The most recommended books on the Tang dynasty

In the west, China is often perceived as a recent entrant onto the world stage.

The sweeping historical perspective of this book quickly disavows any such notion. Horesh presents evidence of the significant circulation of Chinese coins across Eurasia under the Tang dynasty (618-907). This subsequently expanded to include India and Sri Lanka and even reached East Africa under the voyages of Zheng He (1371-1453). Horesh cleverly weaves the evolving situation in China over the centuries with that of the rest of the world and so the reader ends up with much more than just a Chinese-based history.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway, however, is that a global role for China's currency in the modern era would be no more than a return to the position it occupied in past epochs.

An extraordinary gem of a booklet that considers the many ways that four lines of a single poem, composed by an 8th century Chinese Buddhist, have been translated into modern idiom. It is amazing how a mere twenty ideograms, depicting a mountain and forest scene devoid of people, can illuminate the variety and subtlety of consciousness. I recommend the 2016 edition with additional translations.

Lin is well-known among romance aficionados for her groundbreaking Tang Dynasty historical romances. With The Lotus Palace, the first novel in her Pingkang Li Mysteries series, she expands into crime and political intrigue. This is the only non-fantasy or science fiction title on this list, and it’s here because Lin not only crafts an engaging story of murder and romance, she also handles the historical setting like an absolute master. The world of the 9th century Tang capital Changan—from the seedy gambling dens and bars of the Pingkang Li red-light district to the luxurious family compounds of the exclusive northeast quarter—feels familiar and lived-in, rich and complete, fully detailed without reading like a history textbook.

This book examines the exotics imported into China during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) and depicts their influence on Chinese life. During the three centuries of Tang came into the land the natives of almost every nation of Asia, all bringing exotic wares either as gifts or as goods to be sold. Ivory, rare woods, drugs, diamonds, magicians, dancing girls—the author covers all classes of unusual imports, their places of origin, their lore, their effect on fashion, dwellings, diet, painting, sculpture, music, and poetry.

This book is for students of Tang culture and laymen interested in the same topic. Its author Edward Schafer was an eminent American sinologist.

The Tang dynasty is often called China’s “golden age,” a period of commercial, religious, and cultural connections from Korea and Japan to the Persian Gulf. It was a time of unsurpassed literary creativity. Lewis captures a dynamic era in which the empire reached its greatest geographical extent. And, he shows that under Chinese rule, painting, and ceramic arts flourished, women played a major role both as rulers and in the economy, and China produced its finest lyric poets (Wang Wei, Li Bo (Li Bai), and Du Fu). 

This book is a useful companion volume to my book, which is about the founding and the rise of the Tang dynasty.

This book by the famous Yale sinologist Arthur Wright is written with the general readership in mind. It covers the rise and fall of the Sui empire with great clarity. The Sui empire reunited China for the first time since the fall of the Western Jin in the early 4th century. The Tang dynasty rose on the ashes of the Sui. Many important characters in my book were key actors in the Sui-Tang transition, including Tang Taizong Li Shimin and his father Tang Gaozu Li Yuan. 

One of the most popular books in the history of East Asia, this classic sixteenth century novel is a combination of adventure fiction and folk epic that mixes satire, allegory, and history into a rollicking tale. The epic journey is the one undertaken by the monk Xuanzang under the escort of the roguish Monkey, who has many encounters along the way with major and minor spirits, gods, demigods, demons, ogres, monsters, and fairies.

The monk Xuanzang was active during the reign of Tang Taizong, the protagonist of my book. Monk and emperor have many interactions in that novel.

The Sword Dancer takes place during the Tang Dynasty. Although I knew little about that part of history, I loved how quickly this story immersed me into the world of 8th century China. Li Feng, a young woman who was orphaned under mysterious circumstances, leaves her childhood protector and journeys to the city to uncover her past. She’s strong, smart, and brave but doesn’t always make the best choices when it comes to choosing allies. Using her wits and skill with swords, Li Feng battles human foes as well as a society that doesn’t expect her to amount to much—that is, until she discovers an ally worthy of her trust.

As the West had its long history of Rome and her influence in Europe, so Asia has an even longer story of the Chinese people and their state. For an introduction and appreciation of this brilliant and complex civilization, I recommend Celebrated Cases Of Judge Dee: Dee Goong-An, by Robert van Gulik, and the same author's series of Chinese detective novels featuring Judge Dee.

The real Judge Di Renjie was a member of the Tang Dynasty civil service in the 7th century, who rose to be a chancellor to the Empress Wu. A legendary figure in Chinese history, he became a popular literary detective - a sort of Sherlock Holmes. Van Gulik, himself a civil servant, was a Dutch scholar who served as an advisor to the Chinese government during WWII. He made this translation of an 18th century Chinese detective novel about Dee, and followed it with about… show more.

At an early age, I had a very intense relationship with this now 50-year-old book about the most famous Tang poets, Li Bai and Tu Fu. Arthur Cooper (1916-1988), a British WWII codebreaker and almost mad aficionado of Chinese Lit, was the translator and introducer.

One’s experience of the book is progressively mind-expanding. Cooper knew not only Chinese literature and culture inside and out but also how to convey his knowledge to Westerners in exciting ways.