Two Issues About Research on Edicts of the Heavenly Emperor

Edicts of the Heavenly Emperor was compiled by means of decrees and edicts in Tang Dynasty as the chief source and in accordance with the new system.Although many provisions were revised,yet it was far from the sum total of the laws in effect at that time.In addition,there were other codes that were equally valid,such as compiled orders of pardon or amnesty and those attached to them.Edicts of the Heavenly Emperor is considerably different from Edicts of Qing Yuan in that the former reflects the various social relations after the social changes during the period from the late Tang Dynasty to the early North Song Dynasty,while the latter reflects the social relations which existed from late North Song Dynasty to South Song Dynasty.Following the reign of the Heavenly Emperor,plenty of great changes were still taking place in society during Song Dynasty.