Definition:

The Tang Dynasty, following the Sui and preceding the Song Dynasty, was a golden age that lasted from A.D. 618–907 and is considered the high point in Chinese civilization. The Tang capital city was at Chang'an (Xi'an). Along the silk trade route, Chang'an welcomed traders from Korea, Japan, Syria, Arabia, Iran, and Tibet. The first Tang emperor was a Sui contender, Li Yuan (Gaozu), who created an efficient bureaucracy.

He distributed land to maximize the number of tax-paying males. The second emperor was Li Shimin (Taizong), who came to power in 626 through sibling murder and forcing his father to abdicate. Despite his start, Taizong went on to become a great emperor. He defeated Turkish enemies and expanded China westward (the Tang came to reach the Caspian Sea). The dynasty had extensive contact with people from the West and reached its peak in the early 8th century, but then, following defeats at the hands of the Arabs and Thai, and internal rebellion, decline set in.

Sources:
Tang dynasty. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 30, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9071162

Sarah Milledge Nelson, Brian M. Fagan, Adam Kessler, Julie M. Segraves "China" The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Brian M. Fagan, ed., Oxford University Press 1996

Alternate Spellings: T'ang

Examples:

The Tang Dynasty was the golden age for the arts and culture, music, painting, poetry, and sculpture.

White porcelain, three-color pottery and other pottery forms were developed.

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