CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

11 R
12
FIG. i. Schematic drawing
of the sections of Liu
Sheng's jade shroud. After
Zhongguo i98ob, 1:348,
fig. 227.
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disks in such burials may even have intrigued the
Han and inspired them to place disks within the
jade shrouds, as was done both for the King of
Nanyue (cat. 140) and Liu Sheng.
It has often been suggested that these shrouds
were intended to effect the transformation of their
owners' bodies into jade. 4 A more plausible interpretation
is that such shrouds served as armor
to protect the bodies of the elite from the attacks
of evil demons and forces thought to cause illness,
corruption, and decay. Tombs of other members of
the Liu family were sometimes also equipped with
jade-bladed weapons, 5 which were probably intended
for protection. Liu Sheng was also supplied
with a set of plugs to block the body apertures;
their function may have been similar to that of the
391 ROYAL TOMBS AT LINGSHAN