What was it that made the Tang Dynasty's (618-907) view of women different? There's certainly more to the story than an acceptance and even the celebration of plumpness. Weight and size were just one of many criteria used to assess female beauty between the seventh and 10th centuries. The Tang Dynasty was a time when beauty was freely expressed, an individual quality seen in the eye of the beholder.

(Cover: A court lady figure of the Tang Dynasty. /CGTN)