Chinatown in New York is one of the largest Chinese gathering areas in the Western world, and there is also a famous Chinese community in San Francisco on the west coast of the United States. When it was first built, it was called “Chinatown” by the locals. Today, Chinese immigrants from all over the world are still referred to as “Chinatowns”. Tang is a charming nickname for China. The civilization of the Tang Dynasty has left an indelible mark on world history and culture, making it a truly open era. As the most politically, economically, and culturally developed country in the world at that time, the Tang Dynasty’s prestige surpassed that of the world powers of the same period – the Frankish Kingdom, the Byzantine Empire, and the Arab Empire. The poem “The Nine Heavens of Changhe opens a palace, and all nations bow their robes to the Mian diao” by the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei depicts the grand occasion of envoys from various countries visiting the Daming Palace to pay homage to the Tang Dynasty emperor. Different countries, ethnicities, and cultures converge here, and the Tang Dynasty embraces all of this with a broad mind.
Director of Shaanxi History Museum – Cheng Jianzheng: I think the exchange at that time was very extensive, as we can see from the mural museum we are currently in, because there is the “Guest Ambassador Map” inside, which is in the Tang Dynasty palace, preparing to receive some foreign envoys. This foreign envoy is quite obvious, some come from the East, or Japan or the Korean Peninsula, but there are also images of Westerners with high noses, deep eyes, and long hair.
The East Asian cultural circle centered around China was officially formed during the Tang Dynasty, where countries and regions shared common cultural elements such as Chinese characters, Confucianism, legal systems, Chinese Buddhism, and science and technology. The Korean Peninsula and Japan are both important components of this cultural sphere.
Shi Dian Li, Seoul, South Korea
The Korean Peninsula is the region with the most profound influence of Confucianism, apart from mainland China. Even today, South Korea still adheres to the solemn ritual of worshipping Confucius. The Seongjong Hall in Seoul is a famous Confucian research and education center in South Korea. It is the highest educational institution in the country built with the support of the Korean royal family and has a history of over 600 years. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in East Asia. Graduates from here mostly become aristocratic leaders or scholars, who have made great contributions to the development of Korean society. For hundreds of years, people have held grand memorial ceremonies here every year to worship ancient sages such as Confucius.
Park Gwangyong, Minister of Etiquette at Seonggyong Hall in Seoul, South Korea: This ceremony is to demonstrate that we have inherited the thoughts and teachings of the sages, including Confucius and Mencius, and are determined to practice and emulate their righteous path. So every spring and autumn, grand memorial ceremonies are held in Chengjunguan and rural schools across the country.
China and the Korean Peninsula have a long history of communication. In the mid-7th century AD, Silla unified the Korean Peninsula, ending the long-standing separatist situation. The Tang Dynasty and Silla formed a relationship of enfeoffment and tribute, and Silla began to establish a centralized state following the Tang system. In order to extensively and deeply study and absorb Chinese culture, Silla continuously sent international students to study in the Tang Dynasty. Many students have been living and studying in China for a long time. Tang Taizong once said that they should treat their own people and foreigners equally, love them, and allow foreign students to participate in the imperial examination and obtain fame. In the eyes of Silla students, being able to pass the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty is an extremely honorable thing. Of course, this is also extremely difficult, and the most famous one is Cui Zhiyuan. Cui Zhiyuan entered the Tang Dynasty at the age of 12, and before leaving, his father encouraged him to say, If you cannot pass the imperial examination within ten years, don’t call yourself my son anymore. This shows the importance that the Silla people attach to the Tang Dynasty imperial examination. After diligent study, Cui Zhiyuan finally passed the imperial examination at the age of 18. After living in China for 16 years, Cui Zhiyuan bid farewell to his second hometown and returned to Silla. He is respected by the Korean academic community as the pioneer of Chinese literature, and his works written in Chinese have been passed down to this day.
Park Gwangyong, Minister of Etiquette at Seongjong Hall in Seoul, South Korea: It is precisely because Confucianism is promoted in Korea that his plaque is enshrined in the Dae Sung Hall here.
Mount Fuji, Japan
Tangdao Shrine, Bunkyo ku, Tokyo, Japan
It was also from this period that Japan began to widely accept the influence of Tang Dynasty civilization. Schools at all levels determined that Confucian classics were the main textbooks. There are still 15 influential Confucius temples in Japan, among which the most influential is the Tangdao Temple, located in the present-day Bunkyo ku of Tokyo.
Xu Jianxin, a researcher at the Institute of World History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: The humanistic relations and values of Japanese society still contain rich Confucian ideas. Confucianism still has a subtle influence on Japan to this day.
In today’s Japan, people still mainly use the imperial era names to record the years, such as Showa and Heisei. The tradition of using era names began in the mid-7th century AD. At that time, Japanese society was in a state of internal and external troubles, and the old surname and tribal system had serious drawbacks and faced disintegration. Many knowledgeable people were determined to start changing.
Feiniao Temple Nara, Japan
This is Nara, passing through this rice field and amidst these traditional villages, there is an ancient temple called Feiniao Temple. Feiniao Temple is the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan and is now an important archaeological excavation site. Every day, many Japanese students come here to learn about the history of this transitional period in Japan. In 645 AD, a magnificent political change occurred here, and this monument witnessed this change. It ended the monopoly of the wealthy and began Japan’s famous “Great Transformation and Reform”.
Dr. Hiroshi Fujiwara from the Osaka Museum of History in Japan: In order to survive, they had to reform their political system, which meant that the emperor was the center of power of the country and implemented new policies, that is, becoming a centralized system to strengthen the country and revive it. The reform was based on the Tang Dynasty’s legal system.
The Dahua Reform was based on the legal system of the Tang Dynasty, and Dahua was also the first era established by the Japanese Emperor after imitating China. At a critical moment in the Dahua Reform, a war suddenly broke out between China and Japan. In September 663 AD, the Japanese navy rescued the old forces of Baekje, which were defeated by the Tang and Silla coalition forces. They encountered the Tang navy at the mouth of Baijiangkou in the central part of the Korean Peninsula. At that time, Japan had 800 warships and nearly 40000 soldiers fighting, while the Tang army only had 170 warships and 7000 soldiers to fight against. With a numerical advantage, the Japanese army was full of confidence and continued to launch attacks. The Tang army remained calm in the battle. Tightly defended, the Japanese army repeatedly attempted to break through the Tang army’s defense line. The Tang army counterattacked and destroyed the Japanese warships on both sides, besieging the Japanese army from both sides, causing a dilemma for the Japanese army. In the end, the Japanese army lost 400 warships, Tens of thousands of people were injured or killed in this was the first war between China and Japan in history, and also the most painful failure in ancient Japanese history. The war did not end the friendly relationship between the two countries. After experiencing the strength of the Tang Dynasty up close, Japan accelerated its process of seeking to emulate the Tang Dynasty. This inevitably reminds people of Japan’s large-scale learning of Western civilization after the Meiji Restoration and World War II.
Professor Wu Zongguo from Peking University: During this period, they sent envoys to China to study China’s political and legal system and promote the transformation of their own political system. On the other hand, they did play a significant role in the development of Japan’s system.
Heisei Kei Museum of History Nara, Japan
A model of a Tang Dynasty envoy ship was exhibited at the Nara Hiragawa Kyoto Museum of History. Throughout the Tang Dynasty, Japan sent a total of 19 batches of envoys to China to learn and absorb various aspects of the Tang Dynasty. As a result, Japan underwent profound changes in social system, urban construction, science and technology, arts and crafts, literature and language, religious thought, and other aspects. Such changes soon ushered in Japan’s prosperous period. In the hundred years of the eighth century AD, Japan spent most of its time in Pingchengjing, today’s Nara. Pingchengjing was built entirely in imitation of Chang’an City at that time. Its urban planning and architectural style were almost identical. At that time, in the imperial court, ministers competed to imitate Chinese etiquette and living customs. In daily life, the artifacts used by people were basically similar to those of the same period of the Tang Dynasty, especially the tricolor art was the landmark craft of the Tang Dynasty.
Researcher Yin Xiaqing from Shaanxi Tang Sancai Art Museum: Tang Sancai was first created in China, and later Silla Sancai, including Japan’s Nara Sancai, were imitated and burned. Persian Sancai was also influenced, so it is also a carrier of cultural exchange between China and the West.
Every batch of Tang envoys returning to China will bring back a large number of Confucian classics, Buddhist scriptures, and poetry collections. Nowadays, the world-renowned Nara Tokugaji Masakura Hall houses these treasures, and there are many types of cultural relics, including Buddhist artifacts, calligraphy and painting artworks, as well as daily necessities such as silk fabrics, porcelain, and musical instruments. The pipa was a popular musical instrument in the Tang Dynasty, but it is no longer visible today. However, there are still several exquisite and unparalleled Tang Dynasty pipas preserved in the Zhengcang Academy, with four and five strings. In addition, the collection of books in the Zhengcang Academy has also found that the “Tianping Pipa Pu” is purely based on the Tang method, and some cultural relics modeled after the Tang Dynasty are also extremely precious. Today, the Zhengcang Academy preserves 40 layers of screens, among which the most famous one is the bird hair standing female screen. The image of a beautiful woman is the same as the clothing composition in the Tang Dynasty painter Zhou Fang’s “Hairpin the Hairpin Beauty Picture”, while the artistic concept of “Under the Tree Beauty Picture” is similar. It is a common image pattern in the Tang Dynasty. According to research, the screen of the Zhengcang Academy is a Japanese work that simulates the Tang Dynasty painting of a beautiful woman. Chinese calligraphy art reached a peak during the Tang Dynasty, and everyone in Japan was proud to learn Chinese calligraphy. The Konghai Master, who founded the Japanese Buddhist Shingon School, had studied in China for a long time. In China, he studied calligraphy with the famous Tang Dynasty calligraphy theorist Han Fangming, practiced hard, and finally obtained the authentic Yan style.
“Duobao Pagoda Induction Stele” by Yan Zhenqing at Xi’an Beilin Museum
Director of the Takano Mountain Spiritual Treasure Museum – Ci’en Shizuka: Especially the Konohai Master, who is good at Chinese calligraphy, he has incorporated Chinese calligraphy into Japanese culture.
The characters used in Japan today are created by omitting and simplifying Chinese characters. Initially, Japan referred to Chinese characters as “real names”, and this type of Japanese alphabet was used as “kana”. In the process of creating and spreading kana, Konkai Daishi, Jibei Zhenbei, and others who returned from studying in the Tang Dynasty may have played a significant role. Konkai Daishi is a highly respected monk in Japanese history. He studied esoteric Buddhism in Dachang’an and founded the Buddhist Shinyan sect in Takano Mountain, not far from Osaka, after returning home.
Takano Mountain, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
Dongdaiji Nara, Japan
Kamakura Buddha, Kamakura, Japan
Nowadays, Mount Takano has become the most sacred Buddhist site in Japan. Buddhism was introduced to Japan through Korea in the mid-6th century AD. After a hundred years of development, it had already been widely spread during the Nara period. During the reign of Emperor Seimu, the magnificent and magnificent royal temple, Tokuda Temple, was built, and the largest copper statue of the Buddha in Japan was cast in the temple. At the invitation of the Japanese Emperor and the Buddhist community, starting from the second year of the Tenpo era of Emperor Xuanzong (743 AD), the venerable monk of the Vinaya sect, Jianzhen, made five attempts to travel eastward to Japan, but failed due to various reasons. During the fifth voyage, he unfortunately lost his sight. In 753 AD, at the age of 66, Jianzhen bravely set foot on the journey to Japan. On his sixth journey across Japan, at the end of that year, he embarked on a journey to Japan with a group of loyal followers. During his 10-year stay in Japan, Jianzhen has made tremendous contributions to the dissemination of Buddhist culture and Tang culture in Japan. Jianzhen enjoys a high status in Japan and is revered as a “master of crossing the sea” or even referred to by Japanese scholars as the “moat of the Tianping era”. His achievements represent the cultural peak of the Tianping era.
Xu Jianxin, a researcher at the Institute of World History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that he transmitted a lot of advanced Chinese culture to Japan at that time, including calligraphy, architectural technology, and many advanced Chinese cultural elements in daily life. He is a very typical figure among these cultural envoys.
During the two hundred years of friendly exchanges with the Tang Dynasty, Japanese society, from the Emperor to the common people, was deeply influenced by the Tang culture. They recited Tang poems, appreciated Tang music, and performed Tang rites with each other. Tang style artworks, Tang style costumes, Tang style Dim sum, and tableware can be seen everywhere. The influence of Tang style has penetrated into all aspects of Japanese life. This influence is so profound, not only across the turbulent strait between the two countries, but also across thousands of years. Nengju is a stage play, and also an entertainment form originating from the Tang Dynasty. It was brought to Japan in the eighth century AD.
Japanese Noh drama performer Mao Shan: Noh drama is based on people’s daily lives and is expressed in a comedic form. For example, there is no difference between husband and wife quarrels and now, with men leading the way out and women leading the way in. There are many interesting stories, and the same goes for modern society.
Go originated in China about 2500 years ago. This tactical game was played between two people and was introduced to Japan and Korea during the Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, a Japanese prince paid tribute, which interested the rulers and courtiers of the Tang Dynasty. The prince was skilled in Go, so Emperor Xuanzong asked Gu Shiyan, a chess player, to play against the Japanese prince. Gu Shiyan was a professional chess player who accompanied the emperor in playing chess. The Japanese prince’s chess skills were also very exquisite, with black and white pieces crisscrossing on the chessboard, and the two of them would come and go without compromise. After a long time of hard thinking, Gu Shiyan was such a national player. Suo, Gu Shiyan came up with an unexpected move, and the Japanese prince had to give up. This game left a beautiful story of cultural exchange between the two countries.
Kansai Go School in Japan
This is a professional Go school located in Osaka. Mr. Moriyama is the founder and teacher of the school, and he teaches the highest level students.
Japanese Osaka professional Go player – Naoki Moriyama: I am a ninth dan Go player. I have been learning Go since I was ten years old, and now I am 48 years old. I have been playing Go for thirty-eight years. Chinese rules are common in mainland China and Taiwan, while Japanese rules are used in other countries such as North Korea and South Korea. However, there is no difference in essence. The basic rules of victory and defeat are the same, but there are some differences in the basic calculation methods. Military experts like Go because it can be seen as a simulated war, which is why they like strategic and tactical games.
Gradually converging, there are also people’s daily habits, such as the tea ceremony. Today, as a symbol of cultural inheritance, it was very popular in the Tang Dynasty. Japanese monks who studied in the Tang Dynasty brought back the first tea tree seed, and drinking tea became an inseparable part of Japanese culture. They called the unique ritual of drinking tea the tea ceremony, and the tea ceremony was even called the essence of the Eastern spirit.
In the temple in Tokyo, a monk was performing the tea ceremony in the Edo period. With the development of the times, the form of the tea ceremony has also been evolving, but its essence has been passed down. Like China, they are not just a drink, but the essence of culture, representing the spiritual realm: harmony, respect and purity. At this time, Japanese clothing and dressing styles were deeply influenced by the Tang Dynasty and gradually became more consistent with China. The traditional Japanese ethnic costume we see today, the kimono, bears the shadow of the Tang Dynasty costume from the past. The charm of Tang Dynasty costumes has long disappeared in the daily lives of Chinese people, while Japanese kimono has been passed down. Ms. Yukiko Mori is a kimono designer, the vice president of the Xizang Weaving and Service Association, and the dean of the college. She wears kimono almost every day.
Yukiko Mori, Dean of the Nishizen Kimono Academy in Japan: At that time, Tang envoys were sent to the Sui Dynasty twice, and later Japan also sent Tang envoys to the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, not only did they introduce clothing from the Sui and Tang dynasties, but also the management and politics of the capital city. Many clothing was introduced to Japan through the Korean Peninsula. From the Nara period to the mid Heian period, Japanese clothing was completely modeled after China.
With the introduction of the Tang envoy to Japan, various food cooking methods and tableware, such as chopsticks, were also widely used by the Japanese and began during the Nara period. Chopsticks, first used in the palace, quickly entered the homes of ordinary people and became the main tableware for people to eat. At that time, people called them “Tang works”.
The best example of the influence of Chinese culinary culture on Japan is tofu, which was invented by the Chinese people in the Han Dynasty. It is delicious, white in color, and tender in texture, making it a national treasure of China. During the Nara period in Japan, monks studying in China brought back the recipe for tofu to Japan. Initially, it was only for the nobility and monks to eat, which was not accessible to ordinary people.
Xu Jianxin, a researcher at the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: Japanese culture is very delicate, with every detail and detail. It is very microscopic, and once he learns something, it is easy to turn it into a belief and a particularly extreme worship. Japanese national culture is based on absorbing and digesting Tang Dynasty culture, gradually establishing its own, subjective, and national culture. If there were no Tang Dynasty cultural era, there would be no subsequent national cultural era.
The comprehensive introduction of material culture from the Tang Dynasty greatly improved the taste of life of the Japanese people at that time. The same changes also occurred on the Korean Peninsula. With the widespread acceptance of Tang culture, some traditional Chinese festivals have gradually become popular in Korea, South Korea, and Japan. Today, we can still see the influence of Tang culture from festivals such as the Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival in Korea and South Korea, as well as the Dragon Boat Festival on March 3rd and May in Japan. Communication is two-way. While Chinese culture and goods continue to be introduced to Japan and Silla, some items and cultural phenomena from Japan and Silla have also aroused strong interest in Tang Dynasty people. Japanese made brushes, paper, clothing, and other materials are very popular in Chang’an.
The Tang Dynasty was an important period for the development of Chinese Buddhism, and a large number of monks from Japan and Silla also came to China. Among them, the senior monk Jin Dizang from Silla became a part of Chinese culture. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the young Silla royal family Jin Dizang resolutely gave up his comfortable life and sailed to China by sea, traveling everywhere. Later, he fell in love with Mount Jiuhua in Chizhou and went to practice there. Jin Dizang lived in a cave and lived a simple meditation life. Later, some locals went up the mountain to discover this ascetic Silla monk, and couldn’t help but respect him. After his death, many magical legends about him were left in the folk.
Fei Ye Chao, a Buddhist expert from the Jiuhua Mountain Management Committee in Anhui Province: From the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming to the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese Buddhist community gradually recognized that this monk, Jin Qiaojue, and Silla Monk, were originally the manifestation of the King of Earth Bodhisattva on our Jiuhua Mountain. The reason why our Jiuhua Mountain has become this Buddhist holy land is simply because Jin Qiaojue completed his entire transformation process from human to divine on Jiuhua Mountain.
Jiuhua Mountain, Qingyang County, Chizhou City, Anhui Province
Jiuhua Mountain has become one of the four major Buddhist sites in China due to the Golden Tripitaka. Every year, the 30th day of the seventh lunar month is the birthday of Golden Tripitaka, and many Buddhist temples hold Tripitaka ceremonies on this day to commemorate him. Many Korean Buddhist believers also come to Jiuhua Mountain to pay their respects to this eminent monk from their hometown.
Korean tourists: In Korea, China is considered a country with many Buddhist holy sites, and many Koreans regard China as a Buddhist holy site. We Koreans also have a grateful heart for Chinese Buddhism.
It was not only Japan and Silla that had two-way exchanges with the Tang Dynasty, but also had close political, trade, and cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia, South Asia, and even North Africa through the Maritime Silk Road. Guangzhou Port was the largest foreign trade port of the Tang Dynasty. Starting from around the Kaiyuan period, the Tang Dynasty set up a market envoy in Guangzhou, specializing in managing overseas trade affairs. Here, there were countless ships such as Brahmins, Persia, and Kunlun, carrying incense, treasures, and mountains. Many different ethnic groups from Sri Lanka, the Islamic world, and Southeast Asia also visited or settled here. According to records, more than 4000 large foreign merchant ships arrive in Guangzhou every year, continuously entering China through trade and fresh goods.
At that time, the famous route between China and the Nanyang and Persian Gulf regions was called the “Guangzhou Haiyi Road”, which passed through more than 100 countries and regions, with a total length of 14000 kilometers. It was the longest international route in the world at that time, connecting East Asia, India, and the Islamic cultural circle.
Wang Bangwei, Dean of the Institute of Oriental Studies at Peking University: During the Tang Dynasty, there was a scholar and official named Jia Dan. He left behind in the “New Book of Tang” the following: “At that time, there were several roads connecting China and overseas, among which was the” Guangzhou Road to the Sea “. The inclusion of this” Guangzhou Road to the Sea “indicates that Guangzhou had already formed a fixed commercial route. In ancient times, this transportation route was basically agreed upon by everyone and formed through experience and navigation. Therefore, the envoys, merchants, and monks who sought the Dharma at that time were all three types of people.” It’s through this road to walk again.
In the year 671 AD, Tang Dynasty monk Yijing set off from Guangzhou and traveled along this international route to India to seek enlightenment. Yijing traveled around Buddhist holy sites in India and studied at the Nalanda Temple for ten years.
Nalanda Monastery Site, India
In 685 AD, he still returned by sea and stayed in the South China Sea for nearly 10 years. Finally, in 695 AD, he returned to Luoyang. While staying in the South China Sea on his way back, he wrote two famous works. The first one is “Biography of the Great Tang Dynasty Western Regions Seeking Dharma”, which records the stories of 57 monks who traveled to India in the South China Sea and sought Dharma for more than 40 years from the 15th year of the Zhenguan era (641 AD);
The Dunhuang Tang Dynasty Manuscript of “The Biography of Returning to the South China Sea” is currently stored in the National Library of France
The other one is the “Nanhai Jigui Neifa Zhuan”, which mainly records the Buddhism, socio-economic life, and cultural development of India and the Nanhai region. Both books have extremely high historical value, and people are more familiar with Xuanzang, another famous monk who went to India to seek Buddhism through the land Silk Road before Yijing. This is a great cultural exchange journey. In the third year of the Zhenguan reign (629 AD), Xuanzang set off from Chang’an, the capital, and after experiencing difficulties, arrived in India. He traveled to various parts of India for study and returned to Chang’an sixteen years later. The Buddhist scriptures translated by Xuanzang often use literal translation, with strict brushwork. The “Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty” is an important material for studying ancient history and geography in India and Central Asia. The Tang Dynasty was a period when China absorbed a large amount of Indian civilization. In addition to Buddhism, Indian astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and language were also absorbed into the flood of foreign cultures during the Tang Dynasty. At the same time, Chinese handicrafts and cultural arts were also constantly introduced to India.
Wang Weibang, Dean of the Institute of Oriental Studies at Peking University: During the Tang Dynasty, of course, it was considered a golden age in Chinese history. It was very powerful, right? It was also an open era because the Tang Dynasty did not reject foreign cultures. Therefore, the Tang culture of the Tang Dynasty constantly absorbed various foreign cultural factors, including lifestyle, food, clothing, music, and dance.
Director of Shaanxi History Museum – Cheng Jianzheng: So the mural museum in Shaanxi History Museum we are currently in fully reflects these cultural relics. For example, in this mural, there are palace life, house architecture, and external communication, almost all aspects of the life of the Tang Dynasty nobles are reflected in this mural.
Sancai Zale Camel Shaanxi History Museum
As the most powerful country in the world at that time, the open and tolerant Tang Dynasty exerted an irresistible centripetal force on visitors from the Western Regions and beyond. On this traditional Silk Road, there were not only endless voices of gold and iron horses, but also envoys, merchants, and monks from Central Asia and the Tang Dynasty, constantly following the Tao. The civilization of the Western Regions was continuously brought into China. At the same time, the Tang Dynasty never gave up exploring and learning new things, and the trend of pursuing foreign objects permeated various social classes and aspects of daily life. In Tang Dynasty literary works, many magical characters and objects from different regions were depicted either truthfully or exaggeratedly.
The pipa comes from the Western Regions and was the most popular instrument in the Tang Dynasty. It is still known as the king of plucked instruments among Chinese ethnic instruments. In the writings of Tang Dynasty poets, the art of the pipa is written as if crying like a song, deeply moving. The famous poem “The Pipa Tour” by the great poet Bai Juyi leaves many famous lines: “The big strings are noisy like rain, and the small strings are cut like whispers. The noise is cut and mixed, and the big pearls and small pearls fall on the jade plate. The silver bottle is suddenly broken and the water is burst, and the iron horse stands out with the sound of knives and guns. Tonight, hearing your pipa language is like listening to fairy music for a while.” Ming vividly depicts the strong infectious power of pipa performance art.
Along with the pipa, famous wine also appears in the works of poets, such as the “Grape Wine Night Glow Cup”. Whether it is the pipa, wine, or those vessels from the Western Regions, they have been the envy and praise of Chinese people for a considerable period of time. In the poetic praise, it stirs up people’s various emotions: envy, pride, longing, and sadness. The Tang Dynasty is like a huge cultural exchange center, embracing all rivers with an extremely inclusive attitude, absorbing the religions, arts, and technologies of various countries, regions, and ethnic groups with astonishing courage, inclusiveness, and wide collection, forming the most charming Tang Dynasty civilization.
On October 11, 2004, a stunning exhibition of Chinese cultural relics was officially opened to the public at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. This exhibition, titled “Towards the Prosperous Tang Dynasty,” gathers over 300 precious cultural relics from 47 cultural and museum units in 14 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions of China, with over 70% of them being first-class cultural relics, setting a new record in the history of Chinese cultural relics exhibitions. This is the world-renowned Metropolitan Museum of New York, the most important exhibition of Chinese cultural relics since its establishment, showcasing the historical process of China’s extensive absorption of Central Asian, Indian, Silk Road, and grassland cultures after the Han Dynasty, finally leading to the flourishing Tang Dynasty. Professor Qu Zhiren served as the Director of the Asian Art Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from 2000 to 2011, and has excelled in the study of cultural relics and art in China and Asia. He has planned a series of large-scale exhibitions, among which “Towards the Prosperous Tang Dynasty” is hailed as a model of ancient Chinese art and archaeological exhibitions.
Qu Zhiren, Honorary Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA: This can indicate that the Tang Dynasty was influenced by this western region. This piece is from Gaochang, which is now from the Turpan region. It is also the clothing of Gaochang country. You can see that she wears a curtain hat, which is windproof and sand proof. Then in Chang’an, the Tang Dynasty, she learned from him. Many of the clothing and makeup of Tang Dynasty ladies were learned from the Gaochang region. This silverware was made by Chinese people imitating the appearance of Sogdian silverware, which is related to Persia and a unique animal of Sogdian. Later, it became very popular in the Tang Dynasty.
For the exhibition “Towards the Prosperous Tang Dynasty”, Professor Qu Zhiren spent seven years conducting in-depth visits to over 100 cultural and museum units in China, using cultural relics to trace the unprecedented opening period of the Tang Dynasty in Chinese history, and unveiling a brilliant history of cultural development that combines foreign ideas and artistic styles.
Qu Zhiren, Honorary Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA: As for an artifact that can represent Tang Dynasty artifacts, it is a phoenix head vase. This phoenix head vase is very special, and you can’t see it in Persia, nor in the Mediterranean. It is only found in China. It is basically a Persian silver shape, with the pattern on the top also being Persian. The brown leaf patterns below are from the Mediterranean, and there are many characteristics of grassland culture, especially the dragon head handle. This animal shaped handle is a characteristic of grassland like artifacts, and there is a person in the middle who likes to be drunk. In India, it is the leader of this Yaksha tribe, and later he became… A god of wealth, later mixed with the god of wine, so many of the sources of the images are concentrated on one object, so this object is very representative, A very important artistic creation.
The civilization of the Tang Dynasty is synonymous with absorption and progress, and it is also a model of giving and contributing. The unprecedented unity and strength of the Tang Dynasty, as well as the stability and prosperity of social life, have brought the Tang people a confident, tolerant, curious, and open spirit of the times. Openness, inclusiveness, and diversity have become important cultural spirits of the Tang Dynasty. According to statistics, the Tang government has received diplomatic envoys from more than 70 countries, and official educational institutions such as Guozi School and Taixue have successively accepted more than 30000 foreign students. Their great spirit of inclusiveness, unrestrained freedom, unprecedented vitality and creativity have led the world trend for hundreds of years. This is the culture of the Tang Dynasty. The eternal charm of external radiation and the colorful foreign relations of the Tang Dynasty have written a glorious page in the history of world civilization.
90 Seconds in History: Medicine King Sun Simiao
Many people know that Sun Simiao is a great doctor and pharmacologist in China and even in the world history, but they may not know that he is a famous Taoist. Sun Simiao has been refining pills in the mountains for a long time, studying the art of prolonging life. He personally collects medicines, makes medicines, collects folk prescriptions, secret prescriptions, and cures diseases for people. He is proficient in internal, external, women, children, and facial acupuncture and moxibustion, and has 24 achievements, creating a precedent in the medical history of China. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once ordered him to become a capital teacher, and granted him a title because of his virtue, but he hid in the mountains and forests, never became an official. Sun Simiao was diligent in writing all his life There are more than 80 books, which have written two medical masterpieces of important academic value in the history of medical development in China. The two masterpieces, “Qian Jin Yao Fang” and “Qian Jin Yi Fang”, have 60 volumes, 6500 prescriptions, and are combined into “Qian Jin Fang”, It is a systematic summary of the achievements of medical pharmacy before the Tang Dynasty, and is known as the earliest clinical medical encyclopedia in China. Sun Simiao is known as the King of Medicine by later generations.
