"The Tang Dynasty's class structure has already become severely entrenched. Whether at court or in the provinces, almost everything is controlled by the aristocratic clans. That means we cannot act, because any move we make will be a mistake."
"After all, everyone belongs to the other side. Right now, all the clans have just one goal: to make ministerial authority overpower imperial authority."
"No matter how good a policy is, the people implementing it below are still clan members. Even the so-called Imperial Examination is useless, because the people administering it also belong to the clans. The clans still decide who rises and who falls."
"The finest knowledge is all held in the clans' hands. Scholars from the lower classes have no chance of entering court unless they join a clan. Even if Your Majesty promotes one or two people, it will accomplish nothing. Those people might even be won over by the aristocratic clans."
"If things are like this at the top, they are even worse at the bottom."
"Land ownership is even more untouchable, and so are the people concealed from the population registers. If you touch either, the clans will mobilize public opinion and make Your Majesty lose the people's support entirely. After all, Your Majesty's edicts cannot possibly reach the common people at the bottom."
"Even the people who control the armies actually belong to the major clans. So the more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make."
"That is why we must employ Huang-Lao Philosophy and govern through non-action."
"As long as we remain still, the aristocratic clans will not keep their eyes on us. Instead, they will begin fighting one another, because they can only strengthen their own clans by defeating others. This is an