Emperor Tang Taizong on the Founders of the Jin Dynasty
The subject of state governance always occupied an important place in traditional Chinese ideology. It is noteworthy that there were periods when it was becoming a matter of even greater importance and urgency due to the monarchs’ personal interest in justifying their own legitimacy as convincingly as possible. This happened in the reign of the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Taizong (627-649) (Li Shi-min, 599-649), who entered the history of China as one of the greatest rulers of the Celestial Empire. Taizong came to power as a result of a political upheaval and felt for a long time that his ascent to power was somewhat “incomplete” as regards its ritual aspect. To substantiate his right to rule, he turned to historical examples-in particular, to the assessment of the role of the founding emperors of the Jin dynasty (265-420), which united China for a short while after its division during the Three Kingdoms (220-289).