A Brush With Genius

An unprecedented find in central China brings to life the early years of a master calligrapher

- By Ling Xin

IN THE VILLAGE OF GONGDONG outside the central Chinese city of Xi’an, construction projects have kept archaeologists busy since the summer of 2020. Thus far, more than 100 ancient tombs have been uncovered in the area, some dating to as early as the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220). Last June, a team of archaeologists from the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology unearthed a large Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618–906) family tomb at Gongdong. Classical Chinese culture flourished during the Tang Dynasty, and elite tombs dating to that period are known for their intricate stone- and brickwork and are often filled with numerous artifacts. The newly discovered tomb, belonging to a military commander named Yuan Daqian and his wife, Luo Wanshun, was no different. Archaeologists found more than 100 ceramic vessels and figurines in the multichambered tomb, despite the fact that tomb raiders had looted it in antiquity.

Tang Dynasty ca. A.D. 700

One discovery stood out from the rest. In elite Chinese tombs, archaeologists often find square funerary stones, referred to as epitaphs, that are inscribed with ornate calligraphy that relates the accomplishments of the dead at length. The epitaphs are accompanied by stone plaques known as epitaph covers bearing brief descriptions of the tomb’s occupant. Epitaph covers and epitaphs were typically wrapped together in silk and placed near the front entrance to the main room of tombs, where the dead were interred—but in this tomb they had been pushed aside. “When we entered the couple’s tomb, we saw that the epitaphs and epitaph covers had been displaced by tomb raiders,” says Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology scholar Zhang Yanglizheng.