Prosperity of private school education in the Tang Dynasty was closely associated to the practicing of imperial examination system. The system of curricula and teaching contents changed from classics and history to literature and poetry, and assumed a more and more energetic trend of development. Private school education at that time was pluralistic, individualistic and liberal. Candidates came from different origins and teaching was carried out in various forms, which helped literature to be accepted and disseminated. The distinctive teaching environment of private school education in the Tang Dynasty provided significant natural and humanistic context for the shaping of different literary styles and trends, promoting the movement of literary writing in those days.

private school education in the Tang Dynasty; system of imperial examination; literature education; literary writing