Culture
13:31, 29-Aug-2017
Tang Xianzu's resting place unearthed 400 years after his death
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400 years after his death, the final resting place of renowned Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu has finally been located.
The Department of Culture for the southeastern Jiangxi Province on Monday announced that they could confirm the results of a preliminary investigation that a recently unearthed graveyard in Fuzhou, in the neighboring Fujian Province belongs to the Tang's clan.
The site has 42 tombs dating back to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1912), along with six epitaphs.
Unearthed graveyard of Tang Xianzu's family. /CNS Photo
Unearthed graveyard of Tang Xianzu's family. /CNS Photo
The graveyard was originally discovered in November 2016, when renovation work at historical and cultural sites in the Wenchangli area started.
An archaeological investigation was launched in May this year after being authorized by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
After studying the epigraphs and the inscriptions on the coffin lids, archaeologists found that the graveyard was named "Ling Zhi Yuan" or "Garden of Lucid Ganoderma", making it the Tang family cemetery.
According to local officials, the graveyard will be protected after the archaeological work is complete and turned into a tourist attraction.
Unearthed graveyard of Tang Xianzu's family. /CNS Photo
Unearthed graveyard of Tang Xianzu's family. /CNS Photo
Tang Xianzu is one of China's greatest playwrights and his best-known works are collected in the "Four Dreams of Yuming Tang", themed around love or politics.
His artistic works were mainly played only in the form of Kunqu Opera, the oldest existing opera in China.
"The Peony Pavilion" is his most famous piece, and is frequently staged to this day. It has also been dubbed the Chinese version of "Romeo and Juliet".
1328km