| Time Period | Tang Minghuang reign including the Prosperity of Kai Yuan Period and the Tian Bao Period (An Lushan Rebellion) |
| Geographical Region | Tang Dynasty stretched from the Tarim Basin (west) to the Korean Peninsula (east), and from Mongolia (north) into what is currently Vietnam (south). |
| List of Symbols |
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The Tang Dynasty was widely considered to be the height of imperial China economically, territorially, and socially. China covered much more land than ever before this period, reaching Korea, Vietnam and much of Central Asia. Trade flourished by land and sea. Some of China’s finest arts and literature also came out of the Tang. The Tang is also well known for having China’s only female to hold the title of emperor.
1. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
It’s a typical Tang Buddhist Pagoda with a square base, built with layers of bricks without any cement. It’s also constructed by the bracket style used in traditional Chinese architecture. There are seams between each layer of bricks as well as”prisms” on each side of the pagoda. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was built in 652 and rebuilt in 704 during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian while the practice of Chinese Buddhism has reached its height. I drew this on the bottom left of my plaque with at least eight stories to emphasize its height.
2. Li Bai
“I raise my eyes to the moon, looking down and think of home.”
—From Li Bai’s Quiet Night Thought
Li Bai was one of the greatest poets of his lifetime. He was an ingenious and romantic poet with great imagination, who took traditional poetic forms to new heights, certainly a wonder and a celebrity of the Great Tang Empire. Li Bai was also known for his love of wine which he had written many poems about (not to mention he would write better after drinking). His friend, another great poet of our time Du Fu called him one in the group of wine craze scholars in Chang’an (on his poem Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup). Li Bai’s influence would be forever. I drew his face on the middle top of the plaque with one of his most famous lines to his right. From my understanding, Li Bai’s face is one of the most recognizable in Chinese history.
3. Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphy – “The recovery for the great Tang”
Yan Zhenqing was a general and a leading figure among Loyalists of the Tang during the An Lushan Rebellion in the Tian Bao Period. Because of his reputation, his forceful, majestic, and individualistic style assumed the heroic proportions of his own life. One of the requisite techniques of calligraphy is maintaining the brush’s upright position in order to transfer more directly and powerfully the flow of energy from hand to paper. Writing with an “upright brush” creates the impression that it carries an especially strong tone of moral consent. He was considered one of the most innovative and influential calligraphers of his time. I drew it on the left top. Because I’ve only seen the writing in white on a black background, I did just that, using an eraser to draw out the characters so that they would look thick and bold, true to Yan Zhenqing’s style.
4. Tang’s women
Women had been considered fortunate because of the open-mindedness and liberal ideas then. In the past, society was dominated by men, which was well maintained and guaranteed by patriarchal customs such as the guidance of husband over wife. Women did not have much freedom; they had no voice in self expression, no education, and no rights in deciding their future, until here in the Tang dynasty.
The government changed this and gave women the voices they deserved. Women would have the same rights as men and enjoy the privileges of education, choice of marriage, work, and all others excluded to men. They were also given a favorable law regarding land ownership, granting them the freedom to conduct business and do other things that only their male counterparts could do in the previous dynasties. Women would even have the chance to learn politics, economics, history, and military skills, let alone participate in battles.
The behavior of well-educated Tang women is unlike any of that from the women of former dynasties. They could express their joy far more freely than women from earlier dynasties could ever imagine doing so, whether in drinking or even competing with men on the polo field.
Fat women were considered beautiful at the time. It was a sign of self- confidence, openness, health, and prosperity. I drew the typical Tang woman on the bottom right just to show the common appearance of women of that time. Also drew a Tang man to her left just to highlight their equality (as well as showcase what the typical Tang apparel was).
5. Tang Sancai
Tang Sancai was the pottery invention particularly associated with the Tang Dynasty. In Chinese, Tang Sancai means “three glazes” of a lead glaze-based style of decorating earthenware pottery, regardless of the actual number of colors on the item, although the main three colors were brown, green, and a creamy off- white for decoration. The colors are due to three elements: iron giving yellow to brown hues, copper giving green or occasionally brown colors, and the rare cobalt for blue. The colors can occur monochromatically or together. Sancai glazed pottery wares were produced at a limited number of kilns. They had been used in China as well as exported to Egypt and elsewhere through the Silk Road. I drew a Sancai horse on the bottom center as the horse was one of the better known Sancai models (couldn’t emphasize any colors though).
6. Buddhism
Buddhism continued to be popular throughout the Tang Dynasty even after the end of Empress Wu Zetian’s reign. And as yet another example to the openness to women’s influence in the Tang and the Empress’ legacy, the Bodhisattva statue was designed after Wu Zetian’s image. That’s what I drew above the typical Tang man and woman, the statue with a Tang woman’s face.
7. Map
The far reaching Tang Dynasty territory included its capital city of Chang’an, centered in the midst of the empire with over one million inhabitants and was considered the largest city on earth at that time. Drew it in the middle with a small circle marking the capital city. I figured the whereabouts of the Tang is best highlighted in the middle of the plaque as setting is usually one of the most general information to provide.
JAMES XIE is a junior at the University of Rochester. In his spare time he likes to play table tennis, play piano, and draw. More by James