Tomb of Tang Dynasty female politician discovered

Archaeologists in Shaanxi province confirmed on Tuesday that a recently discovered tomb was for a famous female politician in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Archaeologists confirmed that the tomb belonged to Shangguan Wan'er from an epitaph that was seriously damaged when it was found near Xi'an Xianyang International Airport in Xianyang.

Shangguan Wan'er (664-710) was a famous female politician and the most trusted person of Wu Zetian (624-705), the first female emperor in Chinese history. She was married to Li Xian (656-710), Wu's third son and the fifth emperor after his mother, and was killed in 710 when Li Longji (685-762), the seventh emperor of the Tang Dynasty, launched a palace coup.

Du Wenyu, a historian specializing in Tang Dynasty history studies, said that the discovery of the tomb with the epitaph is of major significance in the study of the Tang Dynasty.