Late Tang China and the World, 750–907 CE

A new look at the late Tang period that explodes some well-worn myths and re-evaluates its place in world history.

This Element reassesses the standard cosmopolitanism-to-xenophobia narrative of late Tang China, presenting a more empirically-grounded and nuanced interpretation of the Tang empire's foreign relations after 755.In recent decades, the Tang dynasty (618-907) has acquired a reputation as the most 'cosmopolitan' period in Chinese history. The standard narrative also claims that this cosmopolitan openness faded after the An Lushan Rebellion of 755-763, to be replaced by xenophobic hostility toward all things foreign. This Element reassesses the cosmopolitanism-to-xenophobia narrative and presents a more empirically-grounded and nuanced interpretation of the Tang empire's foreign relations after 755.