Tang Dynasty Peacock Crown | Peacock Headdress: 唐 - 孔雀冠

Music: Veiled in Violet Vagary

OP Reenactor: 摄影师梁咩咩

Tang Dynasty woman wearing a distinctive peacock crown headdress. Based on figurine of a female drummer on horseback excavated from a tomb in the east suburb of Xi'an in 1991. The figurine was pegged to the reign of Xuanzong Emperor (713-741)- whose reign was often designated as 盛唐 "High Tang."

The figurine of the female rider is depicted with round collar robe, an embroidered central floral motif, and boots. Between her arms she holds a brightly colored red orange drum. From her head, the prominent peacock crown flows naturally along the back of her head. Though exact construction of the peacock crown is still up for debates among historians, its distinct silhouette and striking blue/ green color scheme is striking from the mostly faded figurine.

HIGH TANG: A CRITICAL RESTORATION

Perhaps the most significant Tang Emperor of all, Xuanzong Emperor Li Longji's long reign alone marked the period known as "High Tang" 盛唐- the apex and golden age of the dynasty. 

The once young Prince Longji came from a minor branch of the Tang imperial line of succession, because of his painful childhood where his mother was wrongfully slain by his paranoid grandmother- the notorious Empress Wu Zetian, he actively took up the leadership of his father's household- often dragging his own shy and inept father to political victories over the other branches of the Tang imperial clan until his father- then him respectively became Emperors. 

The image was exactly that~ a teenager dragging his own father kicking and screaming toward the limelight of power, a kingmaker so unstoppable that in his audacity and decisiveness, that he already acted like a proactive monarch before he had even put his father on the throne with his bare hands.

THE SALVATOR EMPEROR 

When he ascended the throne after the abdication of his father, the Tang was teetering, its ministry was bloated with corrupt and inept sycophants, on the frontiers, the empire had suffered a series of defeats against the rival Tibetan Empire and the resurgent 2nd Gokturk Khaganate. To all within the empire it was as if the empire had already entered an irreversible period of terminal decline. But Li Longji- now Xuanzong Emperor saved the day, instead, the falling dynasty shot up into a golden age which lasted for half a century.

Resurgent Tang dynasty in 740 under Emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji)- During his long reign the empire was deemed as "High Tang" the Tang restabilized and reached new economical and developmental heights. Under the strides of the ambitious expansionist ethnic Sogdian and Turkic general An Lushan Tang vassalized much of the formerly rebellious northeast. Though Tang was not able to reincorporate the Gokturk territories Tang eventually allied with the Uighurs which with Tang aid jointly usurped the Gokturks.

By appointing able ministers and diligently ruling his empire, the Xuanzong Emperor vigorously restructured the entire empire's bureaucracy, clamped down on corruption, kicked out useless officials, greatly lowered taxes, prevented famines, rewarded all manner of talents, reduced cruel and capital punishments, heavily patronized arts and speech, while at the same time dealt several fatal blows to Tang's enemies on the frontier. 

Tang dynasty commander in cape. He carries a long single edged cutting sword with ringed pommel (Tangdao- ancestor of Heian Japanese swords Chokutō and katana,) a bow (in leopard skin wrap) and circular arrow case is strapped to his belt. Tang military boasted significant cavalry contingents- he carries a riding whip in his right arm. 

And to the astonishment of both the Tang's citizens as well as its many neighboring kingdoms- The waning Tang instead soared into a new golden age and reached unachieved virgin height of prosperity and influence: one which Xuanzong continuously presided for over 5 decades in vigilance.  

THE END OF HIGH TANG PERIOD

Unfortunately for both Xuanzong and the Tang, at the late mark of the old emperor's reign one of his most critical generals- the half Sogdian and Turkic general An Lushan rebelled in the north east- plunging the realm into chaos. 

Full figured, Rubenesque, with soft luscious lines, the women of high Tang period 盛唐, represented a distinctive phase of aesthetics regarding beauty. 

Art by 陸曼陀 Danling★Lu

Above: The fabled Rubenesque Tang dynasty beauty Consort Yang Guifei (719- 756) - lit "Yang, the precious consort" with the hairdo of High Tang period. She wears a translucent silk gauze over her silk dress and reaches for a plate of freshly transported lychees from an ornate lacquered bowel with exotic Central Asian designs.

Mid Tang: Map of the Tang dynasty in 779 shortly after the ascension of emperor Dezong of Tang.Yellow represents the Tang empire, blue represents contested western territories lost to the resurgent Tibetan Empire, red represents the highly independent military circuits under the command of ambitious and autonomous warlords called the Jiedushi. The Tang emperors at this time were not only threatened externally by repeated Tibetan incursions but also by these ruthless vassals, who at times were even brazen enough to slay the emperor's own chancellors right in the capital. 

HIGH TANG TOMB FIGURINES- LOKAPALAS 

Tang dynasty tomb guardians- Lokapalas with trending headwear prominently decorated with swans, peacocks, and various other fowls.

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