In the early period of Tang Dynasty, the subordinate tombs of the people of imperial lineage and the famous ministers around the Emperor Mausoleum are mainly located in Li Quan and Qian Xian counties in the field of Shanxi Province in southwest China. The subordinate tombs were mainly in the period from 643 to 785. For those who love Chinese history when they come to learn Chinese language in China, they might have paid attention to the time that those subordinate tombs were unearthed, which was from 1950 till now.
Of course, the first thing that the foreign students need to be clear is that the subordinate tombs of Emperor Mausoleum in Tang Dynasty are the tombs of the imperial families and the ministers spread around the tombs of emperors. The main composing part of the imperial burial system is the company of the imperial clans and meritorious statesmen. You may feel it is hard to understand. However, as a matter of fact, in ancient times, it is a special honor that the feudal emperors gave to the imperial members and the civil and military ministers. In addition, it is an approach of win the people’s support and consolidate the political power.
In total, there are three types of subordinate tombs from the aspect of the appearance. The first classification is the tombs with the shape of inverted bowl and surrounded by walls on all sides. There is a pile of earth in the south door and a stone tablet is set there. This kind of tomb is mainly for the imperial clans like the prince and princess. Another type of tomb that the students who come to learn Mandarin in China need to know is the cone-shaped tomb, mainly for the ministers and the military generals. Therefore, the number of such tomb is really large. The last type was imitated from the tombs of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing in Han Dynasty.
It is popular to put wall paintings in the subordinate tombs of Emperor Mausoleum in Tang Dynasty. The main contents of the paintings are the Four Immortals, astronomy, pommel horse, dance accompanied by music and also the living conditions. But the scales and contents are decided by the status of the dead. The burial objects are mainly the pottery figurines and golden and silver wares whose number and combination are also related to the status of the dead.