Summary: As the Sui peters out, Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, seizes power and establishes the Tang Dynasty in 618. Along with the Song, the Tang Dynasty is considered the pinnacle of China's long history. In culture, art, poetry, painting, ceramics, science, navigation, diplomacy this was a golden age. Buddhism made even greater inroads into Chinese society. And Chang'an was the center of the world where the great and mighty Taizong emperor ruled and people came from as far away as Persia to marvel at China’s greatness and might. In this week’s episode we look at the founding of the Tang up to the demise of the third emperor Gaozong. With her husband's death in 683, the Empress Wu Zetian came to the fore and began ruling in her own name.
