In the eighth century AD, all roads in Asia led to Xian. It was the greatest city in the world. Rivaled only by Bagdad and Constantinople.
At this time, foreigners were allowed into China for the first time and they were kept in their own area away from the center of power.
In the western part of Xian in the foreign enclave, there was a great mix of cultures.
To the Chinese, the Tang Dynasty was the most golden of all ages for Chinese poetry.
For the Chinese, composing poetry is one of the central ideas of civilization.
A famous Silk Road poet talked about in the video said that the people of China could face any test as long as their leaders treated them humanely.
The Tang Dynasty ended in chaos and anarchy like so many in China’s history but was followed by an even greater Dynasty.
Four hundred miles from Xian lay Kaifeng. In the 11th century AD, this city was the capital of what is considered the peak of Chinese civilization, the Song Dynasty.
During the Song Dynasty, the invention of printing and inward development changed China. This would guide Asia for another thousand years.
In Kaifeng, as everywhere in China, several decades of Communist rule have not cut the ancient beliefs.
Reverence for ancestors, filial piety, and Confucian virtues are all coming back into the open now that freedom of worship (of the old ways) is guaranteed.
Like its medicine, Chinese cooking is based on harmony and balance – the old themes of Chinese culture. In fact, the oldest restaurant in the world first opened in 1153 AD and is still open for business in Kaifeng.
Return to History of the Mandate of Heaven – Part 2
______________
Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.
If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse 
iLook China 