Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) is the most prosperous dynasty throughout Chinese history and a high point in Chinese civilization. It was established by Li Yuan (Emperor of Gaozu). Chang’an (today’s Xi’an), the capital city was referred to the biggest metropolis in the world at that time.

Tang Dynasty was ruled by Li family, which belonged to the northwest military aristocracy prevalent during the reign of the Sui emperors. The mothers of Yang Guang (Emperor Yang of Sui) and Li Yuan (Emperor Gaozu of Tang), the founding emperor of Tang were sisters. Li Yuan was the Duke of Tang and former governor of Taiyuan when other government officials were fighting off bandit leaders in the collapse of the Sui Empire. With prestige and military experience, he later rose in rebellion along with his sons and his equally militant daughter Princess Pingyang who raised her own troops and commanded them.
In 617, Li Yuan occupied Chang'an and acted as regent over a puppet child emperor of the Sui, relegating Emperor Yang to the position of Taishang Huang(retired emperor or father of the present emperor). With the news of Emperor Yang's murder by his general Yuwen Huaji , Li Yuan declared himself the emperor of a new dynasty, the Tang on June 18, 618.

The Tang Dynasty can be divided into two periods: the early period and the late period, with the eight-year An Lushan-Shi Siming Rebellion as its turning point. The early period was a golden age, while the latter was a period of decline.`

After Emperor Gaozu established the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, finally unified the whole of China in 10 years time. During his reign, Emperor Taizong invested all of his efforts in consolidating his regime, making the Tang the most prosperous and the world leader in politics, economy and culture in the history of feudal China. The period was known as Zhen Guan Zhi Zhi (the reigning years of Zhen Guan). The golden age, a peaceful period called Kai Yuan Sheng Shi (the flourishing age of Kaiyuan) continued until the reign of Emperor Xuanzong.
During the early period, economic growth and political stability provided a favorable environment for the development of culture, art and foreign relations. Tang poetry was also the most remarkable in Chinese history. Achievements in other fields were also exceptional.
In the late years of Emperor Xuanzong's reign, the An Lushan-Shi Simin Rebellion seriously hurt the Tang Empire, marking its decline.
The late Tang period fell into a political turmoil, with strife between the Niu Faction and Li Faction and eunuch monopoly. Continuous peasant uprisings culminated in Huang Chao's uprising where Commander Zhu Wen turned his back on Huang and joined the Tang side. Later, Zhu deposed the Tang emperor and proclaimed himself emperor of the later Liang Dynasty, which ushered in the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten States.

Building upon the Sui legal code, Emperor Taizong issued a new legal code that subsequent Chinese dynasties would model theirs upon, as well as neighboring polities in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. The earliest law code to survive was the one established in the year 653, which was divided into 500 articles specifying different crimes and penalties ranging from ten blows with a light stick, one hundred blows with a heavy rod, exile, penal servitude, or execution.
The legal code clearly distinguished different levels of severity in meted punishments when different members of the social and political hierarchy committed the same crime. For example, the severity of punishment was different when a servant or nephew killed a master or an uncle than when a master or uncle killed a servant or nephew.
The Tang Code was largely retained by later codes such as the early Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) code of 1397, yet there were several revisions in later times, such as improved property rights for women during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

The Tang period was a golden age of Chinese literature and art. Tang poem was one of the most outstanding ones. There are over 48,900 poems penned by some 2,200 Tang authors that have survived until modern times. Perfecting one's skills in the composition of poetry became a required study for those wishing to pass imperial examinations, while poetry was also heavily competitive. Poetry contests amongst esteemed guests at banquets and courtiers of elite social gatherings were common in the Tang period.

The Later Tang Dynasty had a few years of relative calm, followed by unrest. In 934, Sichuan again asserted independence. In 936, Shi Jingtang, a Shatuo Turk jiedushi from Taiyuan, was aided by the Manchurian Khitan Empire in a rebellion against the dynasty. In return for their aid, Shi Jingtang promised annual tribute and 16 prefectures in the Yanyun area (modern northern Hebei Province and Beijing) to the Khitans. The rebellion succeeded and Shi Jingtang became emperor in this same year.
Not long after the Jin Dynasty's founding, the Khitans regarded the emperor as a proxy ruler for China proper. In 943, they declared war on this kingdom, and within three years seized the capital, Kaifeng—thus marking the end of Later Jin Dynasty. But, although they had conquered vast regions of China, they were unable or unwilling to control those regions and retreated from them early in the next year.

Tang Dynasty was an open time. Through use of the land trade along the Silk Road and maritime trade by sail at sea, the Tang were able to exchange many new technologies, cultural practices, rare luxury, and contemporary items with other countries. The Chinese also gradually adopted the foreign concept of stools and chairs as seating, whereas the Chinese beforehand always sat on mats placed on the floor. To the Middle East, the Islamic world coveted and purchased in bulk Chinese goods such as silks, lacquerwares, and porcelain wares. Songs, dances, and musical instruments from foreign regions became popular in China during the Tang Dynasty. These musical instruments included oboes, flutes, and small lacquered drums from Kucha in the Tarim Basin, and percussion instruments from India such as cymbals. At the court there were nine musical ensembles (expanded from seven in the Sui Dynasty) representing music from throughout Asia.
In Tang Dynasty, there was great contact and interest in India as a hub for Buddhist knowledge, with famous travelers such as Xuanzang (d. 664) visiting the South Asian subcontinent. After a 17-year long trip, Xuanzang managed to bring back valuable Sanskrit texts to be translated into Chinese. There was also a Turkic–Chinese dictionary available for serious scholars and students, while Turkic folksongs gave inspiration to some Chinese poetry.
Within China, trade was facilitated by the Grand Canal and the Tang government's rationalization of the greater canal system that reduced costs of transporting grain and other commodities. The state also managed roughly 32,100 km (19,900 mi) of postal service routes by horse or boat.
Tang Dynasty is regarded as one of the most prosperous dynasties in Chinese history. Hence “Tang” has become synonymous with China like “Han”. It reached the highest and most outstanding achievement in Chinese dynastic history.