Week III: Part 1

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

Key Works:

  • Qin Shi Huang Di's Tomb(La Plante, Figures 12.1, 12.3)
  • Painted Banner from the Tomb of Lady Dai (Fig. III.1--Hand-out)

    READING: La Plante, Asian Art, pp. 107-120.

    HISTORY:

    TERMS:

    TIME LINE: (3rd century B.C. to 2nd century A.D.)

    FURTHER READING:

    NOTES: The quest for immortality is a philosophic preoccupation of the political leaders during this period. How do the arts reflect that?

    THE TOMB OF THE FIRST EMPEROR OF THE QIN EMPIRE

    The imperial tomb of Qin Shi Huang (259-210 B.C.), the first emperor of China and founder of the short-lived Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.), lies 35 kilometers east of the city of Xi'an, in Shaanxi Province. The tomb took 36 years to build and the mausoleum was part of the lavish construction program which characterized his reign.

    Emperor Qin Shi Huang was a man of remarkable talents and achievements. His military conquests were in part the result of a suberb mastery of the newest arts of war. He abolished the system of feudal enfeoffment and created a form of centralized, au tocratic government which was maintained in essence until the fall of the last Chinese Dynasty in the 20th century. He promulgated a uniform code of law and standardized currency, weights and measures, the written language and the axle length of wagons and chariots. He built a vast network of tree-lined roads 50 paces wide, radiating from the Qin capital at Xianyang, 29 kilometers northwest of Xi'an. He joined into a single 3,000 kilometer "Great Wall" the separate walls erected by the earlier norther n states to deter raiding tribes from the north.

    For his glorification, he built a number of elaborate palaces and although the entire mausoleum remains to be explored and excavated, we know from written records that it was an underground palace complex--the ceiling of the tomb chamber was a model of the heavens and the floor a map of the empire. (Sima Qian, Shiji, The Records of the Historian, 2nd century B.C.)

    In March of 1974 the first fragments of the terracotta warriors and horses were identified as dating form the Qin Dynasty. Three large pits have been excavated to date and thousands of full-sized clay figures and horses were unearthed. A still more recent find at the same site was a pair of four-horse chariots, each with a charioteer, all cast in bronze. They were excavated in December of 1980.

    The great underground army represents the imperial guard of the First Emperor, which during his lifetime was stationed to the east of the capital. The entire pit evokes the military might and spirit which secured Qin authority to rule a unified China . The practice placing clay figures in the tomb replaced the habit of sacrificing human beings and animals. There is great variety in dress, physiognomy, facial expressions, hair styles, headgear, armor, weapons, and vehicles of the terracotta warriors. These detailed, realistic renderings of the military offer graphic evidence of might and majesty of imperial life in the third century B.C. as well as the first examples of the artistic and cultural values of the Emperor.

    From K. Linduff, "The Tomb of the First Emperor of the Qin Empire," in Encyclopedia of Humankind, Sydney, 1993.

    China: Rise of Empire--Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE)

    The great underground army represented here was excavated near the mausoleum of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty. They are full-sized replicas of the imperial guards of the emperor, which during his lifetime were stationed to the eastof the dynastic capital just outside of present-day Xi'an in Shaanxi Province. The entire pit evokes the military power and spirit which secured Qin autho rity to rule a unified China after two centuries of civil war. The practice of placing clay figures at the mausoleum replaced the habit of sacrificing human beings and animals, a practice which the Emperor himself spoke against.

    There is great variety in dress, physiognomy, facial expressions, hair styles, headgear, armor, weapons, and vehicles of the terra-cotta warriors. Each figure is modeled individually and some even bear seals of the craftworkers and foreman in charge of their production. The legs of each figure are solid; their hollow bodies, heads and arms are formed of an inner core of coiled strips of clay over which a coating of finer clay was spread. Specific features, suc h as details of the armor or manes of the horses, were worked in clay with a tool. The civilian officials and warriors, who originally bore bronze swords, were painted, heightening their realistic expression.

    Unprecedented in number and size these detailed, realistic renderings of the military offer graphic evidence of might and majesty of imperial life in the third century BC. as well as the first examples of the artistic and cultural values of the Emper or. This large pit alone, originally a huge chambered wooden shed, contained approximately six thousand figures of men and horses, with their chariots. Other smaller pits lie nearby and in 1980 one of them lying to the west of the Emperor's tomb was exc avated. In it were found chariots, horses and charioteers one-third life-size, made of bronze and washed in gold and silver. Although the actual tomb chamber of the Emperor has yet to be excavated, this is one of the most lavish ancient sites ever excav ated in China. In the Qin period, the tomb took 36 years to build was part of the lavish construction program which characterized his reign.

    Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China and founder of the short-lived Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC.), was a man of remarkable talents and achievements. His military conquests were in part the result of a superb mastery of the newest arts of war. He abolished the system of feudal enfeoffment and created a form of centralized, autocratic government which was maintained in essence until the fall of the last Chinese Dynasty in the 20th century. He promulgated a uniform code of law and standardized currency, weights and measures, written language and axle length for wagons and chariots. He built a vast network of tree-lined roads 50 paces wide, radiating from the Qin capital at Xianyang, northwest of Xi'an. He joined into a single 1,400 mile "Great Wall" the separate walls which had been erected by earlier northern states to deter raiding tribes from the north.

    So great was his megalomania that he built on a scale which had never been seen before. Aided by his Legalist minister, he strengthened the new state by consolidating the northern frontiers against the Huns, brought south China and Tonkin into the sp here of Chinese culture, and dispossessed and forcible moved thousands of the old feudal aristocracy to within his pervue in the capital. While the measures which were used by the first emperor of Qin were often brutal and imposed rigid regulations on mo st citizens and placed an intolerable burden on the educated class, China was for the first time a unified political and cultural entity. This unity survived the short period of Qin rule and was consolidated on more humane lines in the Han Dynasty (202 B CE-AD 220).

    For his glorification, the first Qin Emperor built a number of elaborate palaces and although the entire mausoleum remains to be explored and excavated, we know from ancient written records that it was an underground palace complex--the ceiling of the tomb chamber was a model of the heavens and the floor a map of the empire. (Sima Qian, Shiji, The Records of the Historian, 2nd century BCE) Although he was the most powerful man in China at the time, the Emperor lived in fear of assassination and the roads joining his many palaces were connected by high walls. So great was his fear of death that he is known to have untiringly sought the secret of immortality through Daoist practitioners. He sent emissaries in search of an elixir and alchemy became a court supported activity for the first, but not last, time in China.

    He died in 210 BCE and the reign of his son who followed him was short and bitter. He was assassinated in 207 BCE at the climax of a rebellion lead by a general from the south. The capital was sacked and the Han dynasty was proclaimed in the new capital of Changan, the city of "Enduring Peace".

    FROM: Linduff, K.M., Encyclopedia of Humankind, Sidney, 1993.

    THE TOMB OF LADY DAI

    Four kilometers east of the city of Changsha, a major city in the central Yangtze Valley, lies a small hill known as Mawangdui. Excavation work at the site began in 1972 when construction of a hospital on the adjacent land made a thorough investigation necessary. This burial ground held some of the most spectacular finds recovered by archaeologists in recent years in the People's Republic of China.

    The first tomb opened, now known as Han Tomb No. 1 at Mawangdui, contained the well preserved remains of a noble woman who died sometime after the mid-second century B.C. during the Western Han Dynasty (221-9 B.C.) In addition to the corpse, the tom b chamber contained a thousand objects including a large funerary banner of silk with polychromed paintings on its surface, clothing, food, a large amount of lacquerware retaining its original brilliant coloring, three unusually decorated inner coffins an d more than one hundred wooden tomb figures. The identity of the woman is still somewhat uncertain, but she is probably the wife of Li Cang known as Xin or Xinzhiou, the first Marquis of Dai. Sima Qian, the great historian of the Han Dynasty, placed the death of Li Cang at 186 B.C. Lady Dai's tomb is later than his, placing her death at about 150 B.C. Two other tombs have been excavated at the same mound, those of her husband (Tomb No. 2) and son (Tomb No. 3). All were richly furnished with goods app ropriate to a family of noble rank.

    Tomb Construction

    Tomb No. 1 has an oblong pit measuring 19.5 m. north to south and 17.5 m. east to west. The tomb extends for 20 m. from the top of the covering mound to the bottom of the shaft. Access to the crypt was made by means of a series of four steps, then a slanted wall which led to the tomb chamber itself. The tomb was oriented towards the north and arranged so that the corpse would lie with its head to the north.

    The crypt contained a tomb-chamber constructed of large cypress planks, the largest of which measure five meters in length and almost 1,500 kgm. in weight. Mortise and tenon construction was used throughout the chamber. Inside this constructed room lay four coffins, snugly fit one inside the other. The compartments between the tomb-chamber and the casket enclosure are divided into four sections and contain most the the tomb furnishings. The large northern section was draped with silk cloth and con tained a large number of wooden figures, including several fully attired in ceremonial dress. This section also contained platters of food. This area was found at the time of the opening filled with a liquid containing mercury and various acidic and org anic compounds. The purpose of these materials is not clear.

    The western compartment contained plaited bamboo boxes and basket containing food, all kinds of herbs, clothing and bolts of silk and cotton, and two models of musical instruments. The eastern chamber contained more figurines and a complete inventory of the tomb contents written on bamboo strips. The other chambers were filled with lacquer vessels and implements of all sorts. Some were copied from utilitarian shapes used for serving food and drink, others were copied from official ritual vessel sha pes, well known in the previous periods in cast bronze models which were dedicated to ancestors or to officials in commemoration of deeds well done. In accordance with the practices laid out by Emperor Wen (r. 179-156 B.C.), the tomb contained no preciou s metals, jade or jewelry.

    A layer of charcoal 1.4 to 1.5 m. thick was placed outside the tomb-chamber and the space between that and the crypt wall was filled with at least a meter of fine white clay. The marvelous preservation of the tomb and its contents can be attributed t o this combination which kept out moisture and oxygen. The practice of using white clay and charcoal to surround a burial-chamber is associated with the local Chu culture. In other parts of China during the Han Dynasty, tomb-construction followed differ ent practices. The tombs at Mawangdui reveal clearly the continuation of the strong cultural tradition of the Chu state which had ceased to be a political entity in 223 B.C. The early Western Han was clearly a period when there were wide swings in accep ted practice in various matters, including burial regulations.

    Funerary Banner

    The large silk banner found in Tomb No. 1 (another comparable example was found in Tomb No. 3) is described as a 'flying garment' (feiyi) and its placement in the Tomb correspond to the prescribed location for funerary banners (ming-ching) displayed during funeral ceremonies and carried in the funeral procession.

    The banner from Tomb No. 1 has a painted red field on which an elaborate design was painted in heavy colors which are still rather well preserved. The cross arm of the T-shape of the banner is 0.92 m. long, the overall height is 2.05 m., and the wi dth at the bottom is 0.48 m. Tassels extend from the four lower corners.

    Numerous scholars have tried to decipher the iconography of the scenes depicted on the feiyi. (A. Bulling, 1974) The overall theme generally agreed upon is that the scenes represent the conducting of the souls of the dead to the realm of the immortal s. The search for immortality was of utmost concern during the Han and this is the first extant example which illustrated visually, and quite literally, the route of the soul (or souls).

    The painting is divided into three parts. The lower section represents the subterranean region; the middle section, the largest, is the habitat of human beings on earth; and the upper, represents the land of the immortals with the sun and moon bound ing its description. The guiding principles for understanding the painting seem to come from a genuine piece of Chu literature called the Chuci, or the Songs of the South. (Hawkes, 1959)--which says that the voyage of the souls after death leads in all di rections, including to the four quarters of the universe as well as above and below. The banner charts that voyage.

    At the bottom is the land of the netherworld, of water creatures, darkness, and the place below the surface of the earth where souls undergo their first metamorphosis. This is the place that the Taoists call the cosmic womb, where the yin symbol of female creation dwells. It is a place of eternal darkness with water at its deepest section. Above the watery realm two scenes are depicted which take place on earth; both describe mortals acting out their parts in mourning rites. The lower scene depic ts a shaman, or holy person, to the left and a group of attendees seated behind ritual vessels used at sacrifices dedicated to reverence to ancestors. Many wooden, lacquered hu and ting (copies of official vessels cast in bronze in the Shang and Zhou Dyn asties) were found in the side chambers of the tomb. The duty of this shaman was to contact the soul from "below." The upper scene describes another mourning rite, that of welcoming home the soul. The large figure standing in profile in the center is t hought to be a portrait of the deceased and she is shown as if crossing to the "other" world. The two terrestrial scenes represent appropriate ritual activities performed after death. Below and above, the deceased proceeds toward immortality.

    The horizontal section at the top of the banner represents the land of the immortals and is inhabited by legendary subjects. The gate keepers and the bell (whose sound is thought to penetrate without bounds) are transitional images, standing between earth and heaven. Above and to the left is the crescent moon, the toad, the symbol of its waxing, and the hare which anticipates the full moon. The female figure is probably that of Chang Ngo, who stole the pill of immortality from Hou Yi, the archer, and flew off to the moon and caused its waning. Upon the return of the pill, the moon waxed. The center of this section is found the figure of Fu Xi, an ancient clan god thought of as the first in the line of legendary rulers; he was the progenitor of t he race and the embodiment of everything under heaven. He was thought to be the point from which yin and yang, the sun and moon, and heaven and earth emerged. The path represented, then, proceeds from death and the separation of the souls in the underwo rld, through the rites provided in the earthly realm, to return to the first ancestor of the race, and to immortality. The charting of space in the banner is an extension of a carefully structured iconography. The registers are arranged to correspond to the structure of the cosmos. Upon death the path of the souls echoes the birth, life and rebirth as embodied in the nature of ancestor worship already well established in the Han period.

    Chu Culture

    The cultural tradition which informs this tomb is that of the Chu. The Chu people inhabited an area south-west of the great north China Plain and in historical times expanded their power into the central Yangtze Valley, encompassing the presentday p rovinces of Hunan and Hubei. Chu became one of the three largest and most powerful contenders for power in the third century B.C. Chu was conquered and destroyed in 223 B.C. by the generals of the Qin who went on to unify China in 221 B.C. After the fa ll of the Qin, the Chu again became a very powerful and vigorous group with their own identity. The revival (or continuation) of their own local tomb customs found at Mawangdui is evidence of their pride in their ethnic heritage.

    The Western Han is one of the great formative periods of Chinese history. It took more than a century to reunify China after the fall of the Qin. The burials at Mawangdui show that in the kingdom of Changsha an apparently easy accommodation between the requirements of Han rule and the continued existence of the Chu cultural tradition had been reached in the first half of the second century B.C. These accommodations were overturned during the time of the Emperor Wu (r. 140-887 B.C.), but these tomb s offer no clues to those later events. The tombs do reveal, however, the complexity and high craftsmanship attained within the Chu culture area.

    From K. Linduff, "The Tomb of Lady Dai," in Encyclopedia of Humankind, Sydney, 1993.