398-yr-old Gravestone Exhibits Social Changes In Ming Dynasty

News Desk

Shijiazhuang:A gravestone dating back 398 years was discovered in the Hebei Province of northern China earlier this month, offering proof of social changes in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

“The gravestone provided evidence for studying the military, political and economic aspects of the Ming Dynasty,” said Cultural Relics Protection and Management Office Head Ren Zhenchao.

The gravestone was found in the Xihan Village of Guangping County which was erected in March 1625 and stood at 110 cm long, 40 cm wide, and 15 cm thick. According to inscriptions on the stone, an ancestor of the Gaos family was buried in the grave.

RenZhenchao stated that the inscriptions also detailed the migration of the Gaos family from east China’s Jiangsu Province to Hebei when the Ming Emperor Zhu Di fought in north China. Emperor Zhu Di moved the country’s capital from Nanjing, now the capital city of Jiangsu, to Beijing during his reign, Ren added.