1. Timothy Melton
Tang Dynasty Research Paper Citations
Source: "Imperial Era: II." University of Maryland: The Imperial Era. netTrekker, Web. 1 Dec. 2010.
<http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/imperial2.html>.
The Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907), with its capital at Chang'an, is regarded by historians as a high point
in Chinese civilization--equal, or even superior, to the Han period. Its territory, acquired through the
military exploits of its early rulers, was greater than that of the Han. Stimulated by contact with India
and the Middle East, the empire saw a flowering of creativity in many fields. Buddhism, originating in
India around the time of Confucius, flourished during the Tang period, becoming thoroughly sinicized*
and a permanent part of Chinese traditional culture. Block printing was invented, making the written
word available to vastly greater audiences. The Tang period was the golden age of literature and art. A
government system supported by a large class of Confucian literati selected through civil service
examinations was perfected under Tang rule. This competitive procedure was designed to draw the best
talents into government. But perhaps an even greater consideration for the Tang rulers, aware that
imperial dependence on powerful aristocratic families and warlords would have destabilizing
consequences, was to create a body of career officials having no autonomous territorial or functional
power base. As it turned out, these scholar-officials acquired status in their local communities, family
ties, and shared values that connected them to the imperial court. From Tang times until the closing
days of the Qing empire in 1911, scholar-officials functioned often as intermediaries between the grass-
roots level and the government.
*sinicized- has become Chinese in character or has come under Chinese influence.
Document 1
Source: Barrosse, Emily, Jerry H. Bentley, and Herbert F. Ziegler, eds. Traditions and Encounters: A
Global Perspective on the Past. Third Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print.
“Apart from the Grand Canal, which served as the principal route for long-distance transportation
within China, Tang rulers maintained an extensive communications network based on roads, horses, and
sometimes human runners. Along the main routes, Tang officials maintained inns, postal stations, and
stables, which provided rest and refreshment for travelers, couriers, and their mounts...”
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2. Timothy Melton
Source: Hardy, Grant. "Tang dynasty." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2010. Web. 8 Dec. 2010.
Taizong* was a powerful leader. He destroyed his competitors for the throne, began an alliance with the
Korean state of Silla, and forced Turkish nomads out of Northern China. His armies conquered parts of
Tibet and Turkestan, opening overland trade routes from China to India and central Asia. The trade
routes not only brought great wealth to the empire, but they also promoted religious and cultural
exchange. The routes gave Christian and other foreign missionaries an overland entrance into China and
allowed Chinese Buddhist pilgrims to visit India.
*Tang Taizong - He was the second Tang emperor; he ruled Tang China during it’s high point
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Source: SILKMAP3. The Silk Road: Linking Europe and Asia Through Trade. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. <http://
library.thinkquest.org/13406/images/SILKMAP3.JPG>.
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3. Timothy Melton
Source: Haw, Stephen G. A Traveller's History of China. Third ed. Brooklyn, NY: Interlink Books,
Inc., 1999. Print.
“All the major inventions of the pre-modern world-paper, printing, gunpowder, and the compass-
were known and used by the Chinese.... China was undoubtedly the most advanced nation in the
world at the time, attaining a level which Europeans would have found hard to believe.”
Anonymous China Scholar
Document 5
Source: Major, John S. "China: History of Dress." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Ed.
Valerie Steele. Vol. 1. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 260-266. Gale Virtual Reference
Library. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.
“Under the Tang, trade along the Silk Route between China via Central Asia to the Mediterranean
world flourished, and influence from Persian and Turkic culture areas had a strong impact on elite
fashions in China. Chinese silk textiles of the Tang period show strong foreign influence,
particularly in the use of roundel patterns.
Document 6
Source: Major, John S. "China: History of Dress." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Ed.
Valerie Steele. Vol. 1. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 260-266. Gale Virtual Reference
Library. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.
“The Tang Dynasty was an aristocratic society in which military prowess and good horsemanship
were admired as male accomplishments. Depictions of foot soldiers and cavalrymen in scale
armor and heavily padded jackets, and officers in elaborate breastplates and surcoats, are common
in Tang sculptural and pictorial art.”
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4. Timothy Melton
Source: Barrosse, Emily, Jerry H. Bentley, and Herbert F. Ziegler, eds. Traditions and Encounters:
A Global Perspective on the Past. Third Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print.
“Soon after its foundation the powerful and dynamic Tang state began to flex its military muscles. In
the north, Tang forces brought Manchuria under imperial authority and forced the Silla kingdom in
Korea to acknowledge the Tang emperor as overlord. To the south, Tang armies conquered the
northern part of Vietnam. To the west they extended Tang authority as far as the Aral Sea and
brought a portion of the high plateau of Tibet under Tang control. Territorially, the Tang empire
ranks among the largest in Chinese history.”
Source: Tang dynasty: ceramic tomb figure. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School
Edition. Web. 9 Dec. 2010. <http://www.school.eb.com/eb/art-35459>.
Ceramic tomb figure decorated in characteristic coloured glazes, Tang dynasty (618–907); in the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Height 71 cm.
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5. Timothy Melton
Document 9
Buddha Vairocana (Dari) [China] (43.24.3)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/43.24.3
(September 2010)
Buddha Vairocana (Dari), Tang dynasty (618–906), early 8th century China. It was made of gilt
leaded bronze, and lost-wax cast.
Document 10