China-Ancient Tomb/Shaanxi
Chang'an district, Xi'an city, Shaanxi Province, northwest China - Recent
1. Various of archaeologists cleaning dusts in tomb
++MUTE++
2. Incomplete fresco
3. Holes dug by thieves
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xing Fulai, associate researcher at Archaeology Institute of Shaanxi Province (starting with shot 3, ending with shots 5-6):
"We've found five to six of these thieving holes within the tomb which locate between two niches. A few pottery figurines were discovered to have been in the two niches and I think that most of them were stolen."
5. Niches
6. Various of pottery figurines
++MUTE++
7. Picture of tomb
8. Paragraph of epigraph in Chinese, reading "Finance Minister Li, died in Guangxi"
9. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xing Fulai, associate researcher at Archaeology Institute of Shaanxi Province (ending with shot 10):
"He was really talented and according to his epigraph, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (656-710 AD) once granted him an iron tablet which can absolve him from the death penalty ten times and when [his successor] Empress Wu Zetian heard about it, she granted him another ten times, which means that this person was really the emperor's favorite and most trustworthy official."
10. Epigraph
11. Various of path leading to tomb
12. Archaeologists working
Archaeologists have recently unearthed a precious iron tablet from a Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) tomb in Xi'an City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
The iron tablet was given by ancient emperors to their most loyal officials which absolved them from the death penalty should they commit a crime in the future.
At the site in Ju'an village of the city's Chang'an district, only several pottery figurines and incomplete fresco were unearthed due to theft and severe damage caused over the past dynasties.
"We've found five to six of these thieving holes within the tomb which locate between two niches. A few pottery figurines were discovered to have been in the two niches and I think that most of them were stolen," said Xing Fulai, associate researcher at the Archaeology Institute of Shaanxi Province.
The owner of the tomb, according to the epigraph placed within the tomb, is Li Chengjia, a descendant of Li Guang, a general of the Western Han Dynasty(206 BC-25 AD). Serving as a finance minister of Tang, Li Chengjia was given an iron tablet which absolved him from the death penalty no less than ten times.
"He was really talented and according to his epigraph, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (656-710 AD) once granted him an iron tablet which can absolve him from the death penalty ten times and when [his successor] Empress Wu Zetian heard about it, she granted him another ten times, which means that this person was really the emperor's favorite and most trustworthy official," said Xing.
According to archaeologists, Li transferred to southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in his final years but died after failing to acclimatize. His grave was later moved back to Ju'an village.
China-Ancient Tomb/Shaanxi
Dateline : Recent
Location : Xi'an,China
Duration : 1'07
Chang'an district, Xi'an city, Shaanxi Province, northwest China - Recent
1. Various of archaeologists cleaning dusts in tomb
++MUTE++
2. Incomplete fresco
3. Holes dug by thieves
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xing Fulai, associate researcher at Archaeology Institute of Shaanxi Province (starting with shot 3, ending with shots 5-6):
"We've found five to six of these thieving holes within the tomb which locate between two niches. A few pottery figurines were discovered to have been in the two niches and I think that most of them were stolen."
5. Niches
6. Various of pottery figurines
++MUTE++
7. Picture of tomb
8. Paragraph of epigraph in Chinese, reading "Finance Minister Li, died in Guangxi"
9. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xing Fulai, associate researcher at Archaeology Institute of Shaanxi Province (ending with shot 10):
"He was really talented and according to his epigraph, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (656-710 AD) once granted him an iron tablet which can absolve him from the death penalty ten times and when [his successor] Empress Wu Zetian heard about it, she granted him another ten times, which means that this person was really the emperor's favorite and most trustworthy official."
10. Epigraph
11. Various of path leading to tomb
12. Archaeologists working
Archaeologists have recently unearthed a precious iron tablet from a Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) tomb in Xi'an City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
The iron tablet was given by ancient emperors to their most loyal officials which absolved them from the death penalty should they commit a crime in the future.
At the site in Ju'an village of the city's Chang'an district, only several pottery figurines and incomplete fresco were unearthed due to theft and severe damage caused over the past dynasties.
"We've found five to six of these thieving holes within the tomb which locate between two niches. A few pottery figurines were discovered to have been in the two niches and I think that most of them were stolen," said Xing Fulai, associate researcher at the Archaeology Institute of Shaanxi Province.
The owner of the tomb, according to the epigraph placed within the tomb, is Li Chengjia, a descendant of Li Guang, a general of the Western Han Dynasty(206 BC-25 AD). Serving as a finance minister of Tang, Li Chengjia was given an iron tablet which absolved him from the death penalty no less than ten times.
"He was really talented and according to his epigraph, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (656-710 AD) once granted him an iron tablet which can absolve him from the death penalty ten times and when [his successor] Empress Wu Zetian heard about it, she granted him another ten times, which means that this person was really the emperor's favorite and most trustworthy official," said Xing.
According to archaeologists, Li transferred to southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in his final years but died after failing to acclimatize. His grave was later moved back to Ju'an village.
ID : 8048200
Published : 2017-04-18 20:51
Last Modified : 2017-07-14 10:05:00
Source : China Central Television (CCTV)
Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland
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