CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

THE TOMB OF
THE KING OF
NANYUE AT
XIANGGANG,
GUANGZHOU,
GUANGDONG
PROVINCE
The King of Nanyue was a member of a family that ruled a small kingdom in the area of presentday
Guangzhou (Canton). Established in 203 BCE by Zhao Tuo (r. 203-137 BCE), who was
named King of Nanyue by the Han emperor Gaozu in 196 BCE, the kingdom lay geographically
outside of the traditional areas of Han power. However, archeological evidence from the tomb
— identified as that of second ruler of the kingdom, Zhao Mo (r. 137-122 BCE), the son of Zhao
Tuo — suggests that its occupant wished to be identified as a ruler equal to the imperial
princes themselves; indeed, his seal (cat. 138) gives his title as "Emperor Wen."
The tomb, lined with stone slabs, was dug into a small hillside at Xianggang in Guangzhou.
Its plan is similar to that of the imperial princes' tombs: a narrow access passage, entered
through a storage area, leads into the front chamber, flanked to the left and right by side chambers
for storage. The large rear chamber is divided into three sections: a central room (with a
small annex for storage behind it), which contained the coffin, and two side rooms, which held
the bodies of attendants and servants.
Remains of painted decoration in the central front chamber suggest the brilliance of the
tomb's original paintwork, most of which has now disappeared. The front of the tomb held vessels
and musical instruments, elephant tusks and minerals — the latter perhaps intended for
alchemy. The king, encased in his jade shroud, was laid in a double coffin in the central room at
the back, and fine objects, including exceptional jades and a silver box, were placed at his head
and feet. The bodies of four women, all supplied with mirrors and jade pectorals, were found in
the eastern chamber; the western chamber contained animal remains (possibly sacrifices), as
well as the bodies of individuals who may have been the king's attendants. 1
The discovery of the tomb brought to light an extraordinary abundance of jade objects —
the king's shroud (cat. 139), numerous disks placed with the body (cats. 140-142), and plaques
worn in groups suspended on cords to form pectorals (cat. 144). Jade vessels found in the tomb
are far more numerous and sumptuous than those found in other royal burials; certainly they are
of greater quality and quantity than those found in Liu Sheng's tomb. It is likely, though, that
even the King of Nanyue's tomb was modest by comparison with other royal burials, such as,
for example, the tombs of the Chu kings in present-day Xuzhou, which were robbed in antiquity.
The source of the king's jades remains undetermined; they may have been carved in
Nanyue by artisans from other areas or imported from Chu or the northern states; in many
respects the jades resemble those used by the members of the Imperial family. It is likely that
Zhao Mo employed burial officials who were thoroughly familiar with burial practices at the
Han metropolis. The jade shrouds, for example, imitate those of the imperial princes. The jade
disks are almost identical to those known from other regions; some seem to predate Zhao Mo's
reign by a century or more, suggesting access to supplies of carved jade from outside the area.
The chambered design of the tomb itself mirrors that used in the eastern kingdoms.
410 EARLY IMPERIAL CHINA