Social Reasons for and Influence of Imperial Edict of Marriage Encouragement

Imperial Edict of Marriage Encouragement, the first law of marriage promulgated by LI Shi-min after his ascension to the throne, embodied the overall guiding ideology for marriage and social development of the Tang Dynasty. Socio-economic depression and marked dropping in population caused by the war at the end of Sui Dynasty and in the early Tang Dynasty were the main social reasons for such an imperial edict, whose execution and implementation had exerted far-reaching influence on its social stability, economy and customs.