China’s Cosmopolitan Empire: The Tang Dynasty 3

The Tang dynasty is often called China’s “golden age,” a period of commercial, religious, and cultural connections from Korea and Japan to the Persian Gulf, and a time of unsurpassed literary creativity. Mark Lewis captures a dynamic era in which the empire reached its greatest geographical extent under Chinese rule, painting and ceramic arts flourished, women played a major role both as rulers and in the economy, and China produced its finest lyric poets in Wang Wei, Li Bo, and Du Fu. The Chinese engaged in extensive trade on sea and land. Merchants from Inner Asia settled in the capital, while Chinese entrepreneurs set off for the wider world, the beginning of a global diaspora. The emergence of an economically and culturally dominant south that was controlled from a northern capital set a pattern for the rest of Chinese imperial history. Poems celebrated the glories of the capital, meditated on individual loneliness in its midst, and described heroic young men and beautiful women who filled city streets and bars. Despite the romantic aura attached to the Tang, it was not a time of unending peace. In 756, General An Lushan led a revolt that shook the country to its core, weakening the government to such a degree that by the early tenth century, regional warlordism gripped many areas, heralding the decline of the Great Tang. This six-volume series traces the history of imperial China from the beginnings of unification under the Qin emperor in the third century BCE to the end of the Qing dynasty in the early twentieth century. Each book covers a broad range of topics at a concise length and is grounded in the latest scholarship. This is an essential series for everyone interested in Chinese history and culture. The Tang dynasty is often called China's 'golden age', a period of commercial, religious, and cultural connections from Korea and Japan to the Persian Gulf, and a time of unsurpassed literary creativity. Mark Lewis captures a dynamic era in which the empire reached its greatest geographical extent under Chinese rule, painting and ceramic arts flourished, women played a major role both as rulers and in the economy, and China produced its finest lyric poets in Wang Wei, Li Bo, and Du Fu. The Chinese engaged in extensive trade on sea and land. Merchants from Inner Asia settled in the capital, while Chinese entrepreneurs set off for the wider world, the beginning of a global diaspora. The emergence of an economically and culturally dominant south that was controlled from a northern capital set a pattern for the rest of Chinese imperial history. Poems celebrated the glories of the capital, meditated on individual loneliness in its midst, and described heroic young men and beautiful women who filled city streets and bars. Despite the romantic aura attached to the Tang, it was not a time of unending peace. In 756, General An Lushan led a revolt that shook the country to its core, weakening the government to such a degree that by the early tenth century, regional war-lordism gripped many areas, heralding the decline of the Great Tang Cover Contents Maps Figures China's Cosmopolitan Empire Introduction 1. The Geography of Empire China’s Ancient Heartland, Guanzhong The Northeast, the Central Plain, and Sichuan The South Water Transportation The “Inner” and “Outer” Realms 2. From Foundation to Rebellion Consolidating the Tang Empire Emperor Xuanzong’s Reign and An Lushan’s Rebellion The Tang Military System China’s Medieval “Aristocracy” The Tang Legal Code Land Ownership and Taxation 3. Warlords and Monopolists Regional versus Central Power Factionalism Varieties of Regional Power Military Regionalism and New Political Roles Fiscal Regionalism and New Political Roles 4. Urban Life The Layout of Chang’an and Luoyang The Pleasure Quarters of Chang’an A Passion for Flowers The Commercialization of Tang Cities Taxes and Currency 5. Rural Society New Patterns of Landholding Agricultural Technology Long-Distance Trade and Commercialization Tea and Sugar 6. The Outer World The Tang Ruler as Heavenly Qaghan The Emergence of East Asia The Reconfiguration of International Trade Foreigners in Tang China Buddhists as Foreigners 7. Kinship Women in Tang Families Changes in the Ancestral Cult The Great Families of the Tang The End of the Great Families 8. Religion Daoism in the Tang Daoist Nuns and Priestesses The Emergence of a Chinese Buddhism Confucian Ritual in State and Local Cults Rereading the Confucian Canon Printing 9. Writing Location and Lyric in Early Tang Poetry High Tang Poetry’s Reassimilation of the Past The Changing Image of the Poet Romantic Fictions Critical Essays Conclusion Indexes Dates and Dynasties Pronunciation Guide Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments Index The Tang dynasty is often called China's "golden age," a period of commercial, religious, and cultural connections from Korea and Japan to the Persian Gulf, and a time of unsurpassed literary creativity. The author captures a dynamic era in which the empire reached its greatest geographical extent under Chinese rule, painting and ceramic arts flourished, women played a major role both as rulers and in the economy, and China produced its finest lyric poets in Wang Wei, Li Bo, and Du Fu. The Chinese engaged in extensive trade on sea and land. Merchants from Inner Asia settled in the capital, while Chinese entrepreneurs set off for the wider world, the beginning of a global diaspora. The emergence of an economically and culturally dominant south that was controlled from a northern capital set a pattern for the rest of Chinese imperial history. Poems celebrated the glories of the capital, meditated on individual loneliness in its midst, and described heroic young men and beautiful women who filled city streets and bars. Despite the romantic aura attached to the Tang, it was not a time of unending peace. In 756, General An Lushan led a revolt that shook the country to it's core, weakening the government to such a degree that by the early tenth century, regional warlordism gripped many areas, heralding the decline of the Great Tang