CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

V4
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Painted marble relief of musicians
Height 82 (31), width 136 (53)
Later Liang Dynasty, tenth century CE (907 - 923)
From the Tomb of Wang Chuzhi at Xiyanchuan,
Quyang, Hebei Province
Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Institute,
Shijiazhuang
This handsome painted marble relief was set into
the west wall of the coffin chamber, matching the
relief of attendants on the east wall. The two compositions
provide two essential elements in the
appropriate decor of a royal tomb of the Tang and
Song periods — music and servants. Judging from
the prevalence of the musical performance theme
in tomb decorations, such references seem to have
been a virtual requirement. Complete orchestras
such as this one in Wang Chuzhi's tomb appear
most commonly from the Late Tang to Early Song
period and present evidence of daily life among the
aristocracy of the time. Most similar to the overall
character of the paintings and reliefs in Wang
Chuzhi's tomb is the great narrative handscroll The
Night Revels of Han Xizai in the Palace Museum in
Beijing, 1 which probably depicts the interior of a
princely mansion only twenty-five years or so after
the death of Wang Chuzhi in 923 CE. There, as in
Wang's tomb, bands of musicians perform, servants
attend, and pictures decorate walls and furniture.
Tombs like that of Wang Chuzhi were clearly
intended to closely emulate the palaces in which
he had once lived, and music was obviously a vital
element in the daily life of such palaces.
Wang Chuzhi's female orchestra features twelve
musicians, two tiny dancers, and what appears to
511 | TOMB OF WANG CHUZHI AT XIYANCHUAN