Rating From The Epitaphs Of The Tang Dynasty Palace

When discussing the women in the Tang Dynasty, palace maids were always studied on the whole. Not only they were often passed for as wives of the emperor, but also the ranks of them were ignored. People know little about the palace maids because of lacking of the records. However, the palace maids in the Tang Dynasty were a large group, they were an important and special part of the women in the Tang Dynasty. Studying on them may help us know better about the women hi the Tang Dynasty.Based on such understanding, this article focuses on the ranks of the palace maids in the Tang Dynasty by using epitaphs and literatures and is included six parts: the first part is analysis of the epitaphs used in the article. The second part is definition of the palace maids. The third part is selection of the palace maids, which the author illustrates five different ways. The fourth part is ranks of the palace maids. The author divides them into three ranks, namely were those who had lady title, female palace officer and palace maids who had no rank. The fifth part is different fates of the palace maids. The last part is summary of the article.