CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

THE ROYAL TOMBS
AT LINGSHAN,
MANCHENG,
HEBEI PROVINCE
By 221 BCE, King Zheng of Qin had conquered the other six states that weathered the conflicts
of the Warring States period and had unified a large part of the territory we now call China. He
established himself as supreme ruler — Shihuangdi ("First Emperor") of Qin — but his empire
was short-lived: Zheng's son, who took over in 210 BCE, soon fell victim to rebellions, and the
country was once more plunged into turmoil. Two contenders for power, Xiang Yu and Liu
Bang, emerged from the conflict; it was Liu Bang who ultimately prevailed and established the
Han dynasty (known today as the Western Han dynasty), which — but for a short interruption
in the early years of the common era — endured for the better part of four hundred years. 1
The western imperial capital was situated near the present-day city of Xi'an, while Luoyang
was the seat of the later eastern empire. Since the 19605, a number of excavations have revealed
the extraordinary wealth of the emperors court, and tombs belonging to members of the imperial
family, who ruled as subordinate kings in the eastern territories, have yielded spectacular
finds. 2
The tomb of Liu Sheng, the son of the emperor Jing Di (156-141 BCE) and a brother of the
famous emperor Wu Di (140-87 BCE), was the first undisturbed royal Western Han tomb discovered.
Liu Sheng died around 113 BCE; the contents of his tomb and that of his consort, Dou
Wan, can be reliably dated to the second half of the second century BCE. The only undisturbed
examples of imperial family tombs yet found, they provide a clear picture of some elements of
courtly life and the character of the afterlife.
Both tombs are situated below the crest of a small hill at Pingshan near the town of
Mancheng in Hebei province. Liu Sheng's tomb faces east along a line that divides a valley
between two hills, which, as Wu Hung has pointed out, would have formed pillars or gateposts
guarding access to the site. 3 Dou Wan's tomb is 120 meters to the north and thus not on this
alignment — an indication of her subordinate position.
The tombs were hollowed out of the limestone hills to create horizontal caves. Each has
an access passage, two side-chambers for storage, a large central area, and a rear chamber in
which the coffin was placed. The entrances to the tombs were carefully blocked, each with a
brick wall and a cast-iron membrane. Earlier royal Han tombs located farther south at presentday
Xuzhou were protected by large, squared stones. The side chambers of the tombs of Liu
Sheng and Dou Wan were filled with provisions, as well as chariots and horses, for use in the
afterlife. The central chamber of Liu Sheng's tomb contained large canopies, a number of pottery
lamps, and clay figures of attendants (the attendants guarding the entrance to the rear
chamber were made of stone), and it seems to have been a ceremonial room in which the spirits
of Liu Sheng and Dou Wan would have held feasts and taken part in ceremonies. The central
chambers in both tombs seem to have contained wooden structures with tile roofs.
As an additional protection, the rear chambers of both Liu Sheng's and Dou Wan's tombs
were lined with stone slabs. The coffin, containing the prince in his jade shroud, as well as his
jade pectorals and precious vessels, was placed on the north side; a room on the south side of
388 | EARLY IMPERIAL CHINA