Tang Dynasty was the most magnificent era in Chinese history. Particularly during the period of the Zhenguan Governance and the Splendor of Kaiyuan, officials from thousands of nations came to visit China. The great Tang Dynasty was also a time when arts and culture reached the ultimate height.
Different from other dynasties' cultures, Tang Dynasty's culture and craftsmanship had a grand air. For example, the piece of colored-ware of two young women in Tang Dynasty shown below, collected by the author, present the highest standard of pottery. It captured the two young women dancing with elegance. Their facial expressions were graceful and magnanimous.
Buddhism and Taoism had a profound impact on Tang Dynasty's culture. It was said that Tang culture was a divine-imparted culture. During this time, from emperors, officials, to ordinary people, all understood the "harmony between heaven and humans." They respected and worshiped higher powers, and strived to cultivate their moral characters. The famous poet Li Bai was named "the Immortal Poet." "The Safe of Painters," Wu Daozi was well-known for his paintings of Buddhist's and Taoist's figures. Literati Wang Wei was a lay Buddhist, and Doctor Sun Simiao became a Taoist monk.
The dance "Divine Beauty," in the 2006 Chinese New Year Global Gala represented the harmony between heaven and earth, human beings' respect to the Divine, and the scene of a prosperous and peaceful society. The original name of this dance was Lights in the Divine Land. It includes two parts. The first part displays the King in a Buddha's heaven coming down, bringing the lights from the heaven to the earth. This indicates that the traditional Chinese culture was imparted by the Divine. The second part represents a peaceful and glorious scene after receiving the culture given by the Divine. In this part, people showed their respect to heaven through playing the peace drums.
The dance, "Lights in the Divine Land," reminds the offspring of the Divine Land not to forget the essence of our traditional culture, not to forget Gods and Buddha who created the Chinese people's ancestors and imparted the rich Chinese culture to people.