For the first time, archaeologists have discovered the tomb of a Tang Dynasty hostage prince from the Silla Kingdom of Korea in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, northwest China. An epitaph found in the tomb names the occupant as Kim Young and provides a full biography of his life. It is only the second Silla hostage tomb stele known, and the other one appeared with no provenance information, so this is the only example to be archaeologically excavated in its original context.
The tomb was unearthed by a team from the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology in June of 2022 at the Dongjiang Village archaeological site, located a little over a mile north of the ancient Tang Dynasty capital of Chang’an. Tomb M15, a blue brick chamber tomb with a long, sloping entrance passage leading to a single burial chamber, was comparable in shape and design to other medium-sized Tang Dynasty tombs in the area from the same period. It had been looted in antiquity, but the tomb raiders had left behind 83 funerary furnishings, including red clay pottery figurines of personified zodiac signs, celestial kings, fearsome tomb guardian beasts and a menagerie of 58 animals (camels, horses, sheep, cows, pigs, dogs, chickens).
The greatest treasure the looters left behind as far as archaeologists are concerned was a bluestone epitaph. It consists of a square, domed cover decorated with clouds and peonies around the edge and corners with central inscription written in ancient seal script that reads “Epitaph of the Late Lord Kim of the Great Tang.” The main inscription is carved on the block in regular script. It is 557 characters long and records the accomplishment of Kim Young and his ancestors.
A little background context: relations between Silla Korea and Tang China began in 622 A.D., when Silla King Jinpyeong sent envoys to the Tang Emperor Li Yuan just four years after he had overthrown the previous emperor and founded a new dynasty. Silla was then one of three kingdoms on the Korean Peninsula, and Jinpyeong wanted Chinese support in his conflicts against the rival Baekje and Goguryeo kingdoms. Silla’s establishment of diplomatic ties with Tang came with a hefty payment of tribute, something Goguryeo had refused to do, and Jinpyeong was able to use that to his advantage when he appealed to Emperor Taizong of Tang to get Baekje to cease hostilities when they interfered with tribute deliveries.
Jinpyeong died in 632 A.D. without a male heir. His daughter ascended the throne as Queen Seondeok, the 27th Silla ruler and its first queen. Emperor Taizong of Tang refused to recognize her as the ruler of Silla but he accepted her diplomats and tribute just fine. Silla ties with the Tang Dynasty bore full fruit in 660 when allied Silla and Tang troops conquered Baekje and in 668 when they conquered Goguryeo, making the Silla king ruler of the unified Korean Peninsula. The Tang emperor wanted a piece, however, and in a few years the alliance was broken and Silla fought to keep Tang from colonizing the peninsula.
Ultimately the Silla won the Silla-Tang War in 676 A.D., albeit with some loss of territory, but diplomatic relations between the two dynasties stopped entirely until they were re-established by King Seongdeok of Silla (702–737) and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (712–755). This time the links held and the Tang emperors and Silla kings would remain allies for centuries.
Tribute was still paid, mind you, and while Tang recognized Silla’s rulership of the peninsula, it considered the Silla Kingdom a vassal state. The hostage system was a part of the tribute structure, a form of diplomatic exchange that secured the vassal state’s allegiance. Hostages had to be people of noble birth and they were granted high government positions and integrating fully into the elite of Tang society, often working as envoys from the emperor to their country of origin.
King Seongdeok sent his own cousin to the Tang court as a political hostage after the rapprochement, and Kim Young was his grandson, the third generation to serve at the Tang court.
According to the inscription, Kim Young was a Silla prince who served as a political hostage, or zhizi, in Tang China. He was born in the sixth year of the Tianbao reign (747) and died in 794 at the age of 48 in the Taipingli guest residence in Chang’an.
According to historical records, three generations of his family served as hostages in the Tang Dynasty and were granted official posts. Kim Young himself twice accompanied Tang envoys on diplomatic missions to Silla and participated in ceremonial duties, including mourning and investiture missions. His funeral was organized by Tang officials, with the magistrate of Chang’an county overseeing the arrangements. Both his burial site and coffin were bestowed by imperial decree, demonstrating the Tang court’s favor and respect for him.
Of particular note is the epitaph’s reference to Kim’s wife, a rare mention of marital ties involving Silla hostages. His wife was from the influential Wang clan of Taiyuan and the daughter of Wang Qianling, magistrate of Yanshi county. This suggests that hostage Silla princes stationed at the Tang court often married into elite Chinese families.
“The discovery of a Tang-era tomb of a Silla prince in Xi’an provides tangible evidence of the hostage system between the Tang Dynasty and its vassal states,” Liu Zheng, a member of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics, told the Global Times.
“It reflects how the Tang empire maintained suzerainty over Silla through diplomatic and cultural exchanges.”