Ming royal tombs in Shanxi shed light on clan system

Wang Jingyan, the project leader and a researcher at the provincial archaeology institute, explains that Zhu Yinxun was granted the title defender-general of the state at the age of 15 and died at 65. The unearthed epitaphs contain a wealth of information regarding burial customs, titles, salaries, and marriage practices of the Ming imperial clan.

"The inscriptions provide crucial details for studying the imperial clan system," Wang says, adding that the marriages of Zhu Yinxun's sons were carefully arranged, with his eldest son marrying the daughter of an official in the protocol service, his second son the daughter of a vice-minister in the Court of the Imperial Stud, his third son with the daughter of a local scholar, and his youngest son marrying the daughter of a shouguan, an honorary title given to virtuous elders.