"In the period from the late Tang to the end of the Song there was an especially broad distribution of kiln sites and ware types, which supported local economies. International trade in export ceramics, mostly for household use, extended from Southeast Asia, India, and Africa to the Near East and to Japan, where Chinese tea bowls for monastic use were highly prized" (Thorp, and Vinograd 233). Among the main reasons for which certain Chinese Dynasties expressed unwillingness about engaging in foreign affairs was the fact that leadership of the Empire was often disputed between groups in the country. With civil warfare being one of their most significant concerns, leaders were less interested in spending money on maintain relationships with foreign countries. Many Chinese were underprivileged during such times, given that they were either...

"The Roman Empire as Known to Han China," the Journal of the American Oriental Society 119.1 (1999)
Scott, Hugh the Golden Age of Chinese Art: The Lively T'ang Dynasty (Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, 1967)

Thorp, Robert L. And Vinograd, Richard Ellis Chinese Art & Culture (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001)

"Chinese Cultural Studies: Concise Political History of China." Retrieved February 13, 2011, from: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/chinhist.html