In 581, Yang Jian, a relative of the King of the Northern Zhou Kingdom, seized the state power to found the Sui Dynasty. Shortly afterwards, he wiped out the Chen Kingdom in 589, reuniting the South and the North of China. Supported by his son Li Shiming, Tang Gao zu Li Yuan established in 618 the Tang Dynasty.
During Sui and Tang, there were remarkable achievements with respect to institutions and laws. The introduction of the three ministries and six departments, the service examination system, and the two tax laws, all have had a far-reaching influence on the later dynasties. Comparatively open foreign policies were implemented facilitating frequent economic and cultural exchanges with foreign countries. In literature, Tang poetry was a most great achievement. Chen Zi’ang at the initial period , Li Bai and Du Fu at the heyday period , Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen at the middle period , and Li Shangyin and Du Mu at the late period of the Tang Dynasty , were outstanding representatives of the Tang poets .
The Classical Literary Style Movement advocated by Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan has exerted a great influence on later prose writers. The calligraphy by Yan Zhenqing , the paintings by Yan Liben , Wu Daozi , Li Sixun and Wang Wei , the music and dance exemplified by “dances in colorful feathery dresses” , etc ., and the numerous grotto carvings , all had lasting fames . In the respect of science and technology, printing and gunpowder, two of the Four Great Inventions of China, were started at the Sui and Tang periods.
