Tang Dynasty ~ Was It a Golden Age in China?

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The Tang Dynasty ~ A Golden Age Of Chinese Culture & Civilisation!

The Tang Dynasty was a watershed in China's historical and cultural development. At this stage in history, this was to be the most powerful ruling government on the face of the earth.

The first codified legal system was created in 624 CE. A system of examinations based on Confucianism was implemented to select the best candidates for civil service, and was so effective it continued until the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 CE. Buddhism came to China during this period and the arts flourished; in particular, calligraphy, dance, literature, music, painting, pottery and sculpture. Many famous Chinese poets came from this era, and the costumes and fluid motion of the women dancers are emulated to this day.


Tang Taizong: Public Domain

Read About The Tang Dynasty on Wikipedia! 

Read what the online reference source says...


The Tang Dynasty (pinyin: Táng Cháo) (June 18, 618 to June 4, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 16, 690 to March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese empress regnant, ruling in her own right....

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Tang Dynasty Emperors ~ a Timeline! 

Historical Timeline from 618 to 690 CE!

The Tang Dynasty was from June 18, 618 to June 4, 907 CE. Here's a list of the reigning emperors:

1st Emperor - Tang Gao Zu (Li Yuan) ~ [618 to 626 CE]

2nd Emperor - Tang Taizong (Li Shimin) ~ [627 to 649 CE]

3rd Emperor - Tang Gaozong (Li Zhi) ~ [650 to 683 CE]

4th Emperor - Tang Zhongzong (Li Xian) ~ [684 CE, 705 to 710 CE]

5th Emperor - Tang Ruizong (Li Dan) ~ [684 to 690 CE, 710 to 712 CE]

Interrupted by the Zhou Dynasty! 

Empress Wu Zetian (690 to 705 CE)!

Wu Zetian (personal name Wu Zhao, often referred to as Tian Hou and Empress Consort Wu) [690 to 705 CE]: An amorous woman of Tang Dynasty, originally the concubine to the 2nd emperor, Taizong, and then to the 3rd, Gaozong. While not a Tang Dynasty ruler, Wu Zetian was an important figure influencing government from behind the scenes for many years. She finally came into power in her own right, becoming China's only ruling Empress. Famous for her Machiavellian court intrigue, she murdered her sons (Li Hong and Li Xian) and her baby daughter for political gain.

Image: Public Domain

Tang Dynasty Emperors ~ a Timeline (cont)... 

7th Emperor - Tang Shangdi (Li Chongmao) ~ [710 CE]

8th Emperor - Tang Xuanzong/Hsüan-tsung (Li Longji) ~ [712 to 756 CE]

9th Emperor - Tang Suzong (Li Heng) ~ [756 to 762 CE]

10th Emperor - Tang Daizong (Li Yu) ~ [762 to 779 CE]

11th Emperor - Tang Dezong (Li Shi) ~ [780 to 805 CE]

12th Emperor - Tang Shunzong (Li Song) ~ [805 CE]

13th Emperor - Tang Xianzong (Li Chun) ~ [806 to 820 CE]

14th Emperor - Tang Muzong (Li Heng) ~ [821 to 824 CE]

15th Emperor - Tang Jingzong (Li Zhan) ~ [824 to 826 CE]

16th Emperor - Tang Wenzong (Li Ang) ~ [826 to 840 CE]

17th Emperor - Tang Wuzong (Li Yan) ~ [840 to 846 CE]

18th Emperor - Tang Xuanzong (Li Chen) ~ [846 to 859 CE]

19th Emperor - Tang Yizong (Li Cui) ~ [859 to 873 CE]

20th Emperor - Tang Xizon (Li Xuan) ~ [873 to 888 CE]

21st Emperor - Tang Zhaozong (Li Ye) ~ [888 to 904 CE]

22nd Emperor - Tang Aidi (Li Zhu) ~ [904 to 907 CE]

Tang Dynasty Images on Flickr! 

Just a few of the many Tang Dynasty images available...

Man Taming Horse - Tang Dynasty Figurines! by drs2biz

Man Taming Horse - Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty Square by avlxyz

Tang Dynasty Square

Da Ci'en Temple by kevinpoh

Da Ci'en Temple

Tang Dynasty, Urbana, IL 2 by matizi

Tang Dynasty, Urbana

Tang Dynasty Tomb Guardian by Forever Wiser

Tang Dynasty Tomb Guardian

wood Tang dynasty by Art Poskanzer

Wood Tang Dynasty

Dancing Horse by ellenm1

Dancing Horse Tang Dynasty

Devotion by B_cool

Qingyang Palace(Grey Goat Palace), located in the west suburbs of Chengdu, is a ...

DSC_0038 by raisin bun

Tang Dynasty poem...

唐 by xiaojiecha

Tang Dynasty 618 - 907

Big Wild Goose Pagoda Architecture by kevinpoh

Big Wild Goose Pagoda Tang Dynasty.

Central Pagoda by nekonoir

Central Pagoda Tang Dynasty

curated content from Flickr

Buddhism Flourished In The Tang Dynasty! 

... but was suppressed in 845 CE!

drs2biz / CC BY-ND 2.0

Although Buddhism probably came to China during the reign Of Qin Shi Huang Di during the Qin Dynasty (227 to 206 BCE), it became extremely popular during the T'ang Dynasty. Many Buddhist masters were existent, and huge icons including the Grand Buddha of Leshan (image above) were created.

Tang Dynasty News Found By Google! 

Hu Jun shuttles back to Tang Dynasty
A couple of robbers from the Tang dynasty are on the front lines of an army that is invading the new-year film market. The film "Robbers"marks actor Hu ...
Oil Painting Exhibition, Competition Comes to Salmagundi
Salmagundi Club will be hosting New Tang Dynasty Television's figure painting competition next week. Beginning Sunday, the Fifth Ave. gallery will feature ...
Chinese Lacquer, Old, Yet 'New'
By the time of the Tang dynasty, however, from the early seventh to the early 10th century, artisans were embellishing their work with shells or gold foil ...
The musician and his bar
As part of the rock wave in the 1980s and 1990s in China that produced gods of Chinese rock like Cui Jian, and the bands Black Leopard and Tang Dynasty, ...

Meet The Tang Dynasty Dead Poets Society! 

A collection of porcelain statues in Liuhou Park, Liuzhou!

drs2biz / CC BY-ND 2.0

"As many a dynasty in Chinese history is marked by some phase of success representing the thought and life of that period, the T'ang Dynasty is commonly recognised as the golden age of poetry. Beginning with the founder of the dynasty, down to the last ruler, almost every one of the emperors was a great lover and patron of poetry, and many were poets themselves. A special tribute should be paid to the Empress Wu Zhao or the "Woman Emperor" (690-705 CE), through whose influence poetry became a requisite in examinations for degrees and an important course leading to official promotion. This made every official as well as every scholar a poet. The poems required in the examination, after long years of gradual development, followed a formula, and many regulations were established. Not only must the length of a line be limited to a certain number of the characters, usually five or seven, but also the length of a poem was limited to a certain number of lines, usually four or eight or twelve. The maintenance of rhymes, the parallelism of characters, and the balance of tones were other rules considered essential. This is called "modern" or "ruled" poetry."

... "300 poems of the T'ang Dynasty 618-906", introduced by Dr. Kiang Kang-hu

Legend of Tang Poet Statues in Image Above:

LHS (front) Li Bai (701 to 762 CE)... called the Poet Immortal, and is often regarded, along with Du Fu, as one of the two greatest poets in China's literary history. He is best known for the extravagant imagination and striking Taoist imagery in his poetry, as well as for his great love for liquor.
LHS (2nd) Du Fu (712 to 770 CE)... has been called Poet-Historian and the Poet-Sage by Chinese critics, while the range of his work has allowed him to be introduced to Western readers as "the Chinese Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Shakespeare, Milton, Burns, Wordsworth, Béranger, Hugo or Baudelaire."
LHS (3rd) Bai Ju Yi (772 to 864 CE)... poems are not cheerful, and were themed around his responsibilities as a governor of several small provinces to sympathise with his people. He is renowned in Japan as well, where he is called Hakurakuten.
LHS (4th) Zhang Ji (~766 to 830 CE)... was a notable officer under Wei. At one time, Zhang Ji greatly helped defend Chang An along with Xiahou Yuan. According to the records of history, Zhang Ji later became the protector Yong and then later Liang. Zhang Ji earned quite a bit of merit for his administration.
LHS (5th) Yuan Zhen (779 to 831 CE)... an important Chinese writer in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. He lived in Luoyang and briefly held ministerial rank. He was member of Po Chu-i's literary circle and was a key figure in the ancient literature revival
LHS (6th) Xue Tao (~768 to 831 CE)... was well respected as a poet. A story about her childhood, perhaps apocryphal, suggests that she was able to write complex poems by the age of seven or eight. She may have gained some literary education from her father, but he died before she had come to marriageable age and she ended up being a very successful courtesan (one of the few paths for women in Tang Dynasty China in which conversation and artistic talent were encouraged). She is often considered (with Yu Xuanji) to be one of the two finest female poets of the Tang Dynasty.
LHS (7th) Wang Wei (701 to 761 CE).
LHS (8th) Li Heb (790 to 816 CE).
LHS (9th) Du Mu (803 to 852 CE).

RHS (front) Liu Zong Yuan (773 to 819 CE).
RHS (2nd) Han Yu (768 to 824 CE).
RHS (3rd) Liu Yu Xi (772 to 842 CE).
RHS (4th) Wang Zhi Huan (688 to 742 CE).
RHS (5th) Wang Bo (649 to 676 CE).
RHS (6th) Luo Bin Wang (640 to 684 CE).
RHS (7th) Gao Shi (702 to 765 CE).
RHS (8th) Cen Shen (715 to 770 CE).
RHS (9th) Cui Hao (704 to 754 CE).

Three Hundred Poems of the T'ang Dynasty! 

The Jade Mountain Being Three Hundred Poems of the T'Ang Dynasty, 618-906

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Tang Dynasty Blog Posts From Google! 

Read what's being written in the "Blogosphere"!

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The Tang Dynasty Created Dancing Beauties! 

jeremybarwick / CC BY 2.0

During the Tang dynasty, one of the most important cultural events took place, the foundation of the academy for dance and music. The emperors of the Tang dynasty began to look for good dancers and brought them into the royal gardens to perform. Three institutions of art were built ~ "The Imperial Academy", "T'ai-ch'ang" Temple and "The Pear Garden Academy".

The last one was built by the emperor "Hsuan Tsung", inside the royalty gardens. Thus was instituted the first professional group of dance and music in China. This group evolved into the "Peking Opera" and the participants were called 'the sons of the pear garden'. These dancers made up the 'Ten Movements Music "dance"' and created a new code of performance. This new method is now known as the "Classic Dance" and helped choreographers to create the first dance performances.

Tang Dynasty Books on Amazon! 

China's Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty

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China's Cosmopolitan Empire: The Tang Dynasty (History of Imperial China)

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Women of the Tang Dynasty

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T'ang China: The Rise of the East in World History

Release Date: 10/07/2004

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Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty (The Greenwood Press "Daily Life Through History" Series)

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by drs2biz

I'm an English Teacher situated in Haikou, Hainan Province of the People's Republic of China, interested in photography, museums and dining out with f... (more)

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