Archaeology Magazine - March/April 2014 - 33

were limited to one room. Only individuals with a close relationship to the emperor could have had such a grand resting
place. "It was our assumption," Li says, "that it belonged to
a high-level Tang official."
As Li excavated, a mystery emerged. For all the care shown
in the tomb's construction, even more had been given to its
thorough destruction-walls had been toppled, ceilings had
been brought down, floor tiles had been ripped up, and there
were no valuables or human remains. What artifacts there
were, including pottery and a troop of ceramic horses and
soldiers, had been partially shattered. This did not appear to be
the result of looting, and there were no signs of modern intrusion. The destruction had a different cast-something more
personal. The pieces of the puzzle began to come together

An elaborately carved stone epitaph both
identifies the occupant of the tomb and hints
at the reasons behind its destruction.

when archaeologists uncovered a large
stone epitaph. On the top of the stone,
written in big, rounded characters, were
the words "The Late Imperial Consort
Shangguan of the Great Tang Dynasty."

HanGGUan Wan'ER, to whom the

epitaph refers, lived from around
a.d. 664 to 710. She was one of only
.
a handful of prominent female officials
throughout the long history of imperial
China, and served under another, Empress
Wu Zetian. At a time when women typically only held power when they served as
regents for their young sons, Wu Zetian
took complete control of the court in
a.d. 660, ruled without apology, and
,
had a series of lovers who also served as
political advisors. "Up until that time,
this was not uncommon. It was a little
bit like Catherine the Great," says Keith
McMahon, a professor in the East Asian
Language and Cultures department at
www.archaeology.org

the University of Kansas, and an expert on the roles of women
in imperial China. "This was a period in which women were
extremely powerful and influential." But that period was
nearing its end.
Shangguan grew up a slave in the palace at Chang'an, one
of the most prosperous and cosmopolitan cities in the world
at the time, according to McMahon. As a slave in the inner
palace, Shangguan was educated and given access to all the
influential women of her time. According to popular legend,
she was first noticed when Wu Zetian discovered some pages
of her poetry in the crown prince's study.
Wu Zetian was so impressed with Shangguan's writing ability that she appointed the young woman her personal secretary.
Shangguan became responsible for drafting imperial edicts and
grew into a savvy politician who was also lauded for her poems
(see "The Concubine's Verse," page 34). But her position was
subject to the machinations of the family that had elevated
her to prominence. When the empress abdicated at 80, her
son became Emperor Zhongzong, and he and his powerful
wife, Empress Wei, claimed power. Shangguan became one
of the emperor's concubines and continued drafting edicts.
But Zhongzong died mysteriously five years later, perhaps
poisoned by his wife. Following a period of upheaval, one of
Wu Zetian's grandsons became Emperor Xuanzong and exiled
or executed all former ministers in the court. Shangguan had
apparently allied herself with the wrong faction. When the
invading forces arrived at her courtyard, she
was dragged from her home and beheaded.

Wan'ER'S STORY did
not end with her death. A few years
later, the emperor who had had her
executed ordered the creation of a collection
of her poetry. However, the destruction of
her tomb and the epitaph discovered
inside suggest to archaeologists that,
at some point, she fell out of favor yet
again. During the Tang Dynasty, stone
epitaphs were common additions to the
tombs of high-ranking officials, intended
to ensure the status of the tomb's inhabitant in the world of the dead. Typically, the
inscriptions are long biographies, characterized by effusive, flowery accounts
of accomplishments, status, and official
service to the state.
Shangguan's epitaph follows this formula, but with a handful of significant departures. The five-square-foot stone contains
a text of 982 characters, bordered with
HanGGUan

Among the few artifacts that survived the
tomb's destruction were these servant
figurines. Such small sculptures, meant to
serve the deceased in the afterlife, were
common in Tang Dynasty tombs.
33

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Archaeology Magazine - March/April 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - March/April 2014