Tang Dynasty Noblewoman 唐贵妇

March 15, 2024

Tang Dynasty Noblewoman 唐贵妇

Music: Return to the Tang

Hanfu Provider: 山涧服饰

A Rubenesque Tang dynasty lady of the High- Mid Tang era. High Tang was directly pegged to the 50+ year long reign of emperor Xuanzong. The height of his reign saw great prosperity and flourishing of art and culture in China (the Kaiyuan era) However the disastrous An Lushan Rebellion caused a realm- wide war and ended the High Tang.

Art by Huawen

During this prosperous age heavily made-up plump Rubenesque beauties were greatly favored. Most notable among them being Emperor's favorite concubine Yang Guifei- or Yang the Precious Consort.

During this high time of Tang prosperity the empire accounts for nearly 1/4 of the global population and they capital of Chang An itself was a vast metropolis of some 1 million residents, including the suburbs and outskirts and this number balloons to nearly 2 million.

Above: Detailed grid of Chang An with the name of each of the ward listed. Note that the north-central square was reserved as the great Palace of the City. During the Tang, Emperor Taizong and Empress Wu would build the distinctively shaped Daming Palace to the city's north. Below: A 3D diagram of one of the main avenues of Tang- which lined in straight north- southern axis. Note the size of pedestrians marked with a red circle.

A digital reconstruction of one of the wards of Chang An- each with its own wall, gates, and drum towers. In total, Chang An possessed 108 wards of roughly similar sizes. The height of the walls enclosing each ward were on average 9 to 10 ft (3.0 m) in height