Interview

Q- Hello emperor how are you?

A- Very good thanks!

Q- Shall we get started?

A- Indeed.

Q-  Emperor Taizong, what do you think were some popular entertainments during your ruling?
      
A-  Well, that is a very good question, there are many types of entertainment such as ceramics, but one very popular one was poetry.  There were light- hearted poetry contests at festivals, banquets and dinner parties, and they grew to be extremely popular.

Q- How did it feel when only you as emperor, and your sons were allowed to wear yellow robes?

A-  When I became emperor in 618, it felt good to wear a yellow robe because the robe spoke for me.  It showed people that I am in charge, and it shows my state of class.  It also shows that I should be respected, and honored.

Q- What different major food groups were there in your emperor?  How were the different foods categorized?

A- Well, although we had many different kinds of food, we only had a couple of categories.  Many people ate dates, sugared ginger,sea horses, melons, and dried oysters.  Wine was served at dinners in large quantities.  It was all divided into 2 different categories- grains and vegetables.  Grains were basically rice in the south or noodles and dumplings made from wheat in the north.  Vegetables were anything that wasn't grain, fish, fowl, and meat, except oxen because they are considered our valuable work animals.

Q- How important is the city Chang'an?

A- Chang'an was a very popular and major city.  In fact, there was a temple that was built for the worship of Confucius at Chang'an, the site where Loazi was supposedly born.

Q- Emperor Taizong, why didn't you switched to Buddhism, earlier during your rule as emperor?

A- Another good question.  Well, earlier during my rule, I did not support the Buddhist religion, our religion at the time was Daoism, but I did end up supporting Buddhism and switching my religious beliefs, before I died.

      Thankyou very much for your time emperor!