The Tang Dynasty (618-907) was a golden age of poetry and short stories. In the brief span of two hundred and ninety years many outstanding poets and story writers appeared, including men like Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Li Gongzuo and Bai Xingjian, who have left works which will live for ever. Over fifty thousand poems and over four hundred stories of the Tang Dynasty are extant today, reflecting glory on China's ancient civilization and making no mean contribution to world literature. This volume offers a small sammpling.