Study on Tomb Murals in Han Dynasty

This is the most authoritative and standard information.

The discovery of murals in Han tombs began in the northeast. From the beginning of the 20th century to 1945, with the spread of western archaeology to the east, the Japanese conducted field archaeology in the northeast of China, and successively excavated the Han and Wei mural tombs in Liaoyang Beiyuan, Shui Ying Temple, Huang Yu Temple, Nanlinzi and Dalian Yingchengzi. At the end of the 1920s, a mural tomb of hollow bricks in the late Western Han Dynasty in Xibalitai, the old city of Luoyang, Henan Province was also discovered due to excavation, and some of the hollow bricks are now in the United States. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), two large brick mural tombs in the late Eastern Han Dynasty were excavated in Wangdu County, Hebei Province in 1952 and 1955 respectively (see). By the end of 1966, through the excavation of Shaogou in Luoyang (see), Zaoyuan Village in Pinglu, Shanxi, Huangshanlong in Xuzhou, Shandong, Dahuting in Mixian County, Henan (see), Tuoketuo in Inner Mongolia, Bangtaizi in Liaoyang and Sandaohao in the late Western Han Dynasty, the distribution and area of murals in Han tombs were preliminarily understood. In the 1970s, large brick mural tombs in the late Eastern Han Dynasty (see) and Buqianqiu mural tombs in the late Western Han Dynasty (see) were excavated in Lujiazhuang, Anping, Hebei, Balidian, Dingyuan, Qianyang, Shaanxi, and Linger, Inner Mongolia, respectively, and the distribution, production date and theme of murals in Han tombs were further comprehensively understood. 1August, 986, No.3 tomb in Liaoyang Beiyuan was excavated. 1987 The mural of the Western Han Tomb discovered on the campus of Xi Jiaotong University in April is the earliest and most complete mural of the sky map so far. So far, more than 30 Han tombs have been excavated.

[Edit this paragraph] Segmentation and zoning

Murals in Han tombs can be divided into early and late periods. From the early years of the Western Han Dynasty to the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were only eight such places as Balitai, Shaogou, Buqianqiu, Zaoyuan, Qianyang, Xi 'an, Otok and Shangqiu. The later period is the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, including all murals of Han tombs. After the mid-Western Han Dynasty, with the development of the custom of heavy burial of powerful families, mural tombs appeared in the economic and cultural center or military fortress at that time. In the later period, the number of mural tombs increased and the distribution scope expanded. Their distribution can be divided into six regions: ① Henan, Shaanxi and Shanxi, mainly eight early mural tombs. ② In Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui and Shanxi, there are mainly mural tombs in Dahuting, Huanglong, Houyinshan and dongyuan village in Bozhou, Anhui. (3) There are mainly mural tombs in Yaocun, Wang Du, Lujiazhuang, Anping and Balizhuang, Dingxian in central and southern Hebei. The above three areas, with fertile land and criss-crossing rivers, were the economic and cultural centers at that time. ④ Along the Great Wall, there are mainly mural tombs in Inner Mongolia, Horinger, Tuoketuo, Horochaideng and Yulin in northern Shaanxi. This area is an important frontier of the Eastern Han government in the north. ⑤ Southern Liaoning is concentrated on the banks of the Taizi River in the northern suburb of Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province. There are mainly mural tombs in Dalian, such as Beiyuan, Bangtaizi, Sandaohao Cheqi Tomb and Yingchengzi mural tomb. Liaoyang was the capital of Liaoyang County at that time. The Han and Wei Dynasties were the center of Sun's separatist regime, and it was also an area where there was no war at the end of the Han Dynasty and the economy and culture continued to develop. Hexi District, the crossroads of the Silk Road, has some simple mural tombs.

[Edit this paragraph] Type the characteristics of the first area.

In 1 area, the Tomb of Unknown Name and the Tomb of Buqianqiu in Luoyang are both hollow brick tombs with double T-shaped ears, while the tomb of Qianyang is soil cave tomb with arched roof, and the tomb of Zaoyuan Village is a small brick tomb. The scale of the tomb is not large, only a little more than 4 ~ 6 meters long. The contents of murals are mainly astronomical phenomena and fairy tales, but there are also a few historical stories and manor and farming themes. Take the tomb of Zaoyuan Village around the New Dynasty of Wang Mang (9-23 AD) as an example. The tomb is 4.65 meters long and consists of 1 main room and 1 ear room. The main room is painted with murals, the top of the coupon is painted with clouds and four gods, and the walls are painted with horses and chariots, houses and figures. Among them, the portraits of Niu Geng and Bobo painted on the south wall and the west wall truly describe the agricultural production scene at that time, and have a strong flavor of life. They are the earliest paintings showing agricultural production activities in China. This mural is simple in composition and simple in style, and some even retain some characteristics of silk paintings in the early Western Han Dynasty. The mural of the celestial map of the Western Han Tomb in Xi Jiaotong University shows large-scale images of 28 huts, with seamless composition and bright colors. The upper part of the mural in the tomb main room represents the sky, while the lower part symbolizes mountains and rivers. The upper part of the mural is mainly composed of cranes, auspicious clouds, the moon, the sun and stars, with 28 stars and four images of black dragon, white tiger, suzaku and Xuanwu. There are groups of cranes in different shapes among the colorful clouds; Xiangyun has smooth lines and writes freely. The twenty-eight huts are illustrated with vivid characters and animals, which makes people clear at a glance. Murals also let people see China's earliest painting skills.

[Edit this paragraph] Features of the second to fourth area types

Secondly, fourth area has its own characteristics. The mural tombs in Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanxi and other places, like the popular tombs in this area, mostly adopt pure stone structure or mixed masonry structure, and murals and relief stones are often mixed together. There are two kinds of tombs: ① Bamboo slips tombs, such as the tomb of Houyinshan in the middle of Eastern Han Dynasty, are of masonry structure, with a length of 4.55 meters and a width of 3. 17 meters. There are murals in the front room, which mainly include the story of a trip to Chunyu and Qing Dynasty, the story of Houyi and the astronomical phenomena. ② The tombs in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty were complex in structure and huge in scale, with triple main rooms in front, middle and back, about15m long. Among them, Huangshan Huanglong Tomb and dongyuan village No.2 Tomb are of pure stone structure, and Dahuting Han Tomb is of mixed masonry structure. Except Huanglong Tomb in Huangshan Mountain, there are exquisite stone carvings at the gates of the other three tombs. The main content of the murals in this area is the horse riding and dancing of the tomb owner. From central Hebei to southern Hebei, there are magnificent multi-chamber brick tombs everywhere, mostly with horizontal roofs. Generally, there are three main rooms, front, middle and back, which are about 20 meters long. Among them, Wang Du No.2 Tomb has five main burial chambers, all of which are 32 meters long. The tomb of Lujiazhuang in Anping consists of front, middle and back rooms, ear rooms and lateral rooms *** 10, with a total length of 19 meters. There are huge murals of horses and chariots, bird's-eye view of buildings, officials, music and dance in the south wing of the front room, middle room and south wing of the middle room. According to the guide system of tourist map and the inscription date of Moshu, the owner of the tomb should be Wang Anping who died in the fifth year of Lingdi Xiping (176). The official map with many figures is the most distinctive mural content in this area. The tombs along the Great Wall are similar in shape to those in central and southern Hebei, but there are many domes. Among them, the Min Tomb in Tuoketuo County consists of three main rooms and five ear rooms, with a total length of 13 meters. Murals are mainly painted in the middle room and the east and west ear rooms, and the rest are maids, chariots, horses, cooks and so on. The calligraphy list next to the portrait proves that the owner of the tomb is surnamed Min. The murals of the Han Tomb in Helinger are the largest in this area and the most abundant murals of the Han Tomb seen so far. The murals of Han tombs in Yulin area are mostly painted directly on brick tombs with Zhu and black colors, mainly including chariots, horses, figures and buildings. May be as early as the mid-Eastern Han Dynasty. The mural tombs in Liaoyang area are all stone structures except Yingchengzi. The plane of the tomb is square, consisting of a front room, a back room, a cloister, two ear rooms and several small rooms, with a length and width of about 7 meters. A small tomb consists of a front room, a back room and 1 or two ear rooms. The back room is divided into two or three coffin rooms, generally about 5 meters long. Murals are painted directly on the stone surface, and the main contents are rides, plays and feasts.

[Edit this paragraph] The characteristics of mural tombs in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty

Compared with the previous period, the characteristics of mural tombs in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty are as follows: ① The tombs are large in scale and complex in structure; (2) The area of murals has increased, generally more than 50 square meters, and some are nearly 200 square meters, and there are many masterpieces with complex plots and wide formats; (3) It is rich in content. Besides the owner's experience, identity, power, dignity and wealth, music and dance, officials, dock walls and farming have become the main themes, and auspicious pictures have appeared. ④ Various painting techniques and high artistic level of murals; ⑤ There are many topics in the ink book list, which makes the contents of murals clear at a glance.

[Edit this paragraph] Subject content

It can be roughly divided into seven categories: ① farming, mulberry field, grazing, hunting and so on. , showing the scene of production activities in the owner's manor; (2) Riding vehicles, government offices, officials, shogunate and dock walls show the official experience and identity of the tomb owner; ③ Smoking utensils, kitchens, banquets, music and dancing, etc. , showing the freehand brushwork life of the tomb owner; (4) Historical stories that promote Confucian ethics and emphasize personal attachment, such as ancient sages such as Confucius, Laozi and Duke Zhou, loyal ministers such as Jing Ke and Wu Zixu, and filial sons and daughters such as wives of Ding Lan and Hu Qiu; ⑤ Fairy stories mainly include Dong, the Queen Mother of the West, Nuwa of Fuxi, and fairy birds and beasts that express heaven and earth; ⑥ Auspicious pictures, such as Kirin, Cao Zhi and Shen Ding. , under the influence of the theory of heaven and man induction; All landowners astronomical phenomena, such as the sun, moon, stars, clouds and four gods (dragon, white tiger, suzaku and Xuanwu) symbolizing four constellations. Generally, the distribution of contents in the tomb is ①, ②, ③ and ④, and the contents are painted in the front, middle and back rooms or ear rooms, and ⑤, ⑤ and ⑤ are painted on the top of the tomb and at the entrance of the tomb.

[Edit this paragraph] Skills

With the brush as the main painting tool, mineral pigments in scarlet, green, yellow, orange and purple tones are used, so the color of murals lasts for a long time and is usually bright when found. Modelling technique inherited the tradition of realism and exaggeration since the late Spring and Autumn Period, and developed the technique of drawing ink lines in palace murals and silk paintings from the Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty. In the early days, the technology was relatively simple. By the late Eastern Han Dynasty, freehand brushwork, boneless and line drawing appeared, and some pictures, such as the subordinate figures of Wang Du 1, were also rendered. In composition, it got rid of the rigid horizontal arrangement of patterns since the late Spring and Autumn Period and paid attention to the relationship between proportion and perspective. These achievements laid the foundation for the maturity of China's painting.

[Edit this paragraph] Ideological origin

The popularity of murals in Han tombs is mainly due to the rulers' advocacy of filial piety and thick burial, which leads to the idea that "things die like things live". Especially in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was the only way for people to embark on official career. Therefore, the so-called "honoring mourning as a sign of filial piety, and rewarding customers with names" is everywhere, and the wind of reburial is getting worse. Many people go to great lengths to build graves for their parents or themselves, and draw a large number of life and historical miracle images showing their power, dignity and wealth before their death on the walls of underground tombs that simulate strangers' residences, so as to gain the reputation of "filial piety" and help them become officials. This is the social root of the prevalence of murals in Han tombs.