The Restriction Of Adulation

Epitaphs,as commemorative articles recorded the deceased's life story,have always been debated by historians of Tang Dynasty.However,owing to epitaphs' stereotype and obscurity,scholars have different values.With the increase of newly unearthed epitaphs,the study on epitaphs has shifted from traditional historical material analysis to historical analysis.In the huge social system of Tang Dynasty,once a scholar who was studying for official career advances his career,every aspect of his life was bound by the ubiquitous existing system.Even after the end of his life,the state still used a series of procedures to stipulate the treatment of the deceased's and determine the reputation of the deceased's and descendants through various methods such as grants,posthumous names,epitaphs,Shendao inscriptions,and biographies.Under the reshaping of this image,it is not difficult to understand why the epitaphs are also restricted.The author compared different effective historical materials for case analysis by collecting epitaphs,Xingzhuang,Shendao inscriptions,and so on.By this means,we will be able to break the traditional understanding of the adulatory epitaphs and the low value of historical records.That is,when the Tang people wrote the epitaphs,they were not always adulatory.Moreover,the epitaphs are indeed constrained when it comes to involving the ruler and the image of the imperial court,or conflicting with public opinion,or contradicts the facts of major political events.Epitaph writing has been guided by the above-mentioned principles.The restriction of adulatory epitaphs is widely found in the epitaphs of middle and senior officials in the Tang Dynasty.There were few relevant records of the epitaphs system in the bibliographies.However,by analyzing the official qualification system of Xingzhuang and Shendao monuments,at least we can deduce that the rank of officials included in the official image should be at least five or more.The epitaph presents both textual and material characteristics.It can not only be used as a text containing much information of the deceased's,but also can be engraved on monuments as an important part of the funeral,as a part of social funeral customs.