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The Chinese of today look back at the the Tang dynasty (618-907) with a pride that they reserve for no other period. Two achievements, Tang imperial government itself and Tang poetry, are seen as unrivalled by those of any other dynasty. But achievements in government and in culture did not run neatly in parallel. Tang poetry, novellas, painting, architecture, sculpture, metalware, and ceramic art developed under a government that was largely stable and expanding up to the middle of the 8th cent…