The Tang dynasty (618-906 AD), and in part the succeeding Song dynasty, are considered a Golden Age for Chinese Art and Poetry. For example, take a look at this painting of a bird by Li Anzhong, early-mid 1100s.
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Bird on a Branch by Li Anzhong
And this is typical, and unremarkable, and just one example of thousands of beautiful paintings from the period. As for the poetry, I read a fair amount of it before I went to China a few years back.