Chinese Art: Notes on the tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty (618 - 907)

Many Historians consider the Tang dynasty second only to the Han in importance. In the first half of the dynasty the empire expanded and China had one of it's great artistic periods. The Tang pushed beyond the Tarim Basin into Turkestan and occupied the Ferghana Valley. We can see the influence of this expansion in the funeral statuary of the Tang circa 700. Camels, Central Asians and Jewish peddlers are among the art found in the tombs of the Tang. This artistic expansion and Imperial expansion extended until 751 AD when the Chinese lost to Arab Moslems at the Battle of Talas. This was a crucial battle because it caused the Chinese to pull back from their westward advance. The loss of the outermost provinces weakened the Tang emperor Xuanzong. This brought on the Rebellion of An Lu-shan which brought the Chinese borders back to the Great Wall and caused a gradual decline of Imperial power that lasted for 150 years. Even though the Arabs never pushed into the Tarim Basin the vacuum of power allowed the establishment of an Uigher Khanate in the Tarim Basin and a series of Persian and Turkish kingdoms to emerge in Turkestan.