A strange portrait was unearthed from the tomb of Wu Zetian’s son. Scholars lamented: The Tang Dynasty was really powerful!

In 1971, the tomb of Wu Zetian’s biological second son (Prince Zhang Huai) was unearthed. A strange portrait was found in the tomb, which aroused the interest of archaeological experts! This strange portrait is called "Guest Envoy". There were originally two paintings, but one of them was severely damaged and could no longer be recognized, so only the one on the east wall remained.

Today, the "Guest Envoy" on the east wall is the only mural of its kind in a Tang tomb and has very high historical value. This portrait is strange because in the "Picture of Guest Envoys", experts found portraits of envoys from the Eastern Roman Empire instead of ordinary businessmen.

After conducting research, Mr. Wang Renbo, the excavator of the tomb, believes that in this "Guest Envoy Picture" on the east wall, there are six people in a group. Looking from left to right, the first three He is an official from the Tang Dynasty, the fourth person is an envoy from the Northeastern ethnic minorities, the fifth person is an envoy from Japan or Korea, and the sixth person is an envoy from the Eastern Roman Empire (there is some controversy in academic circles). See the picture below for details!

One is in East Asia and the other is in Europe. Could it be that exchanges with Europe were so frequent during the Tang Dynasty? Why did the envoys of the Eastern Roman Empire come to the Tang Dynasty?

In fact, judging from the existing historical data, the Tang Dynasty had very close cultural and economic exchanges with surrounding nation-states. As the strongest, richest, and most open dynasty in the world at that time, the Tang Dynasty attracted people from all over Europe, Asia, and Africa. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, there are records of Kunlun slaves (mostly South Asians, a small number of Africans), and various ethnic groups, all gathered in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, perhaps because of the distance, not many Western merchants came directly to China, but it cannot be said to be rare. It is not uncommon for Eastern Romans to appear in the Tang Dynasty.

The question is, why did the envoys of the Eastern Roman Empire come to China (the officials of the Ministry of Rites of the Tang Dynasty received them, indicating that they were envoys, not ordinary businessmen)? After research, some scholars believe that this is coming to Datang to seek international assistance!

The so-called Eastern Roman Empire, with its capital in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), is called the Byzantine Empire by historians. It was also called the "Great Qin" in ancient times. The Tang monk Xuanzang wrote in "The Great Qin" It is called "Funuo" in "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty", and it is called the Fulu Kingdom in the history books of the Tang Dynasty.

Wu Zetian’s second son, Li Xian, was forced to commit suicide by Wu Zetian in 684 (later posthumously named Prince Zhang Huai). Around this time, the main enemy of the Eastern Roman Empire was the rising Arab state. empire. For the sake of national interests, the Eastern Roman Empire was well versed in the art of "diplomacy far away and close attack". Just as Zhang Jian was sent to the Western Regions as an envoy to contact the local people to attack the Huns, the Eastern Roman Empire sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty to fight against the Arabs with force.

According to the "Old Tang Book: Biography of the Western Regions", the Eastern Roman Empire sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty at least four times. In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan (643), King Boduoli of Fulu sent an envoy to present red glass, green gold essence and other objects... Since Dashi became strong and prosperous, he gradually conquered other countries, so he sent General Moli to attack their capitals. Because of the peace treaty, please give me the gold and silk every year, so I will have a lot of food. In the second year of Qianfeng's reign (667), he sent an envoy to Xiandiyejia. In the first year of Dazu (701), an envoy was sent to the court again. In the first month of the seventh year of Kaiyuan (719), his lord sent the leader of Tocharo to offer two lions and two antelopes each. Within a few months, another eminent monk was sent to pay tribute.

From this historical data, we can see that under the pressure of the Arab Empire, life in the Eastern Roman Empire was not easy, and even like the Song Dynasty, it had to pay "year coins" every year. Under this situation, it was normal for the Eastern Roman Empire to seek military assistance from the Tang Dynasty.

As a powerful European country, the Eastern Roman Empire sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty, which also showed from another perspective that the influence of the Tang Dynasty had reached Europe. In other words, the strength of the Tang Dynasty made the Eastern Roman Empire happy. Ruo Kuang believed that this was an ally that could fight against the Arab Empire, so he sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty four times in less than 100 years. If the Tang Dynasty was not strong, why would it be necessary? Moreover, judging from the "tribute" gifts given by the Eastern Roman envoys, the posture was very low.

Because of this, some scholars lamented that the Tang Dynasty was indeed not so powerful that even the former "Great Qin" bowed down to it!

Due to this historical fact, there are portraits of envoys from the Eastern Roman Empire in Li Xian's tomb. The so-called tomb murals actually mean that the ancients believed that people could be resurrected after death, so they built luxurious tombs for the deceased according to their living conditions during their lifetime. The envoys of the Eastern Roman Empire were "powerful and rare goods" (also known as "powerful rare goods" in history). "Da Qin"), so he carved it on the wall.