The Yi′nan tomb is located in Beizhai Village, Shandong Province, China. The tomb consists of front, central, rear chambers and comprises 73 stone slabs. This thesis focus on the ritual of pictorial stones stationed at the front chamber's lintel, ce...
The Yi′nan tomb is located in Beizhai Village, Shandong Province, China. The tomb consists of front, central, rear chambers and comprises 73 stone slabs. This thesis focus on the ritual of pictorial stones stationed at the front chamber's lintel, central chamber's lintel, door's lintel. These lintel pictorial programs regard as the rite connected with funerary procession and afterlife of the deceased. According to the this point of view, this study aims to seek site of the afterlife of people living during the Han dynasty and how desire about ascending to the land of immortals is reflected in pictorial stones.
Front chamber's lintel scenes at the east, south and west wall have been considered rites for ancestor from excavation report of the tomb. Entertainment and kitchen scenes are described respectively in the east wall's lintel and the eastern end of the south wall's lintel at Central chamber. Through specific examples, I could make sure that they were combined in one slab stone. And these scenes are estimated at the rite of ascending to the land of immortals. Door's lintel scene is 'Battle at the Bridge'. This represented not the ritual on the surface but journey to the afterlife that the soul of the deceased will have experienced through the battle with the Huns(胡人, barbarian). Thus I try to seek reality meaning from the analysis of the ritual pictorial stones.
Ancestral rites at the three lintel of south, east and west walls in front chamber are procedure for the funeral by "Mourning Procedures of the Evening before the burial" of section of the Ritual. Entertainment and kitchen scenes was combined mainly with the many of immortal motifs such as the Queen Mother of the west(西王母), the King Father of the east(東王公), feathered beings(羽人), etc. Therefore these scenes would perform special ceremonies to acquire immortality of the soul. Such views represent the trend of Taoist ideology at that time. As a consequence of investigation into the various form of the Battle with the Huns(barbarian), the Huns guide the Han Chinese(the tomb occupants) to the immortal land as the pathfinder. Besides, Battle with the Huns was combined with a variety of motifs such as fishing scene, hunting scene, capturing prisoners, the Wind God, lifting of the tripod from the water and Confucius meeting Lao zi. This is to emphasize ascending to the immortal land.
Three types of lintel scenes show the themes of the Yi′nan tomb by describing the ritual sequentially which has the funerary rite, the ceremony of the immortality of the soul, journey to the afterlife. As a result, the ritual is the most important theme and the decoration scheme has regular links on the ritual narrative in the Yi′nan tomb.