湖南省博物馆马王堆英文讲解词

2021年1月22日发(作者：骆统)
An Introduction to Mawangdui Han T
ombs
Historic relics unearthed from Han Tombs at Mawangdui are relevant to many legendary and touching stories,
therefore
it’s
not
easy
to
introduce
them
thoroughly
to
our
reverend
visitors.
But
we can
still
enjoy
the
deli
cate
articles
of
ancient
civilization
to
our
eyes’ content
as well
as
to
our
heart’s content.
Next,
we
are
to
explore
the
historical and artistic wonders made by ancient Chinese people more than 2100 years ago.

This picture shows the outside scene of Han Tombs at Mawangdui. The Han Tombs are located at Wulipai in the
eastern suburb of Changsha. They are about 4 kilometers from the downtown area. In the flat extending fields are two
mounds of tombs. They are of similar size and are linked to form the shape of a saddle. It was recorded that this site
was once the family graveyard for Ma
Yin, King of the Chu State during the Five Dynasties Period, and therefore
acquired the name Mawangdui meaning Mound of King Ma. But according to
Tai Ping Huan Yu Ji
’s recordi
ng about
Changsha, Mawangdui was the graveyard of Lady Cheng and Lady Tang, two concubines of Emperor Jingdi of the
Han Dynasty. They were buried by Liu Fa, Prince of the Changsha State. Thus this graveyard was called “Shuang Nv
Zhong”
meaning
the
Tomb
of
Two
Ladies.
The
authentic
owner
of
this
mysterious
graveyard
has
been
uncertain
before Mawangdui Tombs were unearthed.

At the end of 1971, No.366 Hospital of Hunan Provincial Military Region was to construct underground wards
and storerooms at Mawangdui. Before the construction, Hunan Provincial Museum excavated these tombs, revealing
the myths buried in this thousand-year underground palace.


Here are Models of Tomb pits of the three Han Tombs at Mawangdui. They are numbered in the sequence of
excavation. Tomb No.1 and Tomb No.2 lie aside from east to west. Tomb No.3 is located to the south of Tomb No.1.
The
opening
of
Tomb
No.1
is
of
square shape,
measuring
19.5
meters
by
17.8
meters, with
a
dipper-shaped
pit
underneath. It is typical of western Han period. The pit measured from the sealing soil is 20.5 meters deep with 4
steps extending downward from the opening. A
slope tomb channel leads directly from the ground to the pit bottom
at the north of the tomb chamber. Over 1800 cultural relics of lacquer wares, textiles and paintings on silk as well as
a well-preserved female corpse were unearthed. The opening and middle layer of Tomb No.2 are of round shape. Due
to the fact that the tomb was not compactly sealed, it had been robbed several times and the outer coffin chamber had
collapsed. Only around 200 cultural relics were left behind. Tomb No.3 is similar
in shape with Tomb 1. It is well
preserved
with
more
than
1,000
cultural
relics
of
inscriptions
and
paintings
on
silk,
inscribed
on
bamboo
slips,
lacque
r wares and textiles unearthed. The corpse in this tomb, however, was only a skeleton. It’s identified that the
corpse belongs to a man who died in his early thirties. He was 1.85 meters tall.

Model of Filling Materials in T
omb No.1

Tomb No.1 is well-preserved due to several reasons. At the bottom of the tomb is a 15cm-thick layer of white
filling clay. Covering the whole outer coffin chamber is a layer of 40cm thick charcoal weighing more than 5 tons.
On top of the charcoal is a 1.3cm thick layer of white filling clay. Then earth is rammed every 0.5 meter on its top.
Charcoal serves as a moisture-proof substance. It takes in the small
amount of water in the chamber. White filling
clay
is
termed
montmorillenite,
a
material
for
porcelains.
It
has
high
plasticity
and
low
permeability.
Thus
with
effective burying and sealing, the corpse, coffins and abundant burial objects are kept impact in the tomb.
Wooden T
ablet with Burial Date

The inscription on the wooden tablet unearthed from Tomb No.3 reads, “On the f
irst wu-chen day of yi-si, the
second month of the twelfth year, the chamberlain in charge of funeral service, on holding a memorial with funeral
articles, presents a list of the delivery for inspection.” Accordingly the date inscribed on the tablet is equ
ivalent to the
twenty-fourth of lunar February of the twelfth year in the reign of Emperor Wendi of Han, or 168 B.C. It is the exact
burial date of the tomb-owner.
Part II: Walking into the Family of the Marquis of Dai
Li Cang’s Jade Seal


It’s
archeologically
established
that
Mawangdui was
the family
graveyard
of
the
Marquis
of
Dai
in
the
early
Western Han Dynasty
. Based on the unearthed jade seals inscribed with “Li Cang”, the bronze seals with Seal of the
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Marquis
of
Dai”
and
“Prime
Minister
of
Changsha
State”, we conclude
that
the
owner
of Tomb
No.2
is
the first
generation Marquis of Dai and the Prime Minister of Changsha State
—
Li Cang. He was born in the later years of the
Warning
States
period
and
died
in
186B.C.
or the
second
year
of
the
reign
of
Empress
Gaohou. In
his
youth,
he
participated in the Peasants’ Revolution against the Qin Monarch and also in the warfare between Chu and Han. Due
to
his
outstanding
contribution
to
the
western
Han,
he
was
appointed
Prime
Minister
of
Changsha
State
in
the
beginning years of the Western Han. He continued his efforts in consolidating the central government’s ruling and
keeping unification of the country
. It’s recorded in
Shi Ji
and
Han Shu
that he was conferred the rank Marquis of Dai
in the fourt
h lunar month of the second year of Emperor Hudi’s reign or in 193B.C. Dai is the name of his fief which
is located between Luoshan county and Guangsha county in present-day Henan Province. He had 700 families under
his jurisdiction in his fief. Compared with marquises with a fief of 10,000 families like Chen Ping and Zhang Liang,
Marquis
of
Dai
was
not
of
the
highest
rank.
However,
owing
to
the
peculiar
location
of
his
Changsha
State,
his
family had sumptuous means and clothes, leading a
life of extravagance. Even after their demise, they were buried
with lavish funerals.
Seal with the legend “Qie Xin Zhui”


Xin Zhui buried in Tomb No.1 was Li Cang’s wife. Her name is known to us because of a seal unearthed from
her tomb. Though she was a woman of prominent status, she saw the death of her husband in her youth and the death
of
her
son
in
her
later
years, which
must
have
greatly
pained
her.
She
died
in
the first
year
of
Houyuan
reign
of
Emperor Wendi or 163
B.C. at the age of 50 or so. Hunan Provincial
Museum made a wax figure of Xin
Zhui to
show her graceful bearing with the help of Xi’an Superman Sculpture Research Institute, on the basis of her corpse
and her painting on a piece of T-shaped silk
Boxwood Combs


Xin Zhui enjoyed high position and lived in comfort before her death. She cared much about her making up. In
the two-tiered lacquer cosmetic box with nine smaller boxes and the single-tiered one with five smaller boxes were
found rouge, oil paint, white powder and other cosmetics as well as utensils for making up, such as bronze mirror,
mirror polisher, powder puff, combs, wooden tweezers, brush, horn knives with ring- ended handle, etc. The wooden
tweezers were
used
for
shaving
brows
and
the
brush for
applying
powder
to
the
face. The
hair
of
the
brush
on
excavation
was
partly
reddish, which
might
be
left
by rouge.
The
boxwood comb
is worth
observing.
It
is finely
polished and the tooth gaps are fine and even. Within a length of 5 centimeters, the comb has 74 teeth. It is much
delicate than the general co
mbs used nowadays. It’s still amazing how it could be made so fine.

Map of Garrison

The owner of Tomb No.3 was Li Cang’s son, the Marquis of Dai of the second generation. According to the
unearthed
wooden
tablet,
he
died
in
the
twelfth
year
of
Emperor
Wen
di’s
reign,
i.e.,
168B.C.
in
his
early
thirties.
From Tomb No.3 were found 38 weapons as well as a Map of Garrison. During the last years of the reign of Empress
Gaohou, Zhao Tuo, King of the Nanyue Kingdom who set up a separatist region to the south of the Southern Ridges,
launched an attack on the southern part of the Changsha State. In response, the Han Court and the Changsha State
immediately sent troops on a punitive expedition. The war continued until the early years of the reign of Emperor
Wendi.
This
map
of
garrison
in
his
tomb
revealed
to
us
that
the
tomb
owner was
once
a
key
military
officer
of
Changsha State. He partic
ipated and even was in command of the campaign. Contrary to a modern map, the south is
shown at the top of this map and the south a
t the bottom. The circles on the map identify the villages, called “Li” then,
while
the
squares
stand
for
the
county
sites.
The
barracks
are
indicated
in
irregular
shapes.
The
headquarters
represented by a triangle is located at the center of the garrison
area where several rivers or brooks meet. Within the
garrison area, 6 troops are allocated to the front, the left and the right of the headquarters along 2 lines guarding 3
valleys
that
lead
from
Nanyue
Kingdom
to
Changsha
State.
It’s
obvious
that
Changsha

State
took
advantage
of
preferential geographic sites to defend itself. The distribution of troops shown on the map was proof for the rather
high level of military thoughts and commanding art at the early period of Han.

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Millet Cakes

A
large quantity of
food as well as eating and drinking utensils was unearthed from Tomb No1 and No.3. They
are enough to prove that high ranking officials and aristocracy of the Western Han led a life of great extravagance.
Besides, a total of 11 bags of ice, wheat, barley and other grains as well as various cakes were discovered from the
tombs.
The
millet
cakes
found
in
the
painted
pottery
box
from
Tomb
No.1 were made
by
steaming
the
paste
of
ground
or
pounded
millet
powder.
Ciba
and
ci-fantuan
that
are
popular
today
in
the
south
of
China
may
have
developed from the millet cakes.
Remaining Slices of Locus Root in the Lacquer T
ripod with Cloud Design from T
omb No.1

The primary non-staple foods in Hunan area at that time were fish, meat, vegetables, fruits and so on. Abundant
samples of these foods were dug out from the Mawangdui Tombs. The vegetables have been carbonized completely.
But we can still get the original forms of some. Much to our amazement, on opening the lacquer tripod with cloud
design form Tomb No.1, we found soup made over two thousand and one hundred years ago with a contact layer of
sliced lotus root floating on its surface. But it’s regretful to see the speedy disappearance of them due to chemical
reactions in the air and unavoidable vibration. Experts in seismology said this phenomenon proved that no serious
and destructive earthquake had ever taken place in Changsha area in the last 2100 years.
Bones of Wild Geese

Meat consumed by the family of the Marquis of Dai came from a variety of animals. From the buried meat in
Tomb No.1 and Tomb No.3, we see they ate not only the meat of domestic fowls and animals but also the meat of
wild ones. According to the inventory of burial objects, the buried animals included the commonly seen ones like
pigs,
goats,
oxen, chicken, carps
and crucian
carps
and
rare
animals
such
as
sika
deer, cranes,
golden
pheasants,
turtledoves, wild geese, and mandarin fish. In a way, they range from the flying birds to swimming fish to reptile
animals. The coverage of the food is really astonishing.

Drawing of Daoyin, the Physical Exercise Chart

This
physical
exercise
chart
found
in
Tomb
No.3
is
the
most
ancient
one
in
the
world
on
health
care
and
physical exercise. “Dao Y
in” means promoting flowing of
qi
and blood, and stretching the limbs. It is a treatment of
therapeutic physical education combining movements of limbs and respiratory movement. On the chart, 44 Daoyin
positions are illustrated. Judging from the remaining characters, they are of 3 categories: the movements of a body
,
the initiated movements of certain animal and the function of such a movement. If you are interested in this exercise,
why not have a try with this ancient treatment?
“Guan Ren” Male Figurine


Over
300 wooden figurines, substitutes
of
the
household servants
in
the
afterlife, were
unearthed from Tomb
No.1 and No.3. This figurine has a strong built body and is wearing a tall hat and a silk gown. One of its shoe-soles is
caved with “Guan Ren” in Chinese characters, meaning male servant. On excavation, there were sc
ores of painted
wooden figurines behind him in his command. Therefore, he should be the butler of the Marquis of Dai’s family. The
maid figurines are crafted with excellent workmanship and extravagantly dressed in laced embroidery gowns. They
should be the Maids of Honor attending the Marquise of Dai. Figurines with painted design are a share contrast to the
above mentioned ones. They are of large quantity but the smallest in size. Their facial expressions are of unanimous
sadness. They represent the servants of the lowest rank engaged in sundry duties in the household of the Marquis of
Dai. We’ll see later on wooden figurines of singers, dancers and musicians. Their existence tells us the great variety
of them.

Wooden Figurines of Musicians

Five figurines of musicians were discovered from the tombs. Two are in the posture of playing the
Y
u, a wind
instrument
and
the
others
playing
the
Se,
a string
instrument,
forming
a
family
orchestra.
Y
ou can
see
they
are
in
gowns and seriously preparing for their performance.

The figurines of singers have handsome faces. They are also in long robes and seating on the floor, seemingly
producing melodious tunes. Figurines of dancers have round faces with rouge and powder. Their bodies are leaning
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forward with knees slightly bending, seemingly dancing to the music and songs. The Marquise of Dai led a life of
comfort and extravagance during her life time and continued to enjoy it after her death with so many figurines buried
with her.
Yu: An Instrument

Eight
kinds
of
instruments
were
found
from
Tomb
No.1
and
No.3
including
Qin,
Se,
Zhu,
Di,
Y
u,
Xulv,
Bian-Zhong
(chimes)
and
Bian-Qing(stone chimes).
They
are
of
great
value
in
Chinese
history
of
music,
offering
precious
materials
for
the
study
on
Western
Han’s
music.
There was

once
a
story
about
an
incompetent
musician
named Nanguo. He passed himself as one of the Y
u players in an assembly. Thus came into being the Chinese idiom:
“Lan Y
u Chong Shu”, which means being there just to make up the number. The instrument “Y
u” in this
story is like
what you see now. This Y
u was unearthed from Tomb No.1. Well-preserved, it has the whole set of 22 tubes. But it is
of no practical use, for it is just a model.
A Set of Liubo Chess

A

set
of
game
utensils
was
unearthed
from Tomb
No.3. It consists
of
a
chessboard,
6
black chessmen
and
6
white ones, 20 chess pieces, 42 counting chips and a dice. A
special lacquer box is made to hold these utensils. The
rules of this game are shown on the carved stones. Two players sitting opposite each other w
ould choose black or
white chessmen, and put them accordingly along twelve L-shaped and T-shaped tracks. They would alternately cast
the dice, on two sides of which are carved “Jiao” meaning beneficial movement and on the opposite side, meaning
disadvantageous
movement.
On
the
other
sides
of
the
dice
are
carved
cardinals
from
1
to
16.
One
moved
his
chessman according to the number he got and the one who obtained more chips would be the winner. Liubo chess
was a fashionable game during the Han Dynasty at the Court or among civilians. But its popularity waned after the
Jin Dynasty and after Tang it became the now popular Chinese chess.
The Beauty of Lacquer wares
Lacquer T
ray with Cloud Design

The
tray was
designed
for
passing
food. It’s
in
rectangle
shape wi
th
4
curved
short
feet
under
each corner.
Ancient Chinese used the expression “Ju An Qi Men”—
holding the tray level with the brows to show that husband
and wife are treating each other with courtesy
. On the exterior bottom are carved “Household of the Marquis of Dai”,
proving the ownership of the tray. On excavation, the tray carried 5 small lacquer dishes containing remnant of beef
and thin bamboo strips, two lacquer goblets and one flanged cup with a pair of bamboo chopsticks placed on top of it.
The meal set on this tray reveals that the nobles of the Han Dynasty were served meals in individual sets.

Lacquer Flanged Cup with Inscription “Jun Xing Shi”


The
flanged
cup was
used
to
hold
food, wine, soup
or
porridge.
It
is
named
“Flanged
Cup”
due
to
the
two

handles for holding. During the Warring States Period, the two handles were seen as the two swings of a bird, so they
called the vessel “Swung Cup”. The inscriptions in official script on the inside bottom “Jun Xing Shi” means “Help
Y
ourself to some food”
.
Rectangular Lacquer Cosmetic Box with Raised Decoration

This
kind
of
box was
exclusively
designed
for
precious
things;
therefore
its
shape
and
decorations
are more
exquisite and tasteful. The cover is in peculiar shape. The exterior is painted with blac
k lacquer while the
interior
with red lacquer. The designs on this box are outlined with bulging white lines between which are filled with scrolled
cloud in red, green and yellow. The rich colors in several layers present a three-dimensional effect. This method of
painting is named “raised lacquer decoration” in documents. A
black lacquer gauze hat was found in the box when
unearthed.
Lacquer Cosmetic Box with Incised Design

Incised
design
or
the
incising
technique
is
to
incise, with
an
awl
or
a
needle,
patterns
on the
lacquer coating
when
it
is
not
yet
thoroughly
dried. The
incised
lines
on
the
box
are finer
than
hair
and
they can
only
be
seen
in
bright light. On the cover and the bottom are incised running rabbits, swimming fishes, flying birds and crouching
squirrels surrounded by cloud and mist and several sets of cloud and phoenix patterns. On the exterior surface of the
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