公元6至10世纪，在中华大地上出现了全国大统一的隋、唐王朝。公元581年，杨坚夺取北周政权，建立隋朝。杨坚就是隋文帝。589年，隋灭陈，重新统一南北。618年，隋炀帝在农民大起义中被部下杀死，不久，隋朝灭亡。在这场农民大起义中，隋朝大官僚李渊父子，乘机起兵，建立唐朝。从唐太宗、武则天到唐玄宗前期，唐朝先后出现过“贞观之治”和“开元盛世”。唐朝的疆域空前辽阔，东到大海，南及南海诸岛，西越巴尔喀什湖，东北到外兴安岭一带，边疆少数民族地区逐步得到开发，国势十分强盛。 

　　隋唐时期，经济空前繁荣，对外交往频繁，科技文化成就辉煌灿烂。唐代的书法、绘画、雕刻等成就都很高；唐诗在中国古代诗歌史上发展到了最高峰，李白、杜甫是唐朝最伟大的诗人；唐代散文也有很大成就，韩愈和柳宗元是杰出的代表。唐朝不仅是中国古代强大的王朝，而且也是当时世界上最繁荣富强的国家之一。 

　　隋唐时期，西欧国家分裂，政局混乱，工商业衰落，文化处于黑暗的低潮时期。与之相反，亚洲则生机勃勃。唐朝与亚洲各国之间的经济文化交往出现了前所未有的盛况。隋唐政治、经济、文化的发展，影响了亚洲，尤其是东亚的许多国家。唐都长安，不仅是当时的政治中心，而且是亚洲各国经济文化交流的中心之一。因为唐朝在国际上的影响巨大而深远，国外称中国人为“唐人”。 

　　From the 6th to the 10th centuries, China was once more united, under the Sui and Tang dynasties. In 581, Yang Jian usurped the throne of Northern Zhou, and established the Sui Dynasty. Yang Jian reigned as Emperor Wendi of Sui. In 589, Sui conquered the Chen Dynasty, and reunified the northern and southern parts of the country. In 618, a peasant uprising brought about the end of Sui, with the death of Emperor Yangdi. Li Yuan, a powerful Sui official, and his sons, established the Tang Dynasty. The period from the reign of Emperor Taizong (r. 627-649 AD) to the early part of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712-756 AD) is called the time of the "Benign Administration of the Zhenguan Reign Period" and the "Flourishing Kaiyuan Reign Period",Zhenguan and Kaiyuan being the reign titles of emperors Taizong and Xuanzong, respectively. The territory ruled by the Tang Dynasty was broader than that of any of the previous dynasties. It reached the East China Sea in the east, extended to the islands in the South China Sea in the south, bordered Lake Balkhash in today's Kazakhstan in the west and extended as far as the Outer Hinggan Mountains in the northeast. 

　　During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the economy of China prospered, exchanges with the outside world were frequent, and glorious scientific and cultural achievements appeared. Calligraphy, painting and sculpture flourished in the Tang Dynasty. In particular, Tang Dynasty poetry is regarded as the acme of this genre, represented by the poets Li Bai and Du Fu. In the field of prose literature, Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan were outstanding. Tang was one of the richest and most powerful countries in the world at that time.  

　　The burgeoning economy and culture of the Sui and Tang dynasties influenced the whole of Asia, especially the countries in East Asia. Chang'an, the capital city of the Tang Dynasty, was not only the political center of China at that time, it was also one of the centers for economic and cultural exchanges in the whole Asian region. Because of the Tang Dynasty's enormous international influence, Chinese people were called the "people of Tang" by their neighbors.