Mawangdui (simplified Chinese:马王堆;traditional Chinese:馬王堆;pinyin:Mǎwángduī;lit. 'King Ma's Mound') is anarchaeological site located inChangsha,China. The site consists of two saddle-shaped hills and contained the tombs of three people from theChangsha Kingdom during the westernHan dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD): the Chancellor Li Cang, his wifeXin Zhui, and a male believed to have been their son.[1] The site was excavated from 1972 to 1974. Most of the artifacts from Mawangdui are displayed at theHunan Provincial Museum.[2] It was called "King Ma's Mound" possibly because it was (erroneously) thought to be the tomb ofMa Yin (853–930), a ruler of theChu kingdom during theFive Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The original name might have been the similarly-sounding "saddle-shaped mound" (馬鞍堆;mǎ ān duī).[3]
The tombs were made of largecypress planks. The outside of the tombs were layered with white clay andcharcoal. White clay layering originated with Chu burials, while charcoal layering was practiced during the early western Han dynasty in the Changsha area. The tombs contained nestedlacquered coffins, a Chu burial custom.[1] The four lacquered coffins are estimated to represent one million hours of human labour.[1] The tombs also followed the burial practices dictated byEmperor Wen of Han, containing no jade or precious metals.
The eastern tomb, Tomb no. 1, contained the remains of a woman in her fifties (Lady Dai, personal nameXin Zhui). Hermummified body was so well-preserved that researchers were able to perform an autopsy on her body, which showed that she probably died of aheart attack.[4] Specifically, her diet was too rich in sugars and meats, and she suffered from arterial-coronary problems. Buried with her were skeletons of various food-animals, jujubes, lotus soup, grains and a complete meal including soup, rice and meat skewers on a lacquer set. Researchers found honeydew melon seeds in her stomach, implying consumption right before death. She outlived the occupants of the other two tombs.
The tomb of Xin Zhui was by far the best preserved of the three. A complete cosmetic set, lacquered pieces and finely woven silk garments with paintings are almost perfectly preserved. Her coffins were painted according to Chu customs and beliefs, with whirling clouds interwoven with mystical animals and dragons. The corpse was bound tightly in layers of silk cloth and covered with a wonderfully painted T-shaped tapestry depicting the netherworld, earth and heavens with Chinese mythological characters as well as Xin Zhui. There was also a silk painting showing a variety of exercises that researchers have called the forerunner oftai ji.
The western tomb, Tomb no. 2, was the burial site of the first Marquis of Dai,Li Cang [zh] (利蒼). He died in 186 BC.[5] The Han dynasty had appointed Li Cang as the chancellor of theKingdom of Changsha, an imperial fiefdom of Han. This tomb had been plundered several times by grave robbers.
Tomb 3 was directly south of Tomb 1, and contained the tomb of a man in his thirties who died in 168 BC. The occupant is believed to have been a relative of Li Cang and his wife. This tomb contained a rich trove of military, medical, and astronomical manuscripts written on silk.
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Held in particularly high regard are the lacquered wine-bowls and cosmetic boxes, showcasing the regional lacquerware industry's craftsmanship.
Among the most famous artifacts from Mawangdui are thesilk funeral banners. These T-shaped banners were draped on the coffin of Tomb 1. The banners depict the Chinese concepts of the cosmos and the afterlife at the time of the western Han dynasty. A silk banner of similar style and function was found in Tomb 3.
The T-shaped silk funeral banner in the tomb of the Marquise (Tomb 1) is called the "name banner" with the written name of the deceased replaced with a portrait. We know the name because the tomb's original inventory is still intact, and this is what it is called on the inventory. The Marquise was buried in four coffins; the silk banner drapes the innermost of the coffins.[6]
On the T-shaped painted silk garment, the uppermost horizontal section of the T represents heaven. The bottom of the vertical section of the T represents the underworld. The middle (the top of the vertical) represents earth. In heaven we can see Chinese deities such asNuwa andChang'e, as well asDaoist symbols such as cranes (representing immortality). Between heaven and earth we can see heavenly messengers sent to bring Lady Dai to heaven. Underneath this are Lady Dai's family offering sacrifices to help her journey to heaven. Beneath them is the underworld, with two giant sea serpents intertwined.
The contents of Tomb 2 had been destroyed or removed by robbers. An excavation report has been published in Chinese; there has not been an English printing yet.
Tomb 3 contained a silk name banner (similar to that of tomb 1) and three maps drawn on silk: a topographic map, a military map and a prefecture map. The maps display theHunan,Guangdong andGuangxi region and depict the political boundary between the Han dynasty andNanyue. At the time of discovery, these were the oldest maps yet discovered in China, until 1986 whenQin State maps dating to the 4th century BC were found.
Tomb 3 containeda wealth of classical texts. The tomb contained texts on astronomy, which accurately depicted the planetary orbits for Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn and described various comets. The Mawangdui texts of theI Ching[7] andTao Te Ching[8] are hundreds of years earlier than those known before. The tomb also contained a rich collection ofHuang-Lao Taoist texts, as well a copy of theZhan Guo Ce. The tomb also contained various medical texts, including depictions ofdaoyin (qigong) exercises, as well as a historical text, theChunqiu shiyu.
28°12′31″N113°01′18″E / 28.20861°N 113.02167°E /28.20861; 113.02167
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