China’s feudalism saw its heyday in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Much has been learned about what the life of the ancients must have been like in the great Tang Empire. The burial places of the imperial family and the nobility in Xi’an have been excavated. A wealth of gold and silver vessels has been discovered in Hejiacun village in the southern suburbs of Xi’an. Modern day Xi‘an was called Chang’an in those far away days when it served as the capital of the Tang Dynasty.

　　In 1997, many Tang imperial relics were unearthed from the terrestrial palace of Famen Temple in Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province. With them were discovered holy relics that had lain buried for over 1,000 years. These were bead-like objects known as sarira believed to be remains from the cremation of the body of the Buddha.

　　During the 9th Five-year Plan (1996-2000), excavations in 243 grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province produced scraps of Buddhist sutra written in eight languages including Chinese, Tibetan, Uygur, Sanskrit and Mongolian.

　　Many colorful relics have been unearthed in the western regions. Not least are those from the Astana graveyard in Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Reshui cemetery in Dulan, Qinghai Province. These are complemented by finds in the eastern regions such as the Bohai ruins and tombs in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces. Together they combine to chart the progress of assimilation towards nationhood under the influence of the all-embracing Tang culture.
　　 （China.org.cn, translated by Shao Da）