecting the quality of goods on sale and their prices - consumers had never had it so good.
In the area of religion much was as before, with Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism dominating. The number of Buddhist temples was limited as this “non-Chinese” religion was thought by many officials to be becoming too powerful for their own good. Similarly, Taoist temples were controlled and their numbers limited, too. Most of these measures against the monasteries though would be reversed by Gaozu's successors. Finally, a more peaceful strategy was adopted towards Goguryeo with the Korean state offering tribute and Chinese captives from the Sui campaigns. Goguryeo was, no doubt, quick to realise that China was back on its feet again and a powerful dynasty was in the making.
SUCCESSOR & LEGACY
As an able administrator who surrounded himself with equally gifted advisors Gaozu, then, laid the groundwork on which his highly successful dynasty would stand until its fall 300 years later in 907 CE. Yuan was not to leave any succession to chance, either, as he had 22 sons, but it was his second son Li Shimin who become his successor as Emperor Taizong in 626 CE. Li Shimin was not actually Gaozu's first choice, but as he murdered his elder brother and had huge prestige from his military exploits in his father's campaign against the Sui, he was able to push himself forward as the only viable candidate. Such was his power at court that Li Shimin even forced his father to abdicate in his favour and take on the merely honorary title of Retired Emperor. Taizong would go on to become one of China's most revered emperors, but his criminal and political manoeuvres to gain the throne set a dangerous precedent - a problem which beset many of the Tang dynasty's subsequent rulers and their children.
Tang Dynasty Provinces c. 742 CE
Gaozu was not without his critics amongst the Chinese historians of subsequent periods, as we have seen in regard to his role as founder of the Tang state apparatus. Other criticisms aimed at him was that he was rather too fond of hunting and musical entertainment than was proper for a good ruler who should follow the classic principles of Confucianism. It was said he made decisions on a whim, was guilty of nepotism, or listened too much to his lady entourage, and once scandalously gave an official post to a favourite musician. As the historian HJ Wechsler reminds us, though,
These character traits, however, should not be allowed to obscure his solid and impressive achievement: the re-establishment of a strong and highly centralised state which endured for almost three centuries. Under Gaozu the Tang successfully established political, economic and military institutions which became the hallmarks of the Tang age, which in many cases continued to influence deeply Chinese civilization down to the present century, and which provided the basic institutional models for the newly emergent states of Chinese-dominated east Asia - Japan, Korea and Vietnam. (in Twitchett, 169)
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