Under the Tang Dynasty, China’s economy recovered and prospered.

The Tang gave land to farmers. Farmers improved irrigation methods which increased the growth of their crops. More rice and tea, a popular drink, were grown. China’s population grew and people started to develop cities.

Tang rulers built roads and waterways. Now, travel within and outside of China was easier. The Silk Road reopened and thrived. In addition to silk, China traded tea, steal, paper, and porcelain. In return, countries traded goods such as gold, silver, precious stones, and fine woods with China.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, new discoveries and inventions brought change to Chinese society.

It was discovered that coal could be used as a fuel. This led to the development of a coal mining industry. The Chinese used coal to heat furnaces to high temperatures. This led to another discovery. Melted iron mixed with carbon from coal to produce steel. Steel was used to make armor, swords, and helmets for armies and to make other useful tools.

The invention of paper led to another important Chinese invention: a method for printing books. In woodblock printing, printers used a wooden block for each page that needed to print. Each wooded block could be used to make thousands of copies.

Eventually, Pi Sheng invented a moveable type so that each character had an individual piece. Printing led to inventions of paper currency that benefited traders. It had the same value as coin money but was lighter to carry. This helped the economy and cities to grow.

The invention of gunpowder allowed the Chinese to create explosives and weapons such as the fire lance. They also used it to make fireworks. The Chinese built large ships with rudders and sails that helped with steering.

Chinese inventors also perfected the magnetic compass that helped sailors navigate their ships locations and sail farther from land. Now, the Chinese were able to sail to South East Asia, India and other places to the west.

The Tang and Song Dynasties were a golden age of Chinese culture. Art flourished during this period.

The Tang Dynasty is regarded as the great age of poetry in China. Li Bo was one of the most popular poets, known for leading a carefree life and writing about nature. Another poet, Du Fu was a poor civil servant who faced many hardships. He often wrote about issues such as the problems of the poor, the unfairness of life, and the wastefulness of war.

During the Song Dynasty, Chinese artists painted landscapes, but didn’t show the exact appearance of places. Instead they tried to portray the “idea” of mountains, lakes, etc. Artists left empty spaces in their paintings to reflect the Daoist belief that a person can not know the whole truth about something.

Humans were also shown as very small figures in a natural landscape to express the idea that people are only one part of a much larger natural setting Painters also wrote poems using calligraphy (beautiful characters).

During the Tang dynasty, artisans became skilled in making Porcelain. Because this later came from China to the West, people today sometimes call porcelain “China” Porcelain can be made into figurines, vases, cups, and plates.