T-shaped painting on silk from Xin Zhui’s tomb

T-shaped painting on silk from Xin Zhui’s tomb

Early Western Han Dynasty  Length 205cm, width at top 92cm, width at bottom 47.7cm

Unearthed in 1972 from Tomb No. 1 at Mawangdui, Changsha city
With the length 205cm, width at top 92cm, and width at bottom 47.7cm, the T-shaped silk painting is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. It was then laid on the innermost coffin at the burial. It was composed of three layers of fine silk, the top of which was supported by a bamboo rod with silk ribbons tied to it. The silk painting could be raised up. The middle and the four bottom corners are decorated with tassels made of hemp in dark green color. This was a banner carried at the front in the funeral procession, and it was then laid on the innermost coffin at the burial. With the ink drawing and heavy-colored drawing techniques, the painting can be divided into the heavenly world, the human world and the underworld from the top to the bottom. In the part of the heavenly world are the sun with its crow, the moon with its toad and rabbit, Zhu Long (a mythical god in heaven), the winged dragons and the heavenly guardians. In the part of the earthly world, the wife of Marquis of Dai, attended by three maids of honor, is ascending heaven slowly, and her family is offering sacrifices. In the part of the underworld, a giant is upholding the earth. This banner reveals the heavenly world as the ancient people imagined it, as well as their romantic view of the quest for eternal life.