| Background | | | | Chinese opera is generally dated back to the Tang |
| A jade-carved dragon, Tang Dynasty, Shanghai | | | | Dynasty with Emperor Xuanzong (712-755), who |
| Museum | | | | founded the "Pear Garden" (), the first known opera |
| The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (today's | | | | troupe in China. The troupe mostly performed for the |
| Xi'an), the most populous city in the world at the time, is | | | | emperors' personal pleasure. |
| regarded by historians as a high point in Chinese | | | | Poetry |
| civilizationqual, or even superior, to the Han period. The | | | | During the Tang Dynasty, the shi, the classical form of |
| Tang period was considered the golden age of | | | | poetry which had develop in the late Han dynasty, |
| literature and art. | | | | reached its zenith. |
| Stimulated by contact with India and the Middle East, | | | | Tang Dynasty artists include |
| the empire saw a flowering of creativity in many fields. | | | | A ceramic female polo player, from northern China, |
| Buddhism, originating in India around the time of | | | | Tang Dynasty, first half of the 8th century, made with |
| Confucius, continued to flourish during the Tang period | | | | white slip and polychrome. From the Muse Guimet |
| and was adopted by the imperial family, becoming | | | | (Guimet Museum), Paris. |
| thoroughly sinicized and a permanent part of Chinese | | | | Bai Juyi (772-846), poet |
| traditional culture. Block printing made the written word | | | | Zhou Fang (730-800), painter, also known as Zhou Jing |
| available to vastly greater audiences. | | | | Xuan and Zhong Lang |
| Painting | | | | Cui Hao, poet |
| Main article: Tang Dynasty painting | | | | Han Gan (718-780), painter |
| Tang-era painting from Dunhuang | | | | Zhang Xuan (713-755), painter |
| The Nine Pinnacle Pagoda of Shandong, completed by | | | | Du Fu (712-770), poet |
| 756 and crowned with an unusual set of miniature | | | | Li Bai (701-762), poet |
| pagodas; it is also unique for its octagonal base, which | | | | Meng Haoran (689 or 691-740), poet |
| was rarely seen in Tang pagodas which often had | | | | Wang Wei (698-759), poet, musician, painter |
| square base plans | | | | Wu Tao-Tzu (680-740), famous for the myth of |
| Beginning in the Tang Dynasty, the primary subject | | | | entering an art work |
| matter of Chinese painting was the landscape, known | | | | Zhang Jiuling (678-740), poet |
| as shanshui (mountain-water) painting. In these | | | | Gallery |
| landscapes, usually monochromatic and sparse, the | | | | A rounded ceramic plate with "three colors" glaze and |
| purpose was not to reproduce exactly the | | | | floral design, 8th to 9th century. |
| appearance of nature but rather to grasp an emotion | | | | A rounded ceramic plate with "three colors" glaze, 8th |
| or atmosphere so as to catch the "rhythm" of nature. | | | | century. |
| Music | | | | A ceramic offering plate with "three colors" glaze, |
| The first major well-documented flowering of Chinese | | | | decorated with a bird and trees, 8th century. |
| music was for the qin during the Tang Dynasty, though | | | | A ceramic offering plate with six eaves and "three |
| the qin is known to have been played since before the | | | | colors" glaze, 8th century. |
| Han Dynasty.it was also 2/3 of culture besides the | | | | A gilded bronze Avalokitesvara statuette, late 7th or |
| emperior gods. | | | | early 8th century |
| Late 20th century excavations of an intact tomb of | | | | Three of eight terracotta lady musicians on horseback, |
| the period revealed not only a number of instruments | | | | early 8th century |
| (including a spectacular concert bell set) but also | | | | Tang court ladies, 706 AD, Qianling Mausoleum |
| inscribed tablets with playing instructions and musical | | | | Seated Mahayana Buddha statue |
| scores for ensemble concerts, which are now heard | | | | Tang Dynasty bronze mirror with dragon |
| again as played on reproduction instruments at the | | | | Ladies dancing, 7th century |
| Hubei Provincial Museum. | | | | A figurine of a plump Tang woman |
| Opera | | | | Earthenware statue of a foreigner with a wineskin, c. |