Tang dynasty art

Tang dynasty art (simplified Chinese: 唐朝艺术; traditional Chinese: 唐朝藝術) refers to Chinese art created during the Tang dynasty (618–907). The period saw significant advancements in arts such as painting, sculpture, calligraphy, music, dance, and literature. During the Tang dynasty, the capital city Chang'an (today's Xi'an), was the most populous city in the known world, and the era is generally regarded by historians as a high point in Chinese civilization and a golden age of Chinese literature and art.

In several areas developments during the Tang set the direction for many centuries to come. This was especially so in pottery, with glazed plain wares in celadon green and whitish porcelaineous types brought to a high level, and exported on a considerable scale. In painting, the period saw the peak level of Buddhist painting, and the emergence of the landscape painting tradition known as shanshui (mountain-water) painting.

Trading along the Silk Road of various products increased cultural diversity in small China cities.^[1] Stimulated by contact with India and the Middle East, the empire saw a flowering of creativity in many fields. Buddhism, originating in what is modern day India around the time of Confucius, continued to flourish during the Tang period and was adopted by the imperial family, becoming thoroughly sinicized and a permanent part of Chinese traditional culture. Block printing made the written word available to vastly greater audiences.

Culturally, the An Lushan Rebellion of 745-763 weakened the confidence of the elite,^[2] and brought an end to the lavish style of tomb figures, as well as reducing the outward-looking culture of the early Tang, that was receptive to foreign influences from further west in Asia. The Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution, in fact against all foreign religions, which reached its peak in 845, had a great impact on all the arts, but especially the visual arts, greatly reducing demand for artists.