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College Notes Literature And Art Of China
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College Notes Literature And Art Of China
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Week 1 (03.04) “Space” - Views on life and afterlifeMandatory readings:
- What was the function of tombs in ancient China?
o Why did people consider building tombs important?
Building tombs was important, because the people
believed that a part of the soul stayed behind and lived
in the tomb. If the tomb was fit for ‘’living’’, the spirit
wouldn’t want to leave and cause disorder. The people
also wanted their deceased loved ones to live peacefully
so they wouldn’t go haunt them.
o How was a tomb made into a meaningful space for the dead?
Were there changes in the construction of tombs over time
It went from a vertical to a horizontal space, changed
gradually into a house. This way the soul was able to
wander within the tomb; they built openings as doors
for example.
Example: Liu Sheng’s tomb 113BC
o What elements and objects were included in burials to help
create this symbolic space?
They would build a tomb similarly to a house, with
different rooms for different purposes.
They wouldn’t necessarily use real things that the living
used but Mingqi, which more likely represents the idea
of something rather than the real thing itself.
o Can I name and describe the function of different objects and
decorations in the tomb?
A name banner
Example: Mawangdui tomb, name banner of Lady
Dai with a depiction of the funeral, reception and
gate to paradise on the name banner.
They may be “name banners” used to identify the
dead during the mourning ceremonies, or they
may have been burial shrouds intended to aid the
soul in its passage to the afterlife. Lady Dai’s
banner is important for two primary reasons. It is
an early example of pictorial (representing
naturalistic scenes not just abstract shapes) art in
China. Secondly, the banner features the earliest
known portrait in Chinese painting.
A Mingqi
Mingqi included daily utensils, musical
instruments, weapons, armour, and intimate
objects such as the deceased's cap, can and
bamboo mat. Mingqi also include figurines,
spiritual representations rather than real people,
of soldiers, servants, musicians, polo riders,
houses, and horses. Mingqi served to provide the
, deceased with necessities and comforts in the
afterlife. Extensive use of Mingqi during certain
periods may either have been an attempt to
preserve the image of ritual propriety by cutting
costs, or it may have a new idea separating the
realm of the dead from that of the living.
Caskets
A casket is where the body of the deceased is placed.
Lady Dai’s casket: Auspicious motifs
o dead person drawn on coffin, clouds, helps
get through darkness and get to the clouds
Wooden casket and three outer coffins’
Snakes underworld
Figure of jade helps body not to decompose,
extension of body’s existence
Inventory list to the underworld bureaucrats
Bureaucracy of the underworld belongings are
listed and letter to underworld
Grain and seeds
Offering that the spirits could enjoy in the
afterlife.
Jade
Dou Wan, Mancheng tomb (104 BCE) and Zhao
Mo, King of Nanyue (122 BCE)
Drink jade powder
Hole in the head of the jade suit
o Can I explain how the terracotta army was made and why?
Made by the first emperor of Qin 210 BC, with a Lifesize
army for in the afterlife. Symbolised his power and
transferring that power representation to the afterlife.
Every part was made separately, with divisions that
were tasked with every part. They also had moulds for
detailed parts. Then everything was assembled.
- How does the representation of space in a map differ in function
from the space created in a tomb?
o In a tomb the representation of the idea of space is more
important than the space itself.
olifant
o Am I able to give 1 example of an ancient map to prove my
point?
Lady Dai’s name banner gate to paradise kind of map
Topographical map unearthed in the Qin state, ca.
300 BCE. Fangmatan, Gansu province.
Place names indicated by the squares, river
reference point.
Mawangdui map 168BC
Topographical map, military use
Map of the traces of Yu the Great 1136 CE
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