DISK FILE "CHINESE HISTORY" LOADED

I feel like it'd be impossible to not find the history of a more-or-less continous civilization of 4000 years to not be interesting. I have to admit my knoweldge of Chinese history is pretty abysmal-- I can name basically zero historical events and the only ruler I know off the top of my head is Wu Zetian. But, I want to learn more, so here we are! I have particular interest in the Tang and Song dynasties purely because I like looking at periods of high art, but contemporary China is also very interesting.

How do I find the shrine?

QUESTIONS

What are distinctive markers of each dynasty?
Why was the Tang Dynasty considered a golden age?