CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

104
Two bronze mat weights
Height 8.0 (3ft), diam. 11.8 (4%)
Warring States Period (c. 433 BCE)
From Leigudun, Suixian, Hubei Province
Hubei Provincial Museum, Wuhan
These are two of a set of four weights (zhen) found
in the eastern chamber of Marquis Yi's tomb. 1 Each
depicts eight intertwined dragons in high relief.
Attached to the arched body of one dragon is a ring
handle; circular sockets between the bodies of the
dragons would originally have held inlay. The high
degree of undercutting of the dragons' bodies implies
that the weights were cast using the lost-wax
method.
These weights were probably used to secure
mats woven of bamboo or reed. Remains of mats
have been frequently found in Chu tombs and
clearly constituted an indispensable household
article. 2 Carved stone reliefs from the Han period
show figures seated on low platforms or on what
seem to be mats placed on the floor. Mats are often
mentioned in the Yi li (Book of ceremonial) as part
of the paraphernalia of ceremonials, and their
correct placement in ritual use seems to have
been a matter of some concern.
These are the earliest bronze zhen recovered.
They exemplify the broadening scope of the
bronzecaster, who increasingly was commissioned
to produce not only ritual vessels and weapons
but everyday articles as well. A number of similarly
shaped bronze objects have been found in tombs of
the Warring States and Han periods, 3 and the Chu ci
(Songs of Chu) makes reference to "weights of white
jade with which to hold the mats." 4 It is unlikely,
however, that jade mat weights existed outside the
imagination of poets; all examples of such objects
recovered thus far are of bronze or lead. CM
1 Excavated in 1978 (E 4, E 94, E 109, E 138); reported:
Hubei 1989,1:244-247, fig. 141:3, and 2: pi. 81:4-5.
2 See Hubei 1989,1:387, fig. 241:4, and 2: pi. 146. Six mats
were found in the fourth-century BCE Chu Tomb i at
Xinyang Changtaiguan in southern Henan province; most
were about one meter wide and bound with silk at the
edges. See Henan 1986, pi. 68:1-3.
3 A pair of domed-shaped, bronze objects, 8.6 (3 %) wide,
with ring handles was excavated from Tomb i at Sihui
Niaodanshan in Guangdong province. See He 1985, 362,
fig. 3:8. A set of four square weights filled with lead was
found in a tomb at Beiling Songshan near Zhaoqing in
Guangdong province. See Guangdong 1974, 73, fig. 13.
Four zhen in the form of leopards inlaid with gold, silver,
and agate were excavated from the tomb of Dou Wan
(d. c. 113 BCE) at Mancheng. These have been identified
as either paper or mat weights. Zhongguo I98ob, 1:265
and 2: color pi. 26.
4 Lady of the Xiang, trans. Hawkes 1985,108.
303 | ZENCHOU YI TOMB AT LEICUDUN