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Ancient Chinese female PM's tomb discovered

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ANI Xi'an (China)
Last Updated : Sep 14 2013 | 6:05 PM IST

Chinese archaeologists have reportedly discovered the tomb of what they call a most influential female "prime minister" of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

It was discovered in northwest China's Shaanxi Province earlier this week.

The tomb, which is 36.5 meters in circumference and 10.1 meters in depth, was badly damaged and only a few burial accessories were excavated, according to Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology.

From an engraving inside the tomb, archaeologists confirmed the grave belonged to Shangguan Wan'er (664-710), an influential politician and poet during the regime of Empress Wu Zetian (624-705), China's first female ruler.

Her epitaph has nearly 1,000 words, which record Shangguan's life, year of death and tomb location, without referring to her literary and political acts.

Shangguan was killed in a palace coup in 710. But her legend attracted many Chinese people and remains the theme of many films and TV series now.

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First Published: Sep 14 2013 | 5:58 PM IST

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