BEIJING, CHINA—Last summer, construction workers clearing land outside Beijing came across a lavish tomb. Archaeologists have since excavated the site, and found a gravestone that names the owner of the tomb as Liu Ji, a Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) military governor of what is today Beijing. Liu, who was born in A.D. 757, was an important figure during a period marked by a weak central government, but died at the age of 53 after being poisoned by one of his sons. In addition to funerary inscriptions for Liu and his wife, a stone coffin bed and a number of frescoes were also discovered.