How Officials Rose to Success and Migrated to the Center: Considering the Tombs of Meritorious Officials at Zhaoling

Abstract:The evidence of tomb inscriptions at the Tang's largest mausoleum, as well as from the standard histories, indicates that families of the dynasty's meritorious officials sought to perpetuate their prestige and prosperity by three primary means: migration towards the metropolitan areas (center-oriented migration), bureaucratic alignment, and marital ties to the imperial family. Another issue under examination is how descendants of meritorious officials of foreign origin viewed the trend towards center-oriented migration. By using primary sources, particularly tomb inscriptions, and academic research, this article aims to conduct a comprehensive study of the findings achieved in this domain.