Tang Dynasty (618–906 CE)

The Tang Dynasty, which replaced the Sui Dynasty, established a successful government structure, based on the Sui Dynasty’s model,  that later on flourish to be a golden age – it is known as the greatest imperial dynasty in Chinese history. 

Even though the Silk Road from China to the West was initially developed during the Han Dynasty (141–87 BCE), it was reopened by the Tang Empire in 639 CE when Hou Junji conquered the West and remained open for almost four decades.

China, during this period, was hospitable to foreigners and welcomed new ideas which the Tang Dynasty was influenced by.

 

The Value of Jade in the Tang Dynasty

Jade played an important, and valuable role, in the Tang Dynasty – it was more valuable than gold itself. It was of such value that it was used in some of the royal clothing as a symbol of power.  Jade from Khotan was considered especially valuable because it was in the city Khotan that the Chinese got their first source of jade.

In addition, Jade was not only valued in exchanges for its economic attractiveness, but it also influenced other areas of the culture like religion – it was considered the most spiritual of all precious stones. Jade was used in worship ceremonies and was part of the objects used in religious rituals because the Chinese believed it possessed divinity power that allowed them to communicate with the gods.  Jade was also used in funeral ceremonies since it was considered to be effective in preventing the corpses from rotting. The corpses of members of the royal family were dressed and buried in jade suits put together with gold, silver, copper, and silk threat.

 

Trade in the Tang Dynasty

During the Tang Dynasty, China had a great economic development that brought with it commercial relations with other civilizations. In fact, the Tang Dynasty was characterized by being hospitable and by its openness to foreigners – the Chinese empire welcomed foreign cultures, making it very cosmopolitan in its urban centers. This allowed China to flourish economically by opening trade with other civilizations and exchange different products, including jade.  

Trade throughout the Tang Empire was carried out with controlled conditions to guarantee Chinese merchants’ safety.

Caravans of Persian, Indian, Central Asian, Bengalis, Jew merchants, among others, arrived at the Tang Dynasty by land through the Silk Road. By sea, ships from Japan, Korean, Malaysia and Indonesia arrived as well.  One of the groups that came the farthest were the Arabs. Foreigners exchanged with China items such as spices, textiles, new forms of ceramics, tea, medicine, pearls, fabrics, among others. China was also interested in the exchange of ideas, new forms of art, and religions that came from these other civilizations.

Two important centers for trade were the capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang’an (Xian), and Guangzhou. 

• Chang’an entered its greatest period of development during the Tang Dynasty. All manners of goods from spices and even furniture were traded in the city’s two major marketplaces.

• Guangzhou was one of the principal administrative centers for the southern territory of the Tang empire. Due to its position as land-frontier zone and maritime-frontier zone, its viewed as a middle ground that housed imperial officials, foreign merchants, northern immigrants, and indigenous southerners all in the same city. 

 

During the Tang Empire, jade was traded in the form of figures such as horses and dogs, as well as clothing items and weapons.  

                       

                            

 

 

Reference

Mark, E. (2016, February 28). Tang Dynasty. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Tang_Dynasty/