Meanwhile, China was having a golden age of its own. The Tang Dynasty made China's government more of a meritocracy and ruled over 80 million people across 4 million square miles. And they might have conquered all of Central Asia had it not been for the Abbasids, whom they fought at the most important battle you've never heard of, the Battle of the Talas River. This was like the Ali-Fraser of the 8th century, and the Abbasids won, which ended up defining who had cultural influence where, with the Abbasids dominating to the west of the river and China dominating to the east. The Tang also produced incredible art that was traded all throughout Asia. And many of the more famous sculptures from the Tang Dynasty feature figures who are distinctly not Chinese, which again demonstrates the diversity of the empire. The Tang was also a golden age for Chinese poetry, with notables like Du Fu and Li Bao applying their craft, encouraged by the official government.