Book Description

Soldiers and servants, ministers and jesters: for more than a thousand years wood or clay models were entombed as a part of Chinese burial rituals. From the vast armies of the second century BC to the elegant ladies and exquisite furnishings of later dynasties, tomb figurines hold the keys to a world long hidden below ground. This book provides a well-illustrated introduction to the charm and artistry of Chinese tomb figurines. The author, an expert in Chinese sculptural traditions, traces the figures' development from the Han to the Song dynasties, exploring the beliefs and practices surrounding them, identifying common characteristics, and locating the sculptures in the larger world of Chinese artistic tradition. Although kin to the terracotta soldiers of Qin Shihuang's army, tomb figurines more often re-create scenes from daily life: pigsties and granaries that bring us back to a time of agricultural simplicity; musicians, dancers, and elegant courtiers that joined the noble dead in passage to the other world. These uniquely detailed figures, alive with movement and displaying the fashions of their times, reproduce a world long past and provide an extraordinary three-dimensional perspective on their nation's history.