Chapter Eighty-Three: The Great Aristocratic Clans

Blinking once, and suddenly the old hen becomes a duck. He’d never noticed it before; even when watching magic shows with wide-open eyes, it was useless—the vanished objects slipped away right under his gaze. Zhen Qian blinked, and even the surroundings changed: an antique room, maids speaking the language of the Tang dynasty, dressed in ancient robes. Anyone unaware might think they’d stumbled onto a film set.

The three principles for crossing time: if your body isn’t tougher than Rambo’s, don’t travel to an era of chaos; if your life isn’t stronger than a cockroach’s, never reincarnate as a refugee; if you have a thief’s ambition but lack the courage, don’t dream of ruling the universe.

Zhen Qian, unfortunate as ever, found himself in the late flourishing Tang, with only a few years of peace left in sight. It was an age of feudal lords carving out their own territories, of generals usurping power—a world where reason mattered less than the loudest voice. Order, fairness, and righteousness had been tossed away like trash to the heavens, replaced by hunger, war, and slaughter. Today Zhang San beats Li Si, tomorrow Ding San seizes Wang Er’s throne. The flags of warlords flutter and shift in a dizzying storm—there’s no time to mourn, no time to bury loved ones, not even to wipe away the tears before the gates of hell beckon.

There was no retreat now. He could abandon literature for business, abandon business for thievery, but abandoning thievery meant only joining the king of the underworld.

According to the laws of luck, one bad news always follows another, and any good news is usually paired with something bitter. Zhen Qian’s good news: he was still alive. The bad news: chaos was not far away.

Zhen Qian had been in the Tang dynasty for almost a year, and half a year since splitting from the Zhen family estate. For being reborn in the Zhen household, he was reasonably content.

Though the Zhen family lacked the prestige of the “Seven Clans and Five Surnames,” they were still considered a noble and scholarly house in Hengzhou, living lives free from worry, with food and clothing in abundance.

The “Seven Clans and Five Surnames” referred to the Li family of Longxi (today’s southeastern Gansu), Li family of Zhao Commandery (today’s Zhao County in Hebei), Cui family of Boling (today’s Anping, Shen, Raoyang, and Anguo in Hebei), Cui family of Qinghe (today’s Qinghe in Hebei), Lu family of Fanyang (around Baoding and Beijing), Zheng family of Xingyang (today’s Xingyang in Henan), and Wang family of Taiyuan. Both the Li and Cui families had two branches, thus the names “Seven Clans and Five Surnames,” “Five Surnames and Seven Notables,” or “Five Surnames and Seven Houses.”

Xue Yuanchao, a Tang dynasty chancellor, once lamented that one of his three great regrets in life was failing to marry a girl from the “Seven Clans and Five Surnames,” testament to their former glory.

Since the Wei and Jin dynasties, feudal rule had been almost entirely dominated by aristocratic families. The Sui and Tang dynasties depended on the support of the aristocracy of Guanzhong, while the Shandong nobles retained centuries of tradition in scholarship and governance, thus maintaining privileged status politically and socially.

Emperors from the Sui and Tang sought to destroy the aristocracy, but these Shandong families—surviving hundreds of years—remained highly influential. As they had contributed to the founding of the dynasty, the rulers employed gentle reforms to gradually weaken and exclude them.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui, the nine-rank system for officials was abolished and replaced with the imperial examination, aiming to select talent and dismantle aristocratic appointment systems. Unfortunately, the Sui dynasty was short-lived, and the exam system was undeveloped at the start of the Tang.

Emperor Taizong instructed ministers to rank the nobility, revising the “Record of Aristocratic Families.” The royal clan was placed first, followed by the Empress’s maternal relatives, and the renowned Shandong Cui family was relegated to third.

Empress Wu, in her struggle against the royal family and ministers, elevated the status of the Jinshi (presented scholar) exam, gradually perfecting the examination system.

Aristocratic politics in history sprouted in the mid-Eastern Han and ended in the late Tang. Thus, many believe that from the Eastern Han through the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern dynasties, to the Sui and Tang, the decline of land-holding privileges and the nine-rank appointment system led to the weakening and extinction of aristocratic rule. This is a grave misunderstanding. In fact, the feudal aristocracy flourished most brightly in two periods: the Jin and Northern dynasties, and the Tang.

In the Tang, especially the mid-to-late period, aristocratic politics did not fade but instead shone anew—far from a mere last flicker.

The concept of “Seven Clans and Five Surnames” became widespread during the Tang, causing the aristocracy established since the Wei and Jin to rise again, especially from mid-Tang onward. The sense of noble lineage grew stronger, and the divide between noble and commoner remained deep. The “Five Surnames and Seven Houses,” proud of their lineage, refused to marry outside their ranks, maintaining their noble blood. Following Northern Wei tradition, the Cui of Qinghe married the Li of Longxi and Lu of Fanyang; the Li of Zhao Commandery married the Cui of Boling; the Lu of Fanyang married the Zheng of Xingyang; the Li of Longxi married the Lu of Fanyang, all refusing to wed lesser families.

Thus, Xue Yuanchao, a prominent Tang chancellor, sighed, “My lifelong regret is never marrying a girl of the Five Surnames!” Though the Xue family was among the “Four Surnames of Guanzhong”—Wei, Pei, Liu, and Xue—they still looked up to the “Five Surnames and Seven Houses,” revealing their immense influence. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the arrogance of noble families became unbearable: “The Shandong families of Cui, Lu, Li, and Zheng, though declining over generations, still pride themselves on their old lands and call themselves gentry. When marrying daughters to other families, they demand great gifts, valuing quantity, striking deals like merchants—corrupting customs and breaking rites. The imbalance must be reformed.” Taizong repeatedly questioned with confusion and anger, “I really don’t understand why the four Shandong families boast, nor why the world values them so highly!” He ordered ministers to revise the “Record of Aristocratic Families,” but the compilers ignored the royal house and ranked the Cui family of Boling first. With Taizong’s intervention, the record elevated the royal clan and suppressed the Shandong nobles, though this achieved little in practice.

In the prime Tang era, the “Seven Clans and Five Surnames” held no absolute advantage at court—their power and influence had waned.

There were several reasons: first, the Guanzhong military group that founded the Tang still held great sway, while the Shandong aristocracy was weakened by early turmoil and had little say in court. Second, the emperors deliberately suppressed them; during Li Shimin and Empress Wu’s reigns, they were wary of aristocratic influence, and harsh officials often persecuted noble families. Third, the widespread imperial examination brought commoners to court, while the “Seven Clans and Five Surnames” entered office due to their heritage, resisting and failing to adapt to the new exam-based system. Fourth, resentment from powerful ministers of humble origin (such as Xü Jingzong and Li Yifu under Empress Wu).

Yet after the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang government was rebuilt, and the “Seven Clans and Five Surnames” rose again through the examination system. For example, the Zheng family of Xingyang, rarely producing chancellors in the prime Tang, saw over ten chancellors and ministers from mid-Tang onward, earning the nickname “Zheng Half the Court.” The Cui family of Qinghe produced ten chancellors in the Tang, with only two before the rebellion, but eight afterwards. Their resurgence was closely tied to mastery of the exam system; their strong family tradition and scholarly background gave them a distinct advantage. The Lu family of Fanyang had over a hundred Jinshi graduates from mid-Tang onward—a remarkable feat.

One must know that the Jinshi exam in the Tang was the hardest, with very few admitted; such numbers from the Lu family reveal the power of heritage and learning. Yet some noble families remained disdainful of the exam system, clinging to old aristocratic ideals; for example, Zhao Commandery’s Li Deyu and Xingyang’s Zheng Tan, both chancellors who entered office by heritage, scorned the exams and even suggested abolishing them.

In the chaos of the late Tang, during the Huang Chao Rebellion, many nobles perished, their prosperous homes and estates destroyed, and the genealogy books of the proud northern aristocracy were lost. The aristocracy declined, becoming indistinguishable from commoners, their status replaced by the landlord gentry class.

(This chapter describes the influence and survival of the “Seven Clans and Five Surnames” in the Tang dynasty. Unwilling to accept the decline of their political status, these families secretly nurtured their own spokesmen, planting the seeds for the unfolding of the story!)