Tang Dynasty

Tang 唐
← 618–907 ↓
China under the Tang Dynasty (teal) circa 663 AD
Capital	Chang'an (618–904) Luoyang (904–907)
Language(s)	Chinese
Religion	Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion
Government	Monarchy
History
- Li Yuan takes over the throne of the Sui Dynasty	June 18, 618 618
- disestablished by Wu Zetian	October 16, 690
- Re-established	March 3, 705
- Zhu Quanzhong usurps authority; the end of Tang rule	June 4, 907 907
Population
- 7th century est.	50,000,000
- 9th century est.	80,000,000
Currency	Chinese coin, Chinese cash
Preceded by Succeeded by Sui Dynasty Later Liang Dynasty Later Tang Dynasty Wu (Ten Kingdoms) Wuyue Chu (Ten Kingdoms) Former Shu Qi (Ten Kingdoms)
The Tang Dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 16, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne.

Map of China during the Tang Dynasty. In yellow are the territories of China and the area of vassals and allies are in dark yellow.

The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; Pinyin: Táng Cháo) (18 June 618 – 4 June 907) was an imperial dynasty of China that came after the Sui Dynasty and was followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who came to power during the fall of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted for a short time by the Zhou Dynasty (周) (16 October 690 – 3 March 705) founded by Empress Wu Zetian who managed to claim the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese Empress.

The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (today Xi'an), the biggest city in the world at the time, is considered by historians as a high point in Chinese civilization—maybe even greater than the earlier Han Dynasty—as well as a golden age of cosmopolitan culture.

Empress Wu, the first woman to ever rule in China, was also included in the Tang Dynasty. Her methods were sometimes vicious, but she was very intelligent and talented.

Other websites

• The Tang Dynasty at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Home of 300 Tang Poems, University of Virginia
• The Tang Dynasty at AsianSpiritGallery