University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Banqueting for power: imperial women and banquets in the Tang Dynasty

(USC Thesis Other)

Banqueting for power: imperial women and banquets in the Tang Dynasty

PDF

Download

Open document

Flip pages

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content BANQUETING FOR POWER:
IMPERIAL WOMEN AND BANQUETS IN THE TANG DYNASTY
by
Xinhui (Liane) Yang
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC DORNSIFE COLLEGE OF LETTERS, ARTS AND
SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(EAST ASIAN AREA STUDIES)
AUGUST 2024
Copyright 2024 Xinhui (Liane) Yang

ii
Acknowledgments
First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis committee
chair, Professor Sonya Lee, and committee members, Professor Bettine Birge, and
Professor Lynn Dodd. This thesis could not have been completed without their
suggestions, help, and accommodation all the way along.
I would also like to thank Grace, Kaitlin, and Justine from the East Asian Studies
Center at USC, for their generous help and support from day one.
Thank you to all the friends I am so glad to have met and known in the past two
years. Lastly, I want to give my family and boyfriend special thanks. I could not have
made it to today without you.
I do wish the best for all of you.

iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments .........................................................................................................ii
List of Figures...............................................................................................................iv
Abstract..........................................................................................................................v
Introduction....................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1: Empress Wu and the Sacrifice at the Bright Hall ........................................7
The 689 Daxiang........................................................................................................8
Overstepping Authority ...........................................................................................10
Appealing Gifts........................................................................................................13
Chapter 2: Empress Wei and Wei Juyuan’s Burning Tail Banquet.............................15
The Sumptuous Banquet..........................................................................................17
The Food ..............................................................................................................17
The Vessels...........................................................................................................21
The Venue.............................................................................................................25
The Attire .............................................................................................................27
The Two Weis..........................................................................................................29
Chapter 3: Princess Anle and Her Wedding Banquet..................................................31
The Princess’s Wedding ..........................................................................................32
The Six Rites.........................................................................................................32
Time and Venue....................................................................................................33
The Attire .............................................................................................................34
The Program........................................................................................................38
The Princess’s Transgression...................................................................................43
Conclusion: Banquets and Power for Tang Imperial Women .....................................46
Notes on Translation....................................................................................................48
Appendix: The Menu of Wei Juyuan’s 709 Burning Tail Banquet.............................49
Bibliography ................................................................................................................53

iv
List of Figures
Figure 1. An ewer painted on a wall of Princess Fangling’s tomb ..............................23
Figure 2. A Sogdian winged camel ewer made in silver .............................................23
Figure 3. A Sasanian lobed elliptical bowl made with silver gilt ................................24
Figure 4. A lobed elliptical bowl painted on a wall of Princess Fangling’s tomb.......25
Figure 5. An outdoor banquet scene from a Tang Dynasty tomb................................26
Figure 6. A wall painting from the Five Dynasties in the Yulin Cave ........................36
Figure 7. Zoomed image of Figure 6 ...........................................................................36

v
Abstract
This thesis studies three early Tang Dynasty imperial banquets that are related to
powerful women around Wu Zetian’s era, including Wu Zetian’s grand sacrifice in
early 689, the Burning Tail banquet held by Wei Juyuan, a political ally of Empress
Wei’s, in 709, and Princess Anle’s wedding in early 709. The main contents are
divided into three chapters, each studying one of the three grand banquets. Each
chapter begins with an introduction focusing on the banquets’ material aspects based
on relevant textual sources and visual materials. The banquets’ introduction is
followed by an analysis of how the banquets were related to and had political
significance for the imperial women of the Tang Dynasty. This paper combines
textual and visual evidence to provide helpful information for the audience’s better
understanding of the banquets' materiality. Additionally, this paper seeks to contribute
another perspective to understanding banquets as a particular political strategy that
Tang Dynasty female leaders used to establish their powerful position against the
patriarchal system that discouraged women from participating in politics.

1
Introduction
Feasting has been a significant part of people’s social lives across temporal and
cultural boundaries. Being a cross-cultural phenomenon, feasts are commonly defined
by anthropologists and archaeologists as a communal activity essentially constituted
by the consumption of food and drink.1
In the prosperous and glorious Chinese Tang
Dynasty (618-907), feasting was also popular, particularly among those wealthy and
powerful. Banquets were held on numerous occasions in the Tang Dynasty, from
diplomatic triumphs to success in examinations. People employed such occasions to
reinforce their connections and foster a sense of belonging within specific
communities. In a Confucian society that attached overriding importance to rituals
and hierarchical social order, Tang Dynasty banquets had various complex programs
that consisted of much more than simply food consumption and were significant in
many aspects.
Starting from the unification under the Qin Dynasty, imperial China has been a
patriarchal society with gendered politics, in which only men could be the lawful ruler
of the state. Women were expected to remain distant from politics, and powerful
women are often associated with a negative image of instability and crisis.2 Yet the
Tang Dynasty stands out by the presence of a number of influential and ambitious
female figures. The most renowned of them was Wu Zetian 武則天 (624-705, r.
1 Michael Dietler and Brian Hayden, Feasts: Archaeological and Ethnographic Pespectives on Food,
Politics, and Power, 1st ed. (Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 2010), 3.
2 Bret Hinsch, Women in Early Imperial China, 2nd ed., Asia/Pacific/Perspectives (Lanham: Rowman
& Littlefield Publishers, 2011), 112. Also see Rebecca Doran, Transgressive Typologies: Constructions
of Gender and Power in Early Tang China (Harvard University Asia Center, 2020), 3,
https://brill.com/display/title/58600.

2
690-705), the only woman who ever took the title of emperor in Chinese history, and
whose interregnum briefly interrupted the Tang Dynasty. After her son, Zhongzong
中宗 (r. 684, 705-710), succeeded to the throne and restored the Tang Dynasty, the
real political power was held by his wife, Empress Wei 韋皇后 (d. 710), another
formidable woman who liked listening to and intervening in governmental affairs, like
her mother-in-law. Other powerful women in the court of Zhongzong included his
younger sister, Princess Taiping 太平公主 (d. 713); one of Empress Wu’s principal
advisors, Shangguan Wan’er 上官婉兒 (664-710); as well as his daughter, Princess
Anle 安樂公主 (684? -710), who will also be discussed in this study.
Powerful and wealthy, the Tang Dynasty imperial women mentioned above loved
holding banquets to serve their personal or political interests. This thesis will study
three relevant banquets to gain insight into how those dominating women celebrated
and attached social and political significance to them within the specific social and
cultural context of the Tang Dynasty.
Given the focus of this thesis on politically active women in the Tang Dynasty, it
is more than reasonable to begin with a discussion of Wu Zetian, considering her
incomparable accomplishment as the only officially recognized female ruler of
imperial China. There has been much previous research about representative
examples of Empress Wu’s political propaganda before officially ascending to the
throne, such as publishing Dayunjing shu 大雲經疏 [Commentary on the Great
Cloud Sutra] and enshrining the forged prophetic rock of a woman’s enthronement

3
attained from the Luo River.3 The establishment of a ritual complex called mingtang
明堂, “the Bright Hall,” in Luoyang at the beginning of the year 689 is also a
meaningful event for Empress Wu at the dawn of her enthronement, although it is less
well-known than the two events mentioned above. Antonino Forte4
and Howard J.
Wechsler5
contribute valuable and comprehensive studies on the design language of
the structure and its religious and philosophical implications. However, the account of
the grand celebration banquet held by Empress Wu for the hall’s establishment is
typically brief, although it has significant political connotations that deserve further
observation.
The second case is a banquet called “Burning Tail” held in 709 by a newly
promoted high court official named Wei Juyuan 韋巨源 (631-710) to thank the
emperor Zhongzong. Notably, the menu for this banquet has been preserved in a
miscellaneous notebook, which has received scholarly attention due to its rarity. Most
prior studies of Wei Juyuan’s Burning Tail banquet have concentrated on an analysis
of the menu itself, such as how it reveals aspects of Tang Dynasty upper-class
culinary traditions and consumption, elaborates on cooking techniques, and reflects
the celebratory nature of the banquet. It is noteworthy that few have recognized the
potential association between this banquet and Empress Wei, given her political
alliance with Wei Juyuan. This information enables us to understand Wei Juyuan’s
3 R. W. L. Guisso, Wu Tse-T’ien and the Politics of Legitimation in T’ang China, Studies on East
Asia; v. 11 (Bellingham, Wash: Western Washington, 1978).
4 Antonino. Forte, Mingtang and Buddhist Utopias in the History of the Astronomical Clock : The
Tower, Statue and Armillary Sphere Constructed by Empress Wu, Serie Orientale Roma ; v. 59 (Roma:
Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1988).
5 Howard J. Wechsler, Offerings of Jade and Silk: Ritual and Symbol in the Legitimation of the T’ang
Dynasty (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985).

4
Burning Tail banquet from a new perspective, namely in terms of its political meaning
for a Tang Dynasty female politician.
A discussion of Empress Wei inevitably gives rise to a subsequent discussion of
Princess Anle, the youngest daughter born to Zhongzong and the empress. Known and
often denounced in the sources for her spoiled and unreasonable behavior, Princess
Anle is arguably the most disreputable princess among all Tang Dynasty princesses.
Following her grandmother and mother, Princess Anle also eagerly desired power,
once astonishing the whole imperial court by petitioning her father to make her the
heir apparent to the throne in a decidedly patriarchal society where only males could
purportedly become emperor.
6
The princess’s wedding in early 709 to Wu Yanxiu 武延秀 (685-710), a
grandnephew of Wu Zetian’s, is frequently cited as an illustrative example of her
life's excessive extravagance and unruliness. Nevertheless, a more detailed analysis of
the princess's wedding banquet from a political perspective might elucidate the
potential links between this pivotal event and her well-documented political
aspirations.
I have divided this thesis into three chapters, each corresponding to one of the
abovementioned banquets. Each chapter begins with an introduction to the banquet, in
which I integrate multiple types of textual sources with pertinent visual materials to
elucidate their material aspects. An analysis of the political implications and
significance of the banquets for the powerful Tang Dynasty imperial women follows.
6 Xin Tangshu 83:3654. Hereafter cited as XTS.

5
By engaging in lavish consumption that is unaffordable for the majority, those women
from the imperial family distinguished themselves and demonstrated their pinnacle
position in the hierarchical social order. Moreover, while women were discouraged
from participating in politics during the Tang Dynasty, banquets offered an
opportunity for accomplished female imperial members to move beyond gender
restrictions for women’s participation in political affairs and actively seek political
advancements for themselves.
The primary sources I use to study the specific details of the banquets are the
official historical records, such as Jiu tangshu 舊唐書 [Old history of the Tang], an
official history compiled by Liu Xu 劉昫 (888-947) and other scholar-officials
shortly after the end of the Tang Dynasty, and Zizhi tongjian 資治通鑑
[Comprehensive mirror], a chronicle published in 1084 and written by the famous
Northern Song historian and politician Sima Guang 司馬光 (1019-1086). In addition
to official historical records, I consult miscellaneous notebooks (biji) and Tang
Dynasty poems as supplements. The chief source I refer to for Tang Dynasty banquet
rituals is Datang kaiyuanli 大唐開元禮 [Kaiyuan ritual of the great Tang], a
comprehensive ritual book compiled during Xuanzong’s 玄宗 reign (r. 712-756) in
the Tang Dynasty, which offers comprehensive instructions regarding the proper
conduct of various rituals based on the protocols from the Taizong 太宗 (r. 626-649)
and Gaozong 高宗 (r. 649-683) eras. For details not stated clearly in Kaiyuanli, I
consult Confucian ritual classics such as the Liji 禮記 [Book of rites] and Yili 儀禮
[Book of etiquette and ceremonial], which date from the early imperial period. While

6
I mainly utilize primary materials for this research, I have also benefited from
numerous insightful studies by other scholars, which serve as the foundation of my
analysis. Apart from textual sources, I have also incorporated some relevant visual
materials from the Tang Dynasty, including wall paintings and artifacts.

7
Chapter 1: Empress Wu and the Sacrifice at the Bright Hall
“永昌元年春正月，神皇親享明堂，大赦天下，改元，大酺七日。”7
“In the first lunar month of the first year of the Yongchang era, the Divine Emperor
performed the sacrifice at the Bright Hall in person, gave a general amnesty, changed
the era name, and gave out wine to the public for seven days.”
Mingtang 明堂, a Bright Hall, is a sacred space where a Chinese emperor makes
public proclamations and offers sacrifices to divine spirits and ancestors. Believed to
be first created by Duke Wen of Zhou 周文公 during the Western Zhou Dynasty
(1046-771 BC), the term also appears in a chapter of another ritual classic compiled in
the same era, “Kaogongji” 考工記 [Records on the examination of craftsmanship],
which records the public works during the time and thus provides the measurements
of the hall.8
Among all the bright halls built throughout history, the mingtang in Luoyang
built by the only female emperor of China, Wu Zetian, is one of the most renowned.
Despite the intention of the three previous Tang Dynasty emperors to construct a
mingtang for the nation, this project was not implemented due to the frequency of
military actions and the prolonged debates between scholar-officials about the design.
Referring to the deceased emperor Gaozong’s idea, the construction of Wu Zetian’s
mingtang began in 688 based on the remnants of the Qianyuan Palace and finished at
the beginning of 689.9 Wu Zetian seemed to be very satisfied with the establishment
of the Bright Hall as she renamed it Wanxiang shengong 萬象神宮, which means
“the Divine Palace with Myriad Images.” It has a marvelous exterior size of two
7
Jiu Tangshu 6:119. Hereafter cited as JTS.
8 Liji “Mingtangwei”: 1; Zhouli “Kaogongji”: 5.
9
JTS 22:862.

8
hundred and ninety-four chi (ninety-one meters) high and three hundred chi (ninetyfour meters) for each of the four sides. There were three floors in total: the ground
floor was divided into four parts, symbolizing the four seasons; the second floor
emulated the twelve two-hour periods by which Chinese people counted the time in a
day; the top floor represented the twenty-four solar terms of a lunar year. The
columns of the hall were made from ten giant trees, and an iron phoenix decorated
with gold stood at the top point of the structure.10 Wu Zetian’s mingtang is
substantially different from other precedent cases. Instead of a structure only for
sacrificial purposes, she made it into a multifunctional complex with two parts. The
upper part was used for sacrifices, and the lower was for imperial and governmental
proclamations. With the name “The Divine Palace with Myriad Images,” the
construction of the mingtang was itself a grand and costly project. Zizhi tongjian
records that an official compared Empress Wu’s mingtang to the extravagant jade
halls built by notorious ancient tyrants since it had a spectacular size and was lavishly
decorated with gold and precious stones.11
The 689 Daxiang
After the establishment of the mingtang at the beginning of 689, the first thing
that Empress Wu did at the newly built structure was to hold a daxiang 大饗, a grand
sacrifice by the emperor to Heaven and his predecessors in the last lunar month of the
fall season every year. It should be noted that the 689 daxiang was held on the first
day of the first lunar month that year, which was quite unusual since a daxiang should
10 JTS 22:862.
11 Zizhi tongjian 204:6455. Hereafter cited as ZZTJ.

9
usually be held in the fall season. However, it is understandable if considered a
celebration of the establishment of the mingtang. As the time and venue have already
been clarified, I will briefly introduce the daxiang program in the following
paragraphs, primarily based on the records in Kaiyuanli.
12
Because daxiang is such an important event, people attending the sacrifice should
start performing abstinence up to seven days before it begins, during which they
should not hold funerals, visit the sick, or give out penal sentences. Other preparations
for the sacrifice included displaying the vessels, mapping people’s positions, and
butchering the sacrificed animals.
On the day of sacrifice, the emperor would receive sacrificial instruments called
dagui 大圭 and zhengui 鎮圭 from ritual officials after his carriage arrived at the
mingtang. Both dagui and zhengui are variations of sacrificial instruments called gui,
which are long and narrow jade tablets in a sword’s shape and designated for the
emperor’s use. After receiving the instruments, the emperor would first offer gifts,
including jade and silk, to each manifestation of Heaven and past emperors. Officials
in charge of rituals would then bring the vessels containing various parts of the
sacrificed animals to the altars, including the fur, blood, and cooked meat. Other kinds
of food such as millet, sticky rice, and seasonings were also prepared for a daxiang.
The offering of jade, silk, and food follows with wine. The daxiang rites feature
three wine offerings to the gods and ancestors. There should be three worshippers in
total, each giving an offering. The emperor should be the first, and their ranks and
12 Datang kaiyuanli 10:133-141. Hereafter cited as DTKYL.

10
ages usually decide the order of the other two, who are usually male imperial family
members or high court officials. The emperor would first kneel and hold a wine cup to
worship the gods and each of his ancestors, using a new cup every time he moved to a
new altar. After that, the emperor would drink the wine collected from all the cups
used and distribute the cooked meat collected from the altars to the officials beside
him. The following two worshippers would do roughly the same thing: holding wine
cups and worshipping Heaven and ancestors on their knees before drinking the wine
collected in a single cup.
It is interesting and noteworthy that the Chinese word daxiang has two meanings.
The grand sacrifice we mention above is its first meaning. It also refers to a grand
feast held by the emperor to treat his officials with food and wine, and Wu Zetian’s
daxiang in 689 falls under both categories. After the sacrifice, Empress Wu held a
grand banquet to treat the court officials on the fifth day of the first lunar month, four
days after she practiced the daxiang sacrifice. It is recorded that she bestowed the
officials with various grades of silk in light red color at the banquet.13 Moreover, the
empress also permitted the public’s alcohol consumption for seven days to make it
into a nationwide celebration.14
Overstepping Authority
Although Wu Zetian was already the de facto ruler, she had yet to accede to the
throne and was still the empress dowager when the mingtang was established.
13 JTS 22:864.
14 JTS 6:119; ZZTJ 204:6456.

11
However, some of her actions obviously overstepped the empress dowager’s authority
at the 689 daxiang, which has made this event quite unusual and remarkable.
The attire of Wu Zetian at the sacrifice is the foremost thing that deserves further
observation. Zizhi tongjian has a detailed record of what Empress Wu wore at the 689
daxiang.
15 She wore the gunmian, the most formal ceremonial robe designated for the
crown prince and the first-rank officials. Even if Empress Wu did not overstep the
authority to wear the emperor’s ceremonial robe, this is still a bold practice since the
gunmian is not designed to be worn by women. Wearing a male official’s ceremonial
robe signals that the empress was menacingly marching into the realm of politics
originally reserved for men. However, it is also recorded that Empress Wu held dagui
and zhengui, which, as mentioned above, are the sacrificial instruments solely for the
emperor’s use.
The order of the worshippers is also unusual. Ruizong, Empress Wu and
Gaozong’s youngest son, had the title of emperor at that time. While the emperor is
always supposed to be the first to make an offering, Wu Zetian took the first place
herself and made Ruizong and his son the second and the third. This strategic move
sent a strong message to the attending officials about Wu Zetian’s invincible power
and her relentless pursuit of the throne.
A review of events preceding the establishment of the mingtang suggests that the
grand sacrifice may have also demonstrated Empress Wu's triumph over the Li clan of
the Tang emperors. After seizing absolute political power as Empress Dowager, Wu
15 ZZTJ 204:6456.

12
Zetian sent other Li family members to counties very distant from the capital to
stabilize her rule. Empress Wu saw them as significant threats, especially those
talented and respected, such as Li Zhen, the Prince of Yue 越王李貞, and his son Li
Chong, the Prince of Lang’ye 琅邪王李沖, whose titles were given by Gaozong along
with others to members of the imperial Li clan.16 That was not merely an empty fear,
as those princes had long been dissatisfied with the empress’s arrogation of power.
After the construction of the mingtang began in early 688, Empress Wu
commanded those members of the Li clan to spectate at the forthcoming daxiang after
the hall’s establishment. Those regional princes were deeply scared upon hearing this
news because they thought Empress Wu would take the upcoming daxiang as an
opportunity to gather and eliminate them all in a single action. In great fear, two
regional princes forged letters from Ruizong, saying that he needed their help as he
was being confined by Empress Wu, and the empress was planning to let the Wu
family take over the state. Li Chong, the Prince of Lang’ye, then led an army to
Luoyang and called upon other regional princes to join him in September 688 but
failed only seven days later. His father, Li Zhen, committed suicide after a failed
military response to him; other Li clan members were put to death even if they had
not launched an army.17 Empress Wu finally had all the threats from the Li clan
eliminated before the mingtang was established, and the hall hence became a
monument of her victory. This could be further attested by her bold practice of adding
her father, Wu Shiyue 武士彠, the deceased Prince of Wei 魏王, to be worshipped
16 ZZTJ 204:6449.
17 ZZTJ 204:6449-52.

13
in the grand sacrifice along with all past emperors of the Tang Dynasty from the Li
lineage.
Appealing Gifts
I have mentioned above that daxiang refers to both the sacrifice and the following
grand celebration. Besides feasting and giving gifts to the officials who attended the
sacrifice, Empress Wu also wisely used the grand celebration to appeal to the ordinary
people. Other than allowing the public to drink freely for a few days as a conventional
way to celebrate crucial events of the state, Empress Wu undertook another
unprecedented and remarkable practice. She let women in Luoyang and elderly people
from all over the country visit the Bright Hall and even treated them with food and
wine.
18 Considering that commoners were normally not allowed to enter an imperial
palace, we can understand such good deeds of Empress Wu as a part of her famous
political propaganda of being the “Sage Mother” 聖母 with the Heavenly Mandate to
rule.19 The overwhelming grandness of the hall would also impress the general
audience and hence make them believe in her absolute power. Finally, this action of
showing favor to the people could get Empress Wu the upper hand against the
pervasive discontent of Confucian officials regarding her powerful position as a
woman.
On the other hand, by generously giving out food, wine, and gifts, Empress Wu
also expected some return from the officials and the people. Marcel Mauss points out
in his foundational work on modern gift theory that when a gift is given, it is not a
18 JTS 22:864.
19 JTS 6:119.

14
simple transfer of objects but also contains a social obligation of returning,
highlighting reciprocity as a key aspect of gift-giving.20 In other words, the gift-giver
expects a specific type of return from the recipient. This may help us understand the
gifts given out at the abovementioned grand celebration from a new perspective.
When Empress Wu granted gifts and food to the officials and the visitors at mingtang,
she expected those people’s gratitude and support to facilitate her future
enthronement. After building the monumental mingtang and eliminating her major
political enemies from the Li clan, Empress Wu displayed her invincible position to
the court and the public with the 689 daxiang. Wu Zetian’s success in conducting
such a sacred sacrifice and grand banquet established her as a true emperor rather than
merely an empress dowager, marking her accomplishment in breaking through the
gender constraints for women in politics.
20 Marcel Mauss, The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies., trans. Ian
Cunnison (London: Cohen & West Ltd, 1966), 1.

15
Chapter 2: Empress Wei and Wei Juyuan’s Burning Tail Banquet
“公卿大臣初拜官者，例許獻食，名為‘燒尾’。”
“For ministers and officials who just got promoted, there is a common practice to
offer food [to the emperor], which is named ‘Burning Tail.’”
21
Zhongzong succeeded to Wu Zetian’s throne and restored the Tang Dynasty in
705 after her death. However, the emperor's disinterest and weakness in politics led
him to prioritize leisure activities, including banquets, over other pursuits. The
Burning Tail banquets are one example of this. As documented in Jiu tangshu, there
was a norm in the Tang Dynasty for successful civil service examination candidates
and newly appointed high officials to hold banquets to express their gratitude to the
ruler and show generosity to friends and new colleagues at the court.22 These were
popular from Zhongzong’s (r. 684, 705-710) to Xuanzong’s reign (r. 712-756) for
several decades and were named “burning tail” banquets.
There have been three explanations of what “burning tail” might mean. The first
one is that when a tiger incarnates into a man, its remaining tail must be burnt to
complete the incarnation. An alternative hypothesis is that the shepherd must burn the
tail of a new sheep when it enters the herd to defuse the hostility of other sheep. The
third explanation is that when a carp has jumped over the Dragon Gate, its tail must
be burnt by the thunder to finish its incarnation into a dragon.23 In essence, Burning
21 JTS 88:2878.
22 JTS 88:2878.
23 Tan yuan 4:335. In Chinese mythology, the Dragon Gate is located at the top of a waterfall
cascading from a legendary mountain. If a carp bravely goes against the current and jumps over the
gate successfully, it will incarnate into a powerful dragon. People later often used this legend as a
metaphor for students taking civil service examinations.

16
Tail banquets demonstrated the official’s success and marked a new stage in his
official career.
Why Burning Tail banquets are exceptional is partially attributed to a
miscellaneous book named Qingyi lu 清異錄 (Records of the pure and the unusual),
which preserves a portion of the menu of a specific Burning Tail banquet. Written by
Tao Gu in the Song Dynasty (960-1127), Qingyi lu contains rich information about
cultural practices and folklore, particularly concerning food and culinary traditions.
The menu comes from the Burning Tail banquet held by Wei Juyuan in 709, the
third year of the Jinglong 景龍 era during Zhongzong’s reign, when Wei was newly
promoted as shangshu puye 尚書僕射, the Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat.
According to Xin tangshu 新唐書 [New history of the Tang], an official history of
the Tang compiled by a team of Northern Song scholars led by Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修
(1007-1072) and Song Qi 宋祁 (998-1061), this new title conferred upon Wei
elevated him to one of the de facto grand chancellors who were among the most
powerful officials of the Tang Dynasty.24 In addition to his appointment as high as
the imperial secretariat, he also had the sub-first ranked noble title of shu guogong 舒
國公, the Duke of Shu.25 A total of 58 dishes are documented, prepared with various
ingredients and employing diverse cooking techniques. As few menus survive from
the Tang Dynasty, the menu from Wei’s Burning Tail banquet is an invaluable source
to study both the culinary practices of the period and the nature of Tang Dynasty
imperial banquets in general. In the following, I will use the menu as a starting point
24 XTS 46:1182.
25 JTS 92:2963.

17
to introduce the banquet, including some other aspects such as the vessels, the venue,
and the attire.
But the significance of Wei Juyuan’s Burning Tail banquet extends to politics
because of its relevance to Zhongzong’s Empress Wei, another powerful Tang
Dynasty imperial woman who often interfered with governmental affairs, like her
mother-in-law, Wu Zetian. I will argue in the following that Empress Wei also
benefited from Wei Juyuan’s Burning Tail banquet as his sworn family member and
political leader.
The Sumptuous Banquet
The Food
One notable aspect of the Burning Tail banquet menu is its cosmopolitanism. A
significant number of foreigners lived in China during the Tang Dynasty, many of
whom came from Central Asia and traveled along the Silk Road before settling down
in China. They introduced various commodities and cultures to their new home,
making Tang China a cosmopolitan empire. Food, as a necessity for human survival,
is one of the most evident manifestations of cosmopolitanism. We may see many
influences from foreign territories, such as Central Asia and India, on the menu of the
Burning Tail banquet. I will elaborate more about them in the subsequent paragraphs.
The local diet in Central Asia generally included baked pastries, meat, and dairy
products,
26 traces of which we may find on the banquet menu. One of the most
significant features of the menu is the large number of pastries. Pastries were a
26 Xin Wen, The King’s Road: Diplomacy and the Remaking of the Silk Road (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 2023), 65.

18
common food type available and welcomed by all social classes in the Tang Dynasty.
Even the emperor had them quite often, as Zhongzong is recorded to have had pastries
before his death due to poisoning.
27 On the Burning Tail banquet menu, su 酥, bing
餅, gao 糕, dui 䭔, dan 餤, and biluo 饆饠 are all variations of pastries that differ
in sizes, textures, and tastes based on the ingredients used. Pastries, which take up
more than twenty entries on the menu, had become a notable part of Tang people’s
diet regardless of social status.
Because people have been herding sheep and goats as a tradition in the Central
Asian states, lamb and cheese are also important components of the local diet. The
Burning Tail banquet menu also includes a variety of lamb dishes, with many
different parts being utilized, including meat, fat, marrow, and even skin.
Furthermore, the menu demonstrates a preference for dairy products, which originated
in Central Asia and spread to the capital of Tang China, Chang’an. Two dishes utilize
a considerable quantity of milk for the fermentation or marinating of meat, such as
chicken and fish.
28
The banquet menu borrows cooking methods from Central Asia as well. The
prominence of bread and pastries in the Central Asian local diet indicates that baking
and roasting were the primary cooking methods. Those are also evident in the Burning
Tail banquet menu, as we may see from dishes such as Roast of Peace, which is a mix
of lamb and deer tongues. Moreover, the dish named Hongyang zhizhang 紅羊枝杖
27 ZZTJ 209:6641.
28 Please see Runiang yü 乳釀魚 (Fish Fermented in Milk) and Xianren luan 仙人臠 (the
Immortal’s Slices) on the menu.

19
(Red Lamb on Branches) is annotated on the menu to be prepared by cutting the lamb
in four pieces from the feet, which may resemble the roasted lamb commonly seen in
modern times.
Despite being cosmopolitan, the menu also reflects great extravagance. As
mentioned above, there are a lot of meat dishes on the menu. While the ordinary
people of the Tang Dynasty did not eat much flesh, the abundance and casual
acceptance of all sorts of meat on the table suggest the nobility and wealth of the
banquet attendees.29
A dish for viewing only is also available, which means that the dish was not for
eating but only for looking at. The dish called suzheng yinshengbu 素蒸音聲部
(Orchestra and Chorus Members Made with Steamed Vegetarian Dough) belongs to
this category. According to the annotations on the menu, it was prepared by making
vegetarian dough in the shape of immortal members in an orchestra and chorus from
Mount Penglai, totaling seventy.
Moreover, the inclusion of seafood also implies the striking expenditure of the
banquet. There is a dish named Cold Clam Soup, Leng chan’er geng 冷蟾兒羹, on
the menu. Although clams and other seafood have been common in seashore cities in
Southern China, it is noteworthy that they are not native to and are rarely seen in
inland towns such as Chang’an.30 People in the Tang Dynasty were already very
skillful in preserving food such as by fermenting and drying, it is hence possible that
29 Edward H. Schafer, “Tang,” in Food in Chinese Culture: Anthropological and Historical
Perspectives, ed. Kwang-chih Chang (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977), 99.
30 Eugene N. Anderson, The Food of China (Yale University Press, 1988), 61,
https://www.jstor.org.libproxy2.usc.edu/stable/j.ctt32bq1r.

20
the seafood was processed before being transported. However, considering the
extremely long distance from Chang’an to the sea, it could still be viewed as a rare
delicacy. Another possibility is that to satisfy the emperor, Wei Juyuan ordered the
use of ice chunks to keep the perishable seafood fresh during transportation. In the
Tang Dynasty, ice chunks were a real luxury that was only affordable to the most
prestigious and well-to-do people.
31
An excerpt from a Tang Dynasty notebook called Fengshi wenjianji 封氏聞見記
[Record of things seen and heard by Mr. Feng] also records the consumption of wine
among the emperor and the officials at a Burning Tail banquet.
32 It is also worth
looking into what exact kinds of wine they drank at the banquet. The Kingdom of
Gaochang 高昌國, also named Karakhoja, was an oasis state based in Turfan on the
northern route around the desolate Taklamakan Desert, known as a crucial stop on the
Silk Road.33 After Gaochang was conquered by the Tang emperor Taizong in 640, a
new wine-making grape called “mare teat” was introduced to the Tang Dynasty as a
famous product from the state, along with the latest wine-making techniques. Because
of its fineness and rarity, the wine from the West was highly appreciated by Tang
Chinese people and enjoyed by the rich and powerful, such as the imperial
household.
34 Suggested from the cosmopolitan features we see on the menu, the
31 Schafer, “Tang,” 116.
32 Fengshi wenjianji 5:43. Hereafter cited as FSWJJ.
33 Valerie Hansen, The Silk Road: A New History (United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2012),
89.
34 Edward H. Schafer, The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: A Study of T’ang Exotics, 1st ed.
(University of California Press, 2023), 143.

21
exotic drink of grape wine could likely be a choice of alcohol at the Burning Tail
banquet.
Although it includes 58 dishes, we should remember the menu from Qingyi lu is
not even a complete version but a selection of curious and unusual ones from this
Burning Tail banquet held by Wei Juyuan; such an astonishing number already speaks
for itself about the banquet’s lavishness. With its incomparable level of
cosmopolitanism and extravagance, it is more than reasonable to assume that Wei’s
Burning Tail banquet menu represents the highest standard of gourmet food in the
Tang Dynasty.
The Vessels
Such a distinguished banquet's gourmet food would require the highest-standard
tableware. Although the exact tableware used at the banquet is not recorded, we can
still guess based on other relevant materials we have today.
While commoners typically used wood table wares, gold and silver wares were
enjoyed by aristocrats and bureaucrats in the Tang Dynasty. Central Asians were
famous for their craftsmanship of precious metals. Brought along their journey to
China, the skills and aesthetics of those Central Asian artisans were highly
appreciated by those wealthy and influential people. We could thus see an abundance
of wares made in precious metals bearing traces of Central Asian influences on the
wall paintings in the prestigious tombs of Tang China. I will include some examples
of table wares in Central Asian styles in the following paragraphs.

22
Princess Fangling 房陵 was the sixth daughter of Gaozu (r. 618-626), the first
emperor of the Tang Dynasty. After her nephew succeeded to the throne, when she
died at fifty-five, the Princess was buried with the title of the Great Grand Princess,
dazhang gongzhu 大長公主, which was of the highest rank in the Tang aristocracy.
With attendants holding various kinds of vessels, the wall paintings in Princess
Fangling’s tomb together depict a dining scene.35 Considering Princess Fangling’s
prestigious social status, it is reasonable to refer to the wall paintings in her tomb to
reconstruct the table wares likely used at the Burning Tail banquet.
One of the female attendants in Princess Fangling’s tomb has the gesture of
serving water or alcohol and holds an ewer in her right hand (Figure 1). Interestingly,
the shape of the ewer is very similar to the Sogdian silver ewer currently housed in the
State Hermitage Museum in Moscow (Figure 2). The most revealing part of the ewers
is the attachment of the handle to the neck instead of to the shoulder. Ewers in this
shape were popular in the Tang Dynasty, with the name “barbarian bottle,” huping 胡
瓶.
36
35 Qi Dongfang 齐东方, “Tangmu bihua zhongde jinyinqi tuxiang” 唐墓壁画中的金银器图像
[Images of gold and silver wares in Tang Dynasty tomb wall paintings], Wenbo 文博, no. 6 (1998): 67.
36 Qi 齐, “Tangmu bihua, ” 67.

23
Figure 1. An ewer held by a female attendant on the wall painting on the north wall of
the rear chamber in Princess Fangling’s tomb. (Fan, bihua, 59)
Figure 2. A Sogdian winged camel ewer made in silver, currently housed in the State
Hermitage Museum, Moscow. (The Sogdians)
Lobed elliptical bowls are a well-known type of Sasanian metalwork, as we may
see from the example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Figure 3). The flat bowl

24
that another female attendant holds in her hand on the tomb wall painting resembles
it, which is likely also made from silver or other precious metals (Figure 4). Although
we do not precisely know how Sasanian Persians used the lobed bowls, they were
possibly used for holding snacks or drinks. Telling from the banquet attendees’
prestigious social statuses, those high-end vessels made in precious metals were more
than likely to appear on the dining tables at the Burning Tail banquet.
Figure 3. A Sasanian lobed elliptical bowl made with silver gilt from the sixth or
seventh century CE, currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
(The MET)

25
Figure 4. A lobed elliptical bowl held by a female attendant on the south side of the
east wall of the front chamber in Princess Fangling’s tomb. (Fan, bihua, 49)
The Venue
Although the menu already offers a substantial amount of information for us to
study, we need to recognize that food consumption is merely one part of the banquet;
numerous other things deserve our attention. The venue is also important, as the
venue selection can influence the nature and objective of a banquet.
Tang Dynasty banquets were held in various places. Common choices of banquet
venue included the imperial court, the mansions of court officials and nobles, and
religious institutions such as Buddhist monasteries and Daoist temples.37 Other than
the three indoor settings, outdoor settings such as gardens and pavilions were a
popular choice of banquet venues in the Tang Dynasty, which could be testified by a
wall painting in an anonymous Tang Dynasty tomb excavated in the Nanliwang
37 Charles D. Benn, Daily Life in Traditional China the Tang Dynasty (Westport, Conn: Greenwood
Press, 2002), 133.

26
Village near Chang’an depicting an outdoor banquet scene (Figure 5). In general, the
choice of a Tang Dynasty banquet venue depended on the nature and the purpose of
the banquet, as well as the social status and the financial well-being of the banquet
hosts.
Figure 5. An outdoor banquet scene from an anonymous Tang Dynasty tomb in
Chang’an, the date of which is not precisely known but speculated by some scholars
to be during Xuanzong’s reign (712-756). (Shaanxi History Museum and Shen,
Shenyun yu huihuang, 226-228)
The question arises about the venue of Wei Juyuan’s Burning Tail banquet, as the
menu does not include information regarding where the banquet was held specifically.
However, the annotations of some entries in the menu text offer relevant information
about the banquet, so we can still make some responsible guesses based on those
details. While Zhongzong once ordered another Burning Tail banquet to be held at the
Xingqing Pool as an outdoor venue,38 some details of Wei Juyuan’s banquet menu
38 FSWJJ 5:43.

27
suggested that Wei’s was held indoors. The annotations of mantuo yang jiabing 曼陀
樣夾餅 (Cake in Jimsonweed Shape) write that a stove was supposed to be in the
hall. The presence of a hall suggests that the banquet should have been held in an
indoor venue. This is further proved by the annotations of shengjin yahua tangbing 生
進鴨花湯餅 (Duck Flower Noodle Soup), which writes that the chef would come
inside and put the noodles into the soup. Moreover, given the large number of food
items and that many were half-done and needed further preparation before serving,
the banquet was most likely to be held indoors.
As the Burning Tail banquet was held to celebrate the success of an official’s
career, it did not have much association with spiritual life. Therefore, the Burning Tail
banquet was more likely to be held in the imperial court or Wei’s mansion rather than
in a religious institution.
The Attire
A considerable number of officially compiled books contain information
regarding the attire to be worn by members of the imperial family and officials in the
Tang Dynasty on specific occasions. With the information, we may also make a
reasonable guess about how people might have dressed themselves at the Burning Tail
banquet.
Both Xin tangshu and Jiu tangshu have detailed records about what the emperor
should wear on almost all occasions. The suit worn at a daily semi-formal banquet

28
was called baisha mao 白紗帽, which included a white or black gauze hat, a white
top, a white dress, white socks, and black leather shoes.39
The officials were generally supposed to wear a robe of one level more formal than
the emperor to show respect. They should hence wear a jinxian guan 進賢冠 cap and
a jufu 具服 robe, both designed for their audience with the emperor. A jinxian guan
included a black headdress and a cap with different numbers of ridges on top that
denoted the official’s rank. Officials ranked third and above had three ridges on their
jinxian guan; five to four had two; nine to six had one. Jufu included long white and
short dark red undergarments, a white dress, a white top decorated with black cuffs,
white socks, black leather shoes, and different decorations such as swords, pendants,
and ribbons.40
The attire of the officials responsible for preparing and serving food and drinks to
the imperial household and other high officials is of particular interest. As detailed in
Xin tangshu, these officials were distinguished by their green headbands and a blue
garment named kuzhe 褲褶.
41 Unlike ceremonial robes with long dresses, kuzhe
replaced the long dress with trousers, a practical choice that likely facilitated their
work. The fact that they could only wear headbands but not caps also signified their
inferior status to those banquet attendees wearing hats. The attire was an immediate
indicator of one’s position in the social hierarchy and was thus used by the elites to
distinguish themselves from the common people and from one another.
39 XTS 24:516.
40 XTS 24:522.
41 XTS 24:522.

29
The Two Weis
With the fabulous food and entertainment at the Burning Tail banquet, Wei
Juyuan wished to win the emperor’s favor, which was of great consequence for Wei
as it could help secure his preeminent standing as the grand chancellor. But it should
be noted that Wei Juyuan was a sworn family member and a loyal political ally of the
formidable Empress Wei, who often intervened in political affairs and had true power
in Zhongzong’s court.
42 After his promotion, Wei Juyuan participated in pivotal
governmental matters for the empress's benefit, including arguing with other officials
for the empress to participate in an important imperial sacrifice later in the same year,
which women were usually not allowed to do.
43
No relevant record indicates gifts were given at Wei Juyuan’s Burning Tail
banquet. However, we need to note that except for the emperor, many high officials
would be at the banquet to celebrate together. Considering the participation of other
court officials, the banquet could also be viewed as a gift from Wei Juyuan to his
future colleagues besides the emperor. With the luxurious joy of the Burning Tail
banquet, Wei wished to win the emperor’s favor and become friendly with his future
colleagues, which would benefit both himself and the head of his political faction,
Empress Wei.
In the Tang Dynasty, it was common for powerful males to gain political benefits
from females. For example, marriage alliance was a common practice for the Tang
Dynasty emperors, who sent women as brides to other states to achieve specific
42 ZZTJ 208:6598.
43 JTS 51:2173.

30
political objectives, under which circumstances women were in a passive position and
rarely had the chance to decide their own destiny.
44 However, by actively forming
political connections with and acquiring advantages from male officials, Empress Wei
reversed the passive and vulnerable position of the female gender in politics under the
patriarchal system of imperial China. As an example of this reversal, the Burning Tail
banquet is also meaningful as it sparks a novel possibility to understand gender
relations in the Tang Dynasty.
44 Jonathan Karam. Skaff, Sui-Tang China and Its Turko-Mongol Neighbors Culture, Power and
Connections, 580-800, 1st ed., Oxford Studies in Early Empires (New York; Oxford University Press,
2012), 204–5.

31
Chapter 3: Princess Anle and Her Wedding Banquet
“以安樂公主出降，假皇后仗出於禁中，以盛其儀，帝及后登安福樓以觀之。禮
畢，大赦天下，賜酺三日。”
45
“As Princess Anle was getting married, [the princess] borrowed the empress’s
carriage to depart from the imperial palace to display a grand splendor, and the
emperor and the empress climbed up the Anfu Tower to spectate. When the ceremony
ended, [the emperor] granted an amnesty and let the public drink freely for three
days.”
In addition to official career advancement, marriage is another significant event
that is most worth celebrating in Chinese culture. In China, family lineage is of
paramount importance, and marriages are hence naturally regarded as a significant
event regardless of social status. Ritual texts such as Liji and Yili devote considerable
attention to the wedding ceremony and provide a wealth of details about this moment
as one of the highlights of a Chinese person’s life. We can additionally see many
more details in ritual protocols compiled in later dynasties. For the Tang Dynasty,
Kaiyuanli addresses weddings of all ranks, from imperial members to common
people, despite the truth that people developed many novel popular practices rather
than sticking with the rituals strictly.
This chapter studies Princess Anle’s wedding with Wu Yanxiu, a grandnephew of
Wu Zetian’s, in early 709. Princess Anle was the youngest daughter of Zhongzong
and Empress Wei. Sharing the same political ambition as her mother, the princess was
widely known for her audacious appeal to Zhongzong about becoming the heir
apparent to the throne, which for a woman was unprecedented in Chinese history.
45 JTS 7:146.

32
Largely due to her transgressive acts, historical records have quite a few passages
about the princess’s life of over-lavishness and self-indulgence, and her wedding was
a representative case among them. However, considering the princess’s well-known
political ambition, I think her wedding deserves further study for its political
significance rather than simply focusing on its material sumptuousness. I will try to
discuss them after an introduction to the banquet in the following paragraphs.
The Princess’s Wedding
The Six Rites
Officially forming a marriage in ancient China required a lengthy process with
six steps called “six rites.” Widely believed to have been established before the Qin
Dynasty, the six steps include nacai 納采, wenming 問名, naji 納吉, nazheng 納
徵, qingqi 請期, and qinying 親迎, all of which are performed with a long series of
exchanges of gifts and letters.
46
The whole process begins with nacai, which means that the man’s family would
send a matchmaker to request the woman’s family to form a marriage. From a modern
perspective, we can roughly understand this as the proposal.
The second step is wenming, which means that after receiving consent for
forming a marriage from the woman’s family, the man’s family would ask for the
woman’s name and time of birth. The information would then be used to perform
46 Yili “Shi hunli”: 24-46; Liji “Hunyi”: 1. Also see Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Confucianism and Family
Rituals in Imperial China : A Social History of Writing about Rites (Princeton, N.J: Princeton
University Press, 1991), 80, https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400862351.

33
divination to test whether the couple’s match would be auspicious. This step is called
naji, also known as buji 卜吉, since it includes divination.
Nazheng happens after divination when the man’s family sends betrothal gifts to
the woman’s family, after which the betrothal would be fully bound. The man’s
family would then pick an auspicious date for the wedding, write down the date on
paper, and send it to the woman’s family along with gifts. After the woman’s family
agrees with the chosen day, the two families begin preparing for the formal wedding.
The formal wedding is called qinying and is the very last step in the whole
process of forming a marriage. Qinying literally means “greeting in person,” as the
groom would dress up formally and go to pick up the bride along with the
matchmaker and his family members.
While the six steps correspond to the process from proposal and engagement to
wedding, the last step of qinying best resembles the wedding banquet we know today,
which features people gathering and celebrating. As entries in Kaiyuanli could attest,
the program of Tang Dynasty weddings followed the process formulated in ritual
classics such as Liji and Yili without major changes and regardless of rank.
Time and Venue
Unlike the time and venue of a Burning Tail banquet chosen at the emperor’s or
the official’s will, ritual classics have specific prescriptions for when and where a
wedding should be held. Unlike nowadays, weddings in the Tang Dynasty were
usually held in the evening. This tradition has long been formulated in early ritual

34
protocols such as Liji, giving the reason that the character for wedding 昏 in ancient
Chinese is the same as that of evening.47
The wedding location is usually the groom’s house, and the groom must pick the
bride up from her family home on the wedding day. However, there were also many
occasions in the Tang Dynasty when the wedding was held at the bride’s home,
especially when the bride’s family was more powerful or wealthy, which applies to
the case of a princess’s marriage.
48 This is further proved by the record in Xin
tangshu that Princess Anle’s carriage was escorted from the imperial palace to her
mansion as the destination.
49 Therefore, we can assume that her private residence was
the wedding location.
The Attire
Instead of semiformal ones at a Burning Tail banquet, people would wear their
most elegant robes for such an important day as the wedding. It is prescribed in
Kaiyuanli that the princess’s wedding attire includes a ceremonial robe and hair
decorations of the first rank.50 Xin Tangshu has more specific information about the
robe and hair decorations. The robe is called Diyi 翟衣, which has pheasant patterns
and is worn only by noble women of the fifth rank and above. Huachai 花釵, which
means floral hairpins, accompany Diyi as the designated attire for noble women on
the most formal occasions in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.51 The princess would wear
47 Yili “Shi hunli”: 24.
48 Yao Ping 姚平, Tangdai funü de shengming licheng 唐代婦女的生命歷程 [The life journey of
Tang Dynasty women](Shanghai 上海: Shanghai guji chubanshe 上海古籍出版社, 2004), 70.
49 XTS 83:3654.
50 DTKYL 116:772.
51 Sui Shu 11:243; XTS 24:523.

35
a light red robe embroidered with nine pairs of pheasants and adorn her hair with nine
pairs of floral hairpins with inlay decorations, where the number nine indicates the
first rank.52
Despite the scarcity of real-life examples of Diyi and Huachai from the Tang
Dynasty, there is a wall painting portraying noble women wearing them in a cave
built shortly after the collapse of the Tang Dynasty at the Yulin Grottoes, another
Buddhist cave temple site which is only about a hundred kilometers away from the
Mogao Grottoes (Figures 6 and 7). The noble women are adorned with different
numbers of hairpins corresponding to their ranks. As a pattern exclusive to this type
of ceremonial robe, the presence of pheasants on their robes further confirms that they
are wearing the most formal Diyi.
52 XTS 24:523.

36
Figure 6. A wall painting from the Five Dynasties in the Yulin Cave, copied by Fan
Wenzao. (Shen, Zhongguo gudai fushi yanjiu, 472)
Figure 7. Zoomed image of Figure 6. The presence of pheasants indicates that this
robe is Diyi.

37
Kaiyuanli does not provide specific information on what the princess’s husband
should wear at the wedding but only writes that the groom should wear a ceremonial
robe.53 However, we may know from Jiu tangshu that the groom would wear the
most formal ceremonial robe for ranked officials at his wedding, with the name of
Mianfu 冕服.
54 Since Zhongzong conferred the title of Heng Guogong 恆國公 (the
Duke of Heng) to Wu Yanxiu, the Princess’s newly married husband, it is reasonable
to surmise that Wu would wear a ceremonial robe of the first rank at his wedding.55
The ceremonial attire for the first-rank officials is called Gunmian 袞冕, consisting of
a cap and a robe. The cap is decorated with nine jeweled fringes, indicating the first
rank. The robe is made up of multiple parts, including a white undergarment, red
shoes and socks, and a robe consisting of a blue top and a light red skirt with dark red
embroideries of nine patterns.56
To summarize, both the princess and her husband would wear their most formal
ceremonial attire at the wedding. The princess’s attire, known as Huachai diyi,
included floral hairpins and a robe, while her husband’s attire was called Mianfu and
designed according to his rank. For the imperial family members, the wedding attires
directly asserted their prestigious position at the top of the social hierarchy. Similar to
the attires, the wedding carriages were also supposed to be made and decorated
according to the bride’s and groom’s ranks. As recorded in the epigraph at the
beginning of this section, Princess Anle borrowed her mother Empress Wei’s carriage
53 DTKYL 116:772.
54 JTS 45:1943.
55 JTS 183:4734.
56 XTS 24:519; JTS 45:1942.

38
to “display a grander splendor 以盛其儀” at her wedding banquet.
57 The wedding
carriage had the same function as a demonstration of the imperial family’s prestige.
The Program
The Kaiyuanli has an entire chapter on ritual prescriptions for a princess’s
wedding. On the morning of the wedding, the groom’s father would toast him before
the groom left home to pick up the bride. At the same time, the emperor would set up
a table in the bride’s private residence and welcome the groom in front of the door.
After the groom arrived at the bride’s residence, he should present a wild goose to the
emperor as a gift and kneel to show his commitment to marriage and respect for the
bride’s family. In China, wild geese are symbols of loyalty in a marriage, as Chinese
people noticed that wild geese always migrate in pairs that stay together for life.
After the groom’s greeting and worship, the princess would then bid farewell to
her parents, follow the groom out of the door, and get in the carriage prepared for her.
Interestingly, the groom would ride the carriage in person for three loops of wheels to
show respect to his wife. After the three loops had been made, the groom would hand
the rein to the puller, get on his carriage to arrive at the wedding location earlier, and
wait for the bride before she arrived.
When the bride arrived at the wedding venue, the groom bowed to her with a
gesture of joined hands before the couple entered the door together. The couple
should then do a meaningful practice called tonglao hejin 同牢合卺 together, as the
couple should eat the same portion of pork together and drink wine from the two
57 JTS 7:146.

39
halves of a gourd. This resembled a wedding vow with the felicitous meaning of two
people becoming connected to form a new family. Food and wine became an image of
all daily life matters in this ceremony, which implied that the couple should go
through ups and downs together for the rest of their lives. The modern scholar Xiang
Shuyun points out in her book studying Tang Dynasty marriages that while people
still performed tonglao hejin, they mostly used a pair of wine cups instead of gourds
in practice.58
On the following day of the wedding, the princess was expected to pay a formal
visit to her husband’s parents in the early morning to show respect, at which she
would prepare and present food and wine to her in-laws. Frequent references in poems
prove this was a widespread tradition for newly married brides in the Tang Dynasty.
A poem named Jinshi shang zhangji shuibu 近試上張籍水部 by Zhu Qingyu 朱慶
餘, a poet active during Jingzong’s reign (824-827) writes, “The wedding candle has
been placed in the bridal chamber all last night, and the bride is waiting for the dawn
to visit her in-laws 洞房昨夜停紅燭，待曉堂前拜舅姑.”59 Whereas the poem
attests to the practice's popularity among most other Tang Dynasty women, princesses
rarely visited their new in-laws after weddings, even if several emperors encouraged
them to do so.60
58 Xiang Shuyun 向淑雲, Tangdai hunyinfa yu hunyin shitai 唐代婚姻法與婚姻實態 [The marriage
law and facts in the Tang Dynasty] (Taipei 台北市: Shangwu yinshuguan 商務印書館, 1991), 100.
59 Zhu Qingyu 朱慶餘, “Jinshi shang Zhangji shuibu” 近試上張籍水部 [To Zhangji near the exam],
Quan tangshi 全唐诗, 515:1307. Hereafter cited as QTS.
60 Xiang 向, Tangdai hunyin, 94.

40
Instead of simply following the basic qinying program according to the rites, the
Tang Dynasty people developed a plethora of novel wedding practices. It is recorded
in Fengshi wenjianji, a miscellaneous notebook (biji) written by Feng Yan, a scholarofficial active during Xuanzong’s reign (712-756), that new activities such as teasing
the groom, blocking the bride’s carriage, and lighting the candles were popular in
Tang Dynasty weddings, regardless of rank.61
A practice called “urging the bride out” was popular in the Tang Dynasty among
the educated elite. Instead of arriving at the bride’s home alone, the groom would
have tens to more than a hundred relatives and friends following him to pick up the
bride. After arriving, they would make noise together and urge the bride to finish her
makeup and get on the carriage quickly. In the Tang Dynasty, people usually compose
impromptu poems to call the bride out. The groom and everyone in the entourage
could participate in composing poems, adding to the wedding’s celebratory
atmosphere.
In addition to the groom’s family members, the bride’s family also actively
participated in a practice called teasing the groom. After the groom arrived at the
bride’s family home, the bride’s female family members would come out the door and
use canes and sticks to hit the groom teasingly.
People would light red candles to celebrate when the bride finally got ready to
head to the groom’s home. The audience would also intentionally block the bride’s
way by encircling her carriage. The bride would then give out some valuables, such as
61 FSWJJ 5:43.

41
money and silk, to “buy” her way out. Princess Anle’s wedding included both
practices. It is recorded in Xin tangshu that Zhongzong and Empress Wei generously
gave out gold and silk to the audience when Princess Anle’s carriage was blocked by
her uncle, the future Ruizong, on her wedding day.62 Jiu Tangshu writes that there
were so many wedding candles at Princess Anle’s wedding that their light made the
night seem like the day.63 Moreover, multiple appeals documented in Tang huiyao
唐會要 [Important documents of the Tang] regarding banning music and dances at
weddings reveal that music and dances were prevalent and usually present at the
scene.64 With the line “drums and nomad flutes make the way 節鼓清笳前啟路,”65
Zhang Yue’s 張說 (667-730) poem describing Princess Anle’s wedding attests to the
presence of music at the scene.
The wedding ceremony would officially begin after the arrival of the newlyweds
at the designated venue. A felted tent would typically be erected in the courtyard,
where the bride and groom would bow to the groom’s parents and then to each other.
Below is a wall painting from a Tang Dynasty cave at the Mogao Grottoes, a wellpreserved Buddhist cave temple site in Dunhuang, Gansu Province (Figure 8). It
portrays a wedding scene where the newlyweds stand in front of an outdoor tent. The
abovementioned vowing practice of tonglao hejin would also be completed in the
tent.
62 XTS 83:3655.
63 JTS 183:4734.
64 Tang Huiyao 83:1811.
65 QTS 86:222.

42
Figure 8. A wall painting of a newly married couple in front of an outdoor tent, from
the Southern Wall of Cave 148 at Mogao Grottoes. (Tan, Dunhuang de minsu, 107)
Overall, as we may know from the above, the wedding ceremony was a
complicated and detailed ritual that served as a milestone for people in the Tang
Dynasty. Besides following the same program of the six rites, Tang Dynasty people
developed many new practices at their weddings, such as teasing the groom and
blocking the carriage. Historical records about blocking the carriage at Princess
Anle’s wedding testify what Fengshi wenjianji writes, as these practices were popular
among all ranks, from the imperial to the most ordinary.66 Very interestingly, some
scholars point out that many popular wedding customs in the Tang Dynasty, such as
erecting an outdoor tent, originate from the wedding practices of people living in the
northern frontiers of China,
67 which echoes the cosmopolitanism that we have found
from the Burning Tail banquet menu.
66 FSWJJ 5: 43.
67 Zhou Yubo 周玉波, “Zhongguo hunli de chansheng yu yanbian” 中国婚礼的产生与演变 [The
emergence and change of Chinese weddings], Lishi yanjiu 历史研究, no. 4 (1990): 87.

43
The Princess’s Transgression
For someone born with almost all the riches and honors like Princess Anle, the
only thing she could not rightfully claim was the throne, which was reserved for the
male descendants of the imperial lineage. Dissatisfied with the restriction, the resolute
Princess Anle made an unprecedented and extraordinary appeal to her father
Zhongzong to be the rightful heir apparent to his throne.68 When the appeal was
challenged by one of Zhongzong’s trusted officials, the princess complained, “If the
Wu woman can be an emperor, then why not an emperor’s daughter?”69 Directly
referring to China’s only female official ruler, the princess’s quote suggests that her
ambition came from her grandmother, Wu Zetian. Having accomplished an
impossible mission to become China's only officially recognized female emperor,
Empress Wu took the 689 daxiang as an active strategy to prepare for her future
enthronement, which I have discussed in Chapter One. I will show below how
Princess Anle followed her grandmother’s path by fearlessly violating the banquet
rites at her wedding to push herself toward her goal of being the legitimate heir to the
throne.
As mentioned above, Zhongzong and Empress Wei celebrated Princess Anle’s
wedding by letting people gather and drink freely and giving an amnesty. While this
could simply be understood as the parent’s love for their daughter, it needs to be noted
that such practices usually happened only after a crucial event for the state, such as a
new emperor’s enthronement, a major military victory, a natural disaster, or, as what I
68 XTS 83:3654.
69 XTS 83:3654.

44
would like to highlight here, the appointment of an empress or heir apparent. The
national celebration of the princess’s marriage suggests that the princess enjoyed the
same importance as the heir apparent to the state, which elevated the princess’s right
of succession in the eyes of the public.
As mentioned above, although ritual protocols like Kaiyuanli encouraged the
princesses to visit and attend their new in-laws on the day following their weddings,
they rarely did as expected.70 Yet Princess Anle’s case was even more exceptional, as
on the following day of her wedding, instead of visiting and attending her new
parents-in-law, the princess showed up before the emperor and the officials in the
Taiji Palace and enjoyed their congratulations.71 This act is particularly remarkable,
as it is written in Kaiyuanli that only the crown prince would make an official
presence to receive the court officials’ congratulations in the Taiji Palace on the
following day of his wedding.72 Thanks to her parents’ tolerance and indulgence, the
princess’s wedding is much more than a princess could have, enjoying in many ways
the same prestige as the crown prince. With the provocative disruption of the proper
rites, Princess Anle’s wedding banquet released the signal about her transgressive act
of becoming the first female heir to the throne.
The delicate menu and entertainment at the Burning Tail banquet indicate that
Chinese elites were inclined to lavish spending on celebrations, which also extended
to weddings. In addition to a generous distribution of gold and silk at the wedding, the
70 Xiang 向, Tangdai hunyin, 94.
71 XTS 83:3655; DTKYL 111:740.
72 DTKYL 111:740.

45
emperor and the empress also gave a feast to the court officials on the following day,
during which the couple bestowed hundreds of thousands of silks as gifts upon the
guests. Celebrated throughout the country, all those records indicate that the total cost
of the banquets would have been incredibly high. On the other hand, the discussion
about gift-giving in exchange for political support also applies to Princess Anle’s
wedding. Princess Anle had a bad reputation among Confucian officials and was
resented by many because of her extravagant lifestyle and mindless enthusiasm for
politics.
73 With the gifts and feast, the emperor and the empress wished not only to
celebrate their daughter’s marriage but also to acquire these officials’ acquiescence
and the people’s tolerance towards the princess’s practices at her wedding and in her
life.
73 JTS 51:2172.

46
Conclusion: Banquets and Power for Tang Imperial Women
This thesis examines three early Tang Dynasty banquets related to imperial
women around Wu Zetian’s era. The banquets were held for a variety of reasons, yet
they were equally meaningful for those prominent upper-class women. Besides
demonstrating the imperial women's impressive material wealth and prestigious social
status, their banquets also served as an active political strategy to advance their
political agendas.
The above study of three imperial banquets reflects the responses from Tang
Dynasty powerful females to the Confucian patriarchal social order that placed
limitations on powerful females. Empress Wu established her new role of being the
true emperor by adopting practices of the emperor’s authority at the 689 daxiang.
Similarly, Princess Anle held her wedding in many ways that emulated the practices
of the heir apparent instead of obeying the designated wedding rites for a princess. By
posting public challenges to proper banquet rites, Empress Wu and Princess Anle
used banquets as an opportunity to announce their political ambitions and an approach
to legitimize their own rule as women. Instead of openly disrupting the banquet rites,
Empress Wei chose to develop male court officials, such as Wei Juyuan, as allies, and
acquired political benefits for herself from the male official’s deeds. Despite taking
different actions, the three female strategists from the Tang imperial family all
managed to step over the gender constraints to acquire dominance over other powerful
males and establish their own authority.
Additionally, those female strategists have tactfully taken advantage of gift-

47
giving at banquets for their benefit. While they generously gave gifts, food, and even
amnesty as banquet sponsors, they expected a return of favor and support from the
recipients, which was desirable and necessary to maintain their power. For women
who were restrained from participating in political affairs or from declaring their
ambition to the public, banquets, with the cover of celebration, offered a unique
opportunity for them to convey political messages and seek advancements in their
careers. At the same time, staging these unconventional events as spectacles prompted
the public to accept and approve the novelty of a woman’s rule. This lent support to
the remarkable gender transgressions in politics by these abovementioned powerful
women.

48
Notes on Translation
I have put my tentative translation of the full menu of Wei Juyuan’s 709 Burning
Tail banquet in the appendix for reference. The original text of Qingyi lu I use for this
essay comes from the version included in Quansong biji.
74 In the translating process,
I referred to dictionary entries and an article by Edward Schafer on food in the Tang
Dynasty for the meaning of characters and words I was unsure about. I also made
comparisons with the translation of the Burning Tail banquet menu by Hsiang-ju Lin,
included as a chapter in her book Slippery Noodles. Please see the bibliography for
more detailed information of these great books.
74 Qingyi lu “Zhuanxiu men”:102-103.

49
Appendix: The Menu of Wei Juyuan’s 709 Burning Tail Banquet
韋巨源拜尚書令，上燒尾食。其家故書中尚有食賬，今擇奇異者畧記：
Wei Juyuan was promoted to the chief of the Imperial Secretariat and held a Burning
Tail feast as tribute. There is still a menu in the old books at his home, and now I will
select the peculiar ones and make a brief record:
單籠金乳酥 (是餅但用獨隔，通籠欲氣隔) Golden Milk Cake in Single Steamer
(cakes cooked in separate compartments of a steamer)
曼陀樣夾餅 (公廳爐) Bread in Jimsonweed Shape (with a stove in the public hall)
巨勝奴 (酥蜜寒具) Sesame Shortbread (shortbread made with oil and honey)
婆羅門輕高麵 (籠蒸) Brahmin Lightweight and High Pastry (made in steamer)
貴妃紅 (加味紅酥) Precious Consort’s Rouge (shortbread filled with pink, flavored
clotted cream)
七返膏 (七卷作四花，恐是糕子) Seven-folded Cake (folded seven times and
carved with four patterns, might be a pastry)
金鈴炙 (酥攬印脂取真) Golden Bells (pastry made by shaping with butter)
御黃王母飯（徧縷印脂，蓋飯面裝雜味) the Queen Mother’s Imperial Yellow
(cooked grain with a covering of sculpted and imprinted lard)
通花軟牛腸 (胎用羊膏髓) Sausages of Beef Intestines (filled with mutton fat and
marrow)
光明蝦炙 (生蝦則可用) Glistening Shrimp Grill (fresh shrimps should be used)
生進二十四氣餛飩 (花形餡料各異，凡二十四種) Wontons for twenty-four solar
terms, served raw (wontons in twenty-four different shapes and fillings)
生進鴨花湯餅 (廚典入內下湯) Duck Flower Noodle Soup, Served Raw (the chef
would come inside and put the noodles into the soup)
同心生結脯 (先結後風乾) Dried Meat Knots with Solidarity (make knots before
drying)
見風消 (油浴餅) Gone with the Wind (oil-fried Pastry)
金銀夾花平截 (剔蟹細碎卷) Flat Cut Gold and Silver with Flower Fillings (thinly
sliced crab rolls)

50
火燄盞口䭔 (上言花，下言體) Steamed Dumplings in Flame-shaped Container (the
bottom is for consuming while there are carvings at the top)
冷蟾兒羹 (冷蛤蜊) Cold Clam Soup (cold clam)
唐安餤 (鬭花) Pastry of Tang’an (a mix of different patterns)
水晶龍鳳糕 (棗米蒸破，見花乃進) Crystal Cakes with Dragon and Phoenix (steam
the dough made with glutinous flour and dates until popping before serving)
雙拌方破餅 (餅料花角) Square Bread Made with Two Kinds of Pastries (with
carved tips)
玉露團 (雕酥) Jade Dew Cake (with carvings)
漢宮棋 (錢能印花煮) Han Palace Chess (noodles made in the shape of coin before
boiling)
長生粥 (進料) Congee of Longevity (with condiments)
天花饆饠 (九錬香) Heavenly Flower Pie (good flavor with mixed spices)
賜緋含香糉子 (蜜淋) Bestowing Scented Dark Red Rice Dumplings (pour honey
before serving)
甜雪 (蜜爁太例面) Sweet Snow (toasted pastry with honey)
八方寒食餅 (用木範) Octagonal Cold Food Festival Cakes (made with wooden
molds)
素蒸音聲部 (麵蒸象蓬萊仙人，凡七十字) Orchestra and Chorus Members Made
with Steamed Vegetarian Dough (steam pastries made in the shapes of immortals in
Mount Penglai, in a total of seventy)
白龍臛 (治鱖肉) White Dragon Meat Soup (made with mandarin fish)
金粟平䭔 (魚子) Golden Millet Flat Steamed Dumpling (with fish roe)
鳳凰胎 (雜治魚白) Phoenix Eggs (mixing with fish milt)
羊皮花絲 (長及尺) Shredded Lamb Skin with Patterns (strips as long as one chi)
逡巡醬 (魚羊體) Instant Sauce (made with fish and lamb)
乳釀魚 (完進) Fish Fermented in Milk (served in whole)
丁子香淋膾 (醋別) Minced Meat Poured with Cloves (with vinegar on the side)
蔥醋雞 (入籠) Steamed Chicken Paired with Green Onions and Vinegar (served in a
steamer)

51
吳興連帶鲊 (不發缸) Salted Fish from Wuxing (jar not included)
西江料 (蒸彘肩屑) Xijiang Meatballs (steam pulled pork shoulder)75
紅羊枝杖 (蹄上裁一羊得四事) Red Lamb on Branches (cut the lamb in four pieces
from feet)
昇平炙 (治羊鹿舌拌三百數) Roast of Peace (made by mixing three hundred lamb
and deer tongues)
八仙盤 (剔鵝作八副) Plate of the Eight Immortals (debone and cut the goose into
eight pieces)
雪嬰兒 (治蛙豆莢貼) Snow Baby (made by frog meat coated with soybean starch)
仙人臠 (乳淪雞) the Immortal’s Slices (chicken marinated in milk)
小天酥 (鹿雞糝拌) Little Paradise Crisps (mix minced deer and chicken with grain)
分裝蒸臘熊 (存白) Steam Preserved Winter Bear Meat Cuts (keep the fat)
卯羮 (純兔) Rabbit Soup (rabbits only)
青涼臛碎 (封貍肉夾脂) Greenish Cold Minced Meat Soup (preserve leopard cat
meat with fat)
筯頭春 (炙活鶉子) Spring at the Chopstick Tip (grilling alive quails)
暖寒花釀驢蒸 (耿爛) Steamed Donkey Meat with Warm and Cold Flower Wine
(until fully cooked)
水煉犢（炙盡火力) Veal Stew (boil until the firepower exhausts)
五生盤 (羊豕牛熊鹿並細治) Platter of Five Animals (lamb, pork, beef, bear, and
deer)
格食 (羊肉腸臓纏豆莢各別) Mix of Lamb in Grid Boxes (lamb meat and offal
sausages wrapped by bean pods)
過門香 (薄治羣物入沸油烹) Scent Across the Door (prepare several materials in
thin slices and deep fry in boiling oil)
纏花雲夢肉 (卷鎮) Meat as Twining Flower in Cloud and Dream (made in rolls)
紅羅飣 (膋血) Plate of Red Silk (fat and blood)
75 Noted as a specialty of a region west of Guangdong in Slippery Noodles

52
徧地錦裝鼈 (羊脂鴨卵脂副) Turtle on the Floor of Silk (made with lamb fat and
duck egg yolks)
蕃體間縷寶相肝 (盤七升) Liver Cuts in Treasure Floral Medallion (in seven layers)
湯浴繡丸 (肉糜治隱卵花) Handmade Meatballs with Broth (prepared with minced
meat and shredded boiled eggs)

53
Bibliography
Primary Sources:
Datang kaiyuanli 大唐開元禮 [Kaiyuan ritual of the great Tang]. Xiao Song 蕭嵩.
20 vols. Yangzhou 揚州市: Jiangsu Guangling guji keyinshe 江蘇廣陵古籍刻
印社, 1990.
DTKYL. See Datang kaiyuanli.
“Fengshi wenjianji” 封氏聞見記 [Records of things seen and heard by Mr. Feng].
Feng Yan 封演. In Xuehai leibian 學海類編, Vol. 6. Taipei 台北市: Taiwan
wenyuan shujü 台灣文源書局, 1964.
FSWJJ. See “Fengshi wenjianji.”
Jiu tangshu 舊唐書 [Old history of the Tang]. Liu Xu 劉昫. 200 vols. Beijing 北京
市: Zhonghua shujü 中華書局, 1975.
JTS. See Jiu tangshu.
“Kaogongji” 考工記 [Records on the examination of craftsmanship]. In Zhouli 周禮.
Translated by Xu Zhengying 徐正英 et al. Beijing 北京市: Zhonghua shujü 中
華書局, 2022.
Liji yizhu 禮記譯注 [Book of rites]. Translated by Yang Tianyu 楊天宇. Shanghai
上海市: Shanghai guji chubanshe 上海古籍出版社, 2004.
Liji. See Liji yizhu.
“Qingyi lu” 清異錄 [Records of the pure and the unusual]. Tao Gu 陶穀. In
Quansong biji diyibian 全宋筆記第一編, Vol. 2. Zhengzhou 鄭州市:
Daxiang chubanshe 大象出版社, 2003.
Quan tangshi 全唐詩 [Complete Tang poems]. Edited by Peng Dingqiu 彭定求.
900 vols. Shanghai 上海市: Shanghai guji chubanshe 上海古籍出版社,
1986.
QTS. See Quan tangshi.
Sui shu 隋書 [History of the Sui]. Wei Zheng 魏徵. 6 vols. Beijing 北京市:
Zhonghua shujü 中華書局, 1973.

54
Tang huiyao 唐會要 [Important documents of the Tang]. Wang Pu 王溥. 2 vols.
Shanghai 上海市: Shanghai guji chubanshe 上海古籍出版社, 1991.
“Tanyuan” 談苑 [Garden of discussions]. Kong Pingzhong 孔平仲. In Quansong
biji dierbian 全宋筆記第二編, Vol. 5. Zhengzhou 鄭州市: Daxiang
chubanshe 大象出版社, 2006.
Xin tangshu 新唐書 [New history of the Tang]. Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修, and Song Qi
宋祁. 225 vols. Beijing 北京市: Zhonghua shujü 中華書局, 1975.
XTS. See Xin Tangshu.
Yili 儀禮 [Book of etiquette and ceremonial]. Annotated by Zheng Xuan 鄭玄.
Shanghai 上海市: Shanghai guji chubanshe 上海古籍出版社, 2016.
Zizhi tongjian 資治通鑑 [Comprehensive mirror]. Sima Guang 司馬光. 294 vols.
Beijing 北京市: Zhonghua shujü 中華書局, 1956.
ZZTJ. See Zizhi Tongjian.
Secondary Sources:
Anderson, Eugene N. The Food of China. Yale University Press, 1988.
https://www.jstor.org.libproxy2.usc.edu/stable/j.ctt32bq1r.
Benn, Charles D. Daily Life in Traditional China the Tang Dynasty. Westport, Conn:
Greenwood Press, 2002.
Blake, Emma. “The Material Expression of Cult, Ritual, and Feasting.” In The
Archaeology of Mediterranean Prehistory, edited by Emma Blake and A.
Bernard Knapp, 1. Aufl. Vol. 6. Blackwell Studies in Global Archaeology.
Newark: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470773536.
Dietler, Michael, and Brian Hayden. Feasts: Archaeological and Ethnographic
Perspectives on Food, Politics, and Power. 1st ed. Tuscaloosa: The University
of Alabama Press, 2010.
Dietler, Michael. “Feasts and Commensal Politics in the Political Economy: Food,
Power and Status in Prehistoric Europe.” In Food and the Status Quest: An
Interdisciplinary Perspective, edited by Pauline Wilson Wiessner and Wulf
Schiefenhövel, 87–125. Providence: Berghahn Books, 1996.

55
Doran, Rebecca. Transgressive Typologies: Constructions of Gender and Power in
Early Tang China. Harvard University Asia Center, 2020.
https://brill.com/display/title/58600.
Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. Confucianism and Family Rituals in Imperial China: A
Social History of Writing about Rites. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University
Press, 1991. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400862351.
Fan Shuying 范淑英. Xincheng, Fangling, Yongtai Gongzhumu bihua 新城、房陵、
永泰公主墓壁畫 [The wall paintings in Princess Xincheng, Fangling, and
Yongtai’s tombs]. Edited by Li Guozhen 李國珍. Beijing 北京: Wenwu
chubanshe 文物出版社, 2002.
Forte, Antonino. Mingtang and Buddhist Utopias in the History of the Astronomical
Clock: The Tower, Statue and Armillary Sphere Constructed by Empress Wu.
Serie Orientale Roma; v. 59. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo
Oriente, 1988.
Guisso, R. W. L. Wu Tse-T’ien and the Politics of Legitimation in T’ang China.
Studies on East Asia; v. 11. Bellingham, Wash: Western Washington, 1978.
Hansen, Valerie. The Silk Road: A New History. United Kingdom: Oxford University
Press, 2012.
Hinsch, Bret. Women in Early Imperial China. 2nd ed. Asia/Pacific/Perspectives.
Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2011.
Hinsch, Bret. Women in Tang China. Lanham; London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Lin, Hsiang-ju. Slippery Noodles: A Culinary History of China. London: Prospect
Books, 2015.
Mauss, Marcel. The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies.
Translated by Ian Cunnison. London: Cohen & West Ltd, 1966.
Papilloud, Christian. “Marcel Mauss, the Gift and Relational Sociology.” In The
Palgrave Handbook of Relational Sociology, 663–75. Cham: Springer
International Publishing, n.d. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66005-9_33.
Qi Dongfang 齐东方. “Tangmu bihua zhongde jinyinqi tuxiang” 唐墓壁画中的金银
器图像 [Images of gold and silver wares in Tang Dynasty tomb wall
paintings]. Wenbo 文博, no. 6 (1998): 66-69, and 82.
Schafer, Edward H. “Tang.” In Food in Chinese Culture: Anthropological and

56
Historical Perspectives, edited by Kwang-chih Chang, 85–140. New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1977.
———. The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: A Study of T’ang Exotics. 1st ed.
University of California Press, 2023.
Shaanxi History Musuem 陝西歷史博物館, and Shen Qinyan 申秦雁, eds. Shenyun
yu huihuang: Shaanxi Lishi Bowuguan guobao jianshang – Tangmu bihua
juan 神韻與輝煌：陝西歷史博物館國寶鑑賞-唐墓壁畫卷 [Charm and
greatness: appreciating the national treasures in Shaanxi History Museum –
Tang Dynasty tomb wall paintings]. Xi’an 西安市: Sanqin chubanshe 三秦
出版社, 2006.
Shen, Congwen 沈從文. Zhongguo gudai fushi yanjiu 中國古代服飾研究. Beijing 北
京市: Shangwu yinshuguan 商務印書館, 2011.
Skaff, Jonathan Karam. Sui-Tang China and Its Turko-Mongol Neighbors Culture,
Power and Connections, 580-800. 1st ed. Oxford Studies in Early Empires.
New York; Oxford University Press, 2012.
Tan, Chanxue 譚蟬雪. Shenshi yifeng: Dunhuang de minsu 盛世遺風：敦煌的民俗.
Lanzhou 蘭州市: Gansu jiaoyu chubanshe 甘肅教育出版社, 2008.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Lobed Bowl | Sasanian | Sasanian.” Accessed
November 20, 2023.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/327480.
The Sogdians. “Winged Camel Ewer | The Sogdians.” Accessed December 11, 2023.
https://sogdians.si.edu/winged-camel-ewer/.
Tian, Xiaofei. Material and Symbolic Economies: Letters and Gifts in Early Medieval
China. Brill, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004292123_006.
Wang, Yubo 王玉波. “Zhongguo hunli de chansheng yu yanbian”中国婚礼的产生与
演变 [The emergence and change of Chinese weddings]. Lishi yanjiu 历史研
究, no. 4 (1990): 79–94.
Wen, Xin. The King’s Road: Diplomacy and the Remaking of the Silk Road.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2023.
Wechsler, Howard J. Offerings of Jade and Silk: Ritual and Symbol in the
Legitimation of the T’ang Dynasty. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.

57
Xiang Shuyun 向淑雲. Tangdai hunyinfa yu hunyin shitai 唐代婚姻法與婚姻實態
[The marriage law and facts in the Tang Dynasty]. Taipei 台北市: Shangwu
yinshuguan 商務印書館, 1991.
Yao Ping 姚平. Tangdai funü de shengming licheng 唐代婦女的生命歷程 [The life
journey of Tang Dynasty women]. Shanghai 上海: Shanghai guji chubanshe
上海古籍出版社, 2004.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This thesis studies three early Tang Dynasty imperial banquets that are related to powerful women around Wu Zetian’s era, including Wu Zetian’s grand sacrifice in early 689, the Burning Tail banquet held by Wei Juyuan, a political ally of Empress Wei’s, in 709, and Princess Anle’s wedding in early 709. The main contents are divided into three chapters, each studying one of the three grand banquets. Each chapter begins with an introduction focusing on the banquets’ material aspects based on relevant textual sources and visual materials. The banquets’ introduction is followed by an analysis of how the banquets were related to and had political significance for the imperial women of the Tang Dynasty. This paper combines textual and visual evidence to provide helpful information for the audience’s better understanding of the banquets' materiality. Additionally, this paper seeks to contribute another perspective to understanding banquets as a particular political strategy that Tang Dynasty female leaders used to establish their powerful position against the patriarchal system that discouraged women from participating in politics.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Empress Wu of the Tang dynasty: becoming the only female emperor in China

PDF

An exploration of the debate on “nancy boys” in modern China

PDF

Food, hygiene, and modernity of Hangzhou (1927-1937)

PDF

Signals, tools, and commitments in the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute: the role of Japan's domestic political environment in shaping Japanese foreign policy within the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute

PDF

A grain of sand: Yingzao fashi and the miniaturization of Chinese architecture

PDF

The magic mirror: representations of monsters in Chinese classical tales

PDF

In search of new possibilities of self-expression and empowerment in Hallyu 3.0: Gen Z female fans in Japan

PDF

Testimonial emotions: witnessing and feeling the 1990s in South Korean women's literature and film

PDF

Noise & silence: underground music and resistance in the People's Republic of China

PDF

Human smuggling from Fujian to New York

PDF

Silenced no more: examining gender stereotypes in Chinese language and culture

PDF

Three perspectives on the Hōjō: a warrior family in early Medieval Japan

PDF

Gender, family, and Chinese nation: ""leftover women,"" ""foreign f women,"" and ""second wives""

PDF

Buddhist literature and gender in Korea: a preliminary survey and science fictional explorations

PDF

Labors of love: Black women, cultural production, and the romance genre

PDF

Xiao Hong on screen: autobiography, translation, and textual infidelity in her biopics

PDF

Horrific environments: confronting the nonhuman in Korean and Japanese Ecomedia

PDF

Boy's Love in musicals: queerness and fandom in Chinese musicals

PDF

China’s panda diplomacy: the power of being cute

PDF

The Southwest as contested ground in the contemporary Chinese cinematic imagination: xiancheng aesthetics, genre hybrids, and local languages

Asset Metadata

Creator Yang, Xinhui Liane (author)

Core Title Banqueting for power: imperial women and banquets in the Tang Dynasty

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program East Asian Area Studies

Degree Conferral Date 2024-08

Publication Date 07/31/2024

Defense Date 07/30/2024

Publisher Los Angeles, California (original), University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag banquets,medieval China,OAI-PMH Harvest,Politics,Tang dynasty,women

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Advisor Lee, Sonya (committee chair), Birge, Bettine (committee member), Dodd, Lynn (committee member)

Creator Email liane.xh@outlook.com,yangxinh@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113998LN3

Unique identifier UC113998LN3

Identifier etd-YangXinhui-13314.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-YangXinhui-13314

Document Type Thesis

Format theses (aat)

Rights Yang, Xinhui Liane

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20240731-usctheses-batch-1190 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu