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The T’ang Dynasty was an era of unrivalled
wealth and luxury. The country was successfully
reunified and the borders were expanded,
pushing Chinese influence into new lands.
Confucianism became a semi-religious
instrument of the state; yet Buddhism continued
to flourish, spreading into Korea and Japan. The
arts reached new levels of sophistication. Poetry
and literature flourished under the enlightened
rulers. The Silk Road brought fortunes into China.
Precious treasures were imported on the backs of
camels from far away lands and bartered for
Chinese silk, medicinal herbs, and pungent
spices. T’ang China was a multicultural empire
where foreign merchants from across Central
Asia and the Middle East settled in the urban
centers, foremost among them the thriving
capital of Chang’an (modern X’ian), a bustling
cosmopolitan center of over two million
inhabitants. Foreign traders lived next to native
artisans and both thrived. New ideas and exotic
artistic forms followed alongside. The T’ang
Dynasty was a cultural renaissance where many
of the forms and objects we now associate with
China were first created. Moreover, this period
represents one of the greatest cultural
outpourings in human history.
As new philosophical and religious strands
penetrated the thought system of early China,
the subject matter of tomb objects and tomb
patterns changed. The past practice of
entombing elite members of society with
earthenware objects continued throughout the
early and middle Tang period, but the earlier
emphasis placed on recreating daily life shifted to
flaunting status and excess. Tombs were no
longer "underground houses," but became a
landscape with murals depicting the palaces,
gardens, and open countryside in which the
nobles passed their lives. During the Tang
Dynasty, restrictions were placed on the number
of objects that could be included in tombs, an
amount determined by an individual's social
rank. In spite of the limitations, a striking variety
of tomb furnishings have been excavated. Entire
retinues of ceramic figures - animals,
entertainers, musicians, guardians - were buried
with the dead.
During the Tang Dynasty, the status of the
beloved camel ranked second only to the revered
horse. Camels symbolized commerce and its
associated wealth, profits made possible
primarily through the legendary Silk Road. Trade
across this extensive network of paths and trails
brought prosperity, foreigner merchants, and
exotic merchandise into China, connecting the
Mediterranean world with the Far East. However,
this arduous journey through the jagged
mountains and rugged deserts of Central Asia
could only be undertaken by the two-humped
Bactrian camel, a beast able to withstand the
scorching heat of the desert and to maintain its
own nutrients, surviving for months without
fresh supplies of water. The government kept
vast herds of these invaluable creatures, presided
over by civil officials, for hauling their precious
silk supplies across the Silk Road. These exotic
creatures were a common sight in the
cosmopolitan cities of Tang China, carrying both
traders and their goods directly into the markets.
Likewise, T’ang artist began to create charming
representations of these prized creatures as
symbols of the wealth and prosperity to come in
the afterlife.
- (TF.019)
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