A Study On The Interpretation Of Tang Shouli's Epitaph And Related Issues

Tang West Market Museum collects the epitaph of Chen Shouli of Tang Dynasty which is informative to the field of historical study.The thesis is an attempt to explore the historical reality and relative information through the interpretation of the epitaph and other issues related to the epitaph.There are three chapters in this thesis.The first part focuses on the life of Chen shouli.He was born as a member of the imperial household of Dang Dynasty and then changed his family name from Li into Chen.Since he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Uighur Empire beginning his official career,he has been military officer in the Fubin?? system and imperial guards,and finally was appointed as the General of Right Longwu???? Chen shouli has experienced a series of events after the rebellion of An Lushan and Shi Siming.He made contributions in defending the domination of Tang Dynasty for which he was deeply trusted by the emperor and was regarded an important official at that time.The second part is an exploration and interpretation of the epitaph.The author attempts to investigate the basic issues of the epitaph such as the identity of Chen Shouli and the official career of Chen Shouli by integrating the inscription and the historical recording to present the life of a military officer living in the middle to late 8th century under the historical background.The third part focuses on three issues relative to the epitaph of Chen Shouli,including the principles and regulations of adoption in Tang Dynasty from the background of Chen Shouli and his family,a turmoil happening in the period of Dali 8th of Daizong reign recording in the epitaph which is proved to be relative to the Buddhism of maitreya worship,and the Six Armies System in Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties from Chen Shouli' s position of Longwu Army and the Six Armies frequently mentioned in the inscription.