Mawangdui tomb relics shed light on the past
Print Edition
Nearly 400 relics from the Mawangdui Han Tombs are expected to be one of the highlights of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival.
The items include lacquer ware, textiles and silk paintings.
The Han Tombs are in Changsha, the capital of central China’s Hunan Province. There are different stories about the site. Some historians say the site was the family graveyard for Ma Yin, King of the Chu State during the Five Dynasties Period (907-979 AD), and was given the name Mawangdui, meaning Mound of King Ma.
But according to another record on Changsha, Mawangdui was the grave for Lady Cheng and Lady Tang, two concubines of Emperor Jingdi during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). They were buried by Liu Fa, Prince of Changsha State. Thus this graveyard was called Shuang Nu Zhong, meaning the Tomb of Two Ladies.
Excavation work on the Mawangdui Tombs began in 1971 after No. 366 Hospital of Hunan Provincial Military Region discovered the site when planning to construct underground wards and storerooms.
Tomb One is square shaped, measuring 19.5 meters by 17.8 meters. More than 1,800 cultural relics including lacquer wares, textiles and paintings on silk, as well as a well-preserved female corpse were unearthed.
Over 1,000 relics were found in Tomb Three including paintings on silk, inscriptions on bamboo slips, lacquer ware and textiles. The corpse in this tomb, however, was only a skeleton. It was identified as a male who had died in his early 30s. He was 1.85 meters tall.
Experts say the items are mostly well-preserved because the tomb was built well. At the bottom of the tomb is a 15cm layer of white clay while a 40cm layer of charcoal covered the outer coffin chamber. On top of the charcoals is a 1.3cm layer of white clay.
Charcoal absorbs moisture, thus protecting items in the tomb from rotting. The white clay is used in making porcelain. It has high plasticity and low permeability.
According to the organizer, the exhibition provides many details on how people thought about life and death nearly 2,000 years ago. Some of the items will be exhibited outside Hunan for the first time.
Date: Through October 29-January 18, 2016, 10am-6pm
Tel: 6877-8787
Venue: Long Museum (Pudong)
Address: 210, Lane 2255, Luoshan Rd, Pudong New Area
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