Tang

The Tang was one of the most open and brilliant dynasties of old China. From Taizong's reign of good order, through China's only woman emperor Wu Zetian, to the splendour of Kaiyuan, Chang'an was the greatest city on earth.

Xuanzang walked to India for scriptures; Princess Wencheng married into Tibet; Jianzhen sailed for Japan. The poems of Li Bai, Du Fu, and Bai Juyi are recited to this day; Tang tricolour pottery and the Dunhuang murals keep the colours of that age.

The An Lushan rebellion turned splendour to decline; regional armies and palace eunuchs then ate away at the court. In 907 Zhu Wen usurped the throne, and the golden age of poetry closed.