Epitaphofhigh-rankingofficialinTangDynastydiscoveredinXinjiang_GuangmingOnlineThisundatedphotoshowsthefrontfaceoftheepitaphcoverofChengHuan,theownerofalargeTangDynastytomb.Apreviouslyanonymousepitaphdiscoveredin2022innorthwestChina'sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegionhasbeenidentifiedaspayingtributetoahigh-rankingTangDynasty(618-907)official,localauthoritiessaid.(TheAcademiaTurfanica/HandoutviaXinhua)URUMQI,March4(Xinhua)--Apreviouslyanonymousepitaphdiscoveredin2022innorthwestChina'sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegionhasbeenidentifiedaspayingtributetoahigh-rankingTangDynasty(618-907)official,localauthoritiessaid.FromMaytoNovember2022,theXinjiangInstituteofCulturalRelicsandArchaeologyandAcademiaTurfanicacarriedoutarescueexcavationoftheeastBadamucemeteries,exploring11TangDynastytombs,includingonelargetombthatcontainedtheepitaph.IntheTangDynasty,thecentralgovernmentstrengtheneditsruleovertheWesternRegionsbyestablishingtheGrandAnxiFrontierCommandandtheGrandBeitingFrontierCommandtoadministertheWesternRegions.Thefrontfaceofthetombstonewasinscribedwithnearly700characters,butonlyaround480characterscouldbeidentified.AthoroughinvestigationidentifiedtheownerofthetombtobeChengHuan.ChenghailedfromHandanCityinHebeiProvince,northChina,andwasthedeputycommanderoftheGrandBeitingFrontierCommandwhenhediedat63inXizhou--referringtotheTurpanareainXinjiangtoday,accordingtoZhangHailong,withtheAcademiaTurfanica.ThefindingindicatetheTangDynastycentralgovernment'seffectivegovernanceoftheWesternRegions,adiscoverywhichisofgreatvaluetothestudyofthelocalmilitaryandpoliticalinstitutions.ExpertssaidthatfromCheng'scareerexperience,itcanbeseenthattheTangDynastyofficialsystemwaseffectivelyimplementedintheWesternRegions.ChenQiwen,alsowiththeAcademiaTurfanica,said,apartfromtheepitaph,manypaintedclayfigurines,pots,potterylamps,andbeadswereunearthedfromCheng'stomb,whichprovedthattheinheritanceanduseofcalligraphyintheareafollowedtheculturalcharacteristicsofthecentralplainareasofChina.ThisundatedaerialdronephotoshowstheeastBadamucemeteriesinTurpan,northwestChina'sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion.Apreviouslyanonymousepitaphdiscoveredin2022innorthwestChina'sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegionhasbeenidentifiedaspayingtributetoahigh-rankingTangDynasty(618-907)official,localauthoritiessaid.(TheAcademiaTurfanica/HandoutviaXinhua)Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.