The Study of Armies and Garrisons of the Jiannan Area in the Late Tang Period
Date Issued
2016
Date
2016
Author(s)
Hsu, Yueh
Abstract
The Inscription of Wei Chun-Ching（韋君靖刻石）, also known as “the Stele of Wei Chun-Ching （韋君靖碑）” or “the Memorial of the Completion of the Eternally Flourishing Stronghold（韋君靖建永昌寨記）”, is now preserved in the Beishan Grottoes, Dazu District, Chongqing（重慶大足區北山石窟）. The inscription was completed in 895, because the prefect Wei Chun-Ching built a new stronghold named Eternally Flourishing Stronghold（永昌寨） in Dazu County, Changzhou（昌州大足縣）. After the stronghold was completed, Wei ordered his military executive officer Hu Mi（軍事判官胡密） to write a commemorative article including the rise of Wei Chun-Ching, the defense of Eternally Flourishing Stronghold, and the Buddhist image sponsored by Wei. Simultaneously, the names and titles of Wei''s followers were also inscribed with Hu''s article on the same cliff. These two parts constituted the full content of the Inscription of Wei Chun-Ching. This thesis is a discussion about the development of politics and society of the Jiannan Area during the Late Tang period based on the analysis of the Inscription of Wei Chun-Ching. Firstly, the formation of the four prefectures of Changzhou Puzhou,Yuzhou, Hozhou（昌、普、渝、合四州都指揮） and its separation from Jiannan East Province（東川）in 897 AD is the result of a change of local administration in Jiannan Area from the Sui to Tang dynasty. Secondly, the examination of the Eternally Flourishing Stronghold built on Longgangshan（龍崗山）in Dazu County which served military, administrative, commerce, and religious functions is discussed. Through those functions, we can explore a probable way of life in the villages of the Late Tang period. In addition, the stronghold served as a garrison（鎮） of provincial commands（藩鎮）which revealed transformation of the Tang''s domination in the Jiannan Area. According to the two directions above, I composed four chapters for this thesis. In the introduction, I reviewed four types of studies based on the Inscription of Wei Chun-Ching. In Chapter 1, I analyzed the importance of the Jiannan Area for the Sui and Tang due to its topography and traffic. Following, I discussed the administrative policies in the Jiannan Area during the Sui''s domination, especially how the Sui interacted with the native “Liao（獠）”. Inherited from the Sui''s local administration, the Tang continued to adjust that to fulfill its demands to dominate the Jiannan area. In Chapter 2, I focused on functions which the Eternally Flourishing Stronghold had at first. Military, commerce (traffic), and religion were influential powers in local society, not only appeared as garrisons, markets, and temples, but also became common elements of villages. Furthermore, the symbolic stronghold built on the hill represented the transition from a local government to a provincial government（州縣組織）to control the mountain region in the Jiannan Area, and brought a significant transformation to the Tang''s domination. In brief, I hope through these discussions about the Inscription of Wei Chun-Ching we can improve our comprehension about the development of politics and society of the Jiannan Area in the Late Tang period, and use this inscription as a key point to expand the current understanding of the TangSong transformation（唐宋變革）.
Subjects
The Inscription of Wei Chun-Ching
Eternally Flourishing Stronghold
Provincial commands
garrisons
local government
TangSong transformation
Jiannan Area
Dazu
Type
thesis
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