For many people, their impression of the Tang dynasty is stuck in a heavily filtered, influencer-approved version:
The Reign of Zhenguan, the Kaiyuan Golden Age, Li Bai drinking wine, Du Fu writing poetry, Bai Juyi visiting brothels, Yang Guifei dancing, foreign merchants crowding Chang’an, and the night markets fragrant with food…
It was the Tang dynasty at its most beautiful, in its youthful idol era. Any little slice of it could be a historical blockbuster.
But take a look at what the final years of the Tang dynasty were really like…
The filters shatter, and the truth is laid bare.
