唐前期王府僚佐與地方府州關係考──以墓誌資料為中心

On the Relationship between Princely Establishments and Local Governments in the Early Tang: Focusing on Information Provided by Epitaphs

During the early Tang, it was a common political practice for royal princes to be appointed as provincial governors. Except potential competitors for the throne, most of these princes were granted the responsibility of protecting imperial rule as provincial officials. Equipped with a large group of officials who formed the Princely Establishment, a prince was supposed to be in charge of another large group of officials who formed the local administrative system. Due to a paucity of records, it had long been unclear how these two groups of officials worked together when a prince was appointed to be the provincial governor. During the last several decades, however, thousands of epitaphs have been excavated. These epitaphs have provided plenty of new information, including new knowledge about princely staff who worked as staff members in local government when their masters acted as the highest officials in local places. According to the information, we now can conclude that these two groups of officials maintained a close and complex relationship during the early Tang. In most cases, the subordinate officials at a Princely Establishment took the positions of local government; as a result, those princely officials worked in two different offices for the same master. Such a situation deeply influenced the political history of the early Tang and changes our understanding of local administration, Princely Establishments, and important political events.