Tang Dynasty (618-907)
After the Han Dynasty came the Three Kingdoms Period (220-265), the Jin Dynasty (265-420), the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589) and the Sui Dynasty (581-618). Then came the Tang Dynasty, established by Li Yuan in 618 with its capital at Chang'an (Xi'an). Agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished; technologies for textile manufacturing and dyeing, pottery and porcelain production, smelting and shipbuilding were further developed. Woodblock printings of dictionaries and almanacs and Buddhist scriptures were in circulation. The Grand Canal also helped the flow of merchandise. Chang'an became a cultural and international trade center and — along with Luoyang, Yangzhou, and Guangzhou — a major commercial center. During the Tang Dynasty cultural relations were established with many countries, including Japan, Korea, India, Persia and Arabia. By the 660s, China's influence had firmly taken root in the Tarim basin and Ili River valley in today's Xijiang in the West, even extending to many city-states in Central Asia. |