The epitaph of the litterateur Li Dang in the Tang Dynasty was newly unearthed in Yanshi City, Henan Province. This epitaph provided important information about Li Dang’s native place, family extraction, life experience and literary creation. The epitaph recorded Li Dang’s official and imperial examination experiences which involved human relations of NiuLi Factional Struggles, and it played an important role in the study of imperial examinations and the political history of the Tang Dynasty. There is no doubt that Li Dang’s creation was influenced by his father, the great poet Li Yi. The epitaph helped us to understand litterateurs’ family tradition in the Tang Dynasty, and it also was a rare literary biography itself. Consequently, the epitaph of Li Dang had important values on both documental and literary aspects.

the epitaph of Tang Dynasty; the epitaph of Li Dang; Li Yi; imperial examination of Tang Dynasty; family’s literal; NiuLi Factional Struggles; Literary biography of ancient China