Han+Dynasty+206+BCE-220+CE

The Han Dynasty was a time of great cultural growth in China as the nation was united under Confucianism. The Han Dynasty was a period of great expansion eastward toward Korea and westward towards Western Asia and India.This expansion was in large part due to the Silk Road, a trade route through Asia, which the Han Dynasty attempted to control. It was split into two parts: the Western Han from 206 BCE - 9 CE, in which the capital was at Chang'an, and the Eastern Han from 25 - 220 CE, in which the capital was at Luoyang. The brief interim between 9 - 24 CE was caused by Wang Mang, who, during a time of economic trouble, took power, believing that the Mandate of Heaven had been lost.

South
The tomb of the family of the Marqui of Dai, a lesser noble during the Han dynasty. It was composed of three tombs, the marquis, his wife and his son's tombs. Many weapons were excavated from the tomb of the Marqui, but there were also some twenty varieties of books, including altogether some 100,000 characters. Both the wife's and son's tombs were covered with a T-shaped banner of painted fabric. While he and his son's tombs were not preserved, the Marqui's wife, Lady Dai's, was due to waterlogging that created an anerobic environment. The wife's tomb is an inverted triange. The outer coffin is made of wood and is subdivided into many casket. The different sections are meant to recreate rooms in a house. Included in her tomb was the //feiyi//, or flying robe, thought to be a banner that was part of the funeral procession. Painted with attention to detail, it illustrates heaven, earth, and the underworld. The banner depicts how the deceased ascended into heaven. She is pictured on a platform that is lifting her up. Below her is an assembly, and there are vessels on the table. Perhaps the assembly is a depiction of the deceased's funeral or of her descendants praying for her at her shrine.
 * Tomb of 1, Mawangdui, Changsha 180 BCE**

Also found in the tomb were many grave goods (mingqi) and lacquer wares (qiqi). They are painted black and red, the traditional funerary colors in China. Additionally, there are several figures thought to be surrogate servants, such as a collection of five wooden musicians**.** The Five Musicians are wooden figures called "yong." The word "yong" is comprised of the Chinese characters meaning "man' and "serrogate image," which implies to us that these figures were meant to take the place of real people and accompany the deceased to the afterlife.

Relics from this site can now be found at the [|Hunan Provincial Museum]. The items housed there total in over 500.

**North**
[|Royal tombs at Lingshan]**, Mancheng, Hebei** This tomb was the beginning of a new tomb structure. The caves were carved into a hill or mountain. They were created to emulate palace-style architecture. The tombs were built higher above the ground to make them less accessible to those who might rob them. The tombs were made up of a large room, a gathering space for the deceased relatives, and a small private room in the back of the tomb, for the corpse. The large gathering space was filled with objects, placed there for the enjoyment of the deceased in the afterlife. The Boshan Censer is one of the objects found in the gathering space. The censer is in the shape of a mountain. It's made of metal and is hollow inside. The metal is perforated, and incense can be placed inside, the smoke that billows out would become the mist of the mountain. At the base of the mountain is the sea. The mountain symbolized paradise and the joy of everlasting life. This symbolism is reinforced by the swirling motif on the censer. The swirl is the symbol for the force of "qi," or the force of nature that gives things life. "Qi" was manifested in the mountains closest to heaven.

There is a Jade Shroud or Suit in the gathering space. This was a new way of burial, that became a popular practice among those with money. There was an old belief that jade was a natural preservative, and the suits were used to preserve the body for the afterlife. The suit was also meant to protect the deceased from the demons of the underworld. There is a small opening at the crown of the head, a small hole made in order to allow the soul of the deceased to come out of the body.

Bronze jars with snake-like motifs were also found in the tomb. The snake-like motif is important because it connects Northern China to the art of Southern China. The patterns of mythical creatures originated with the Zhou Dynasty.

In other tombs, figures of horses were found in bronze and in stone, illustrating the Chinese desire for the legendary Western horses (Arabian stallions).

Southwest
Sichuan was a wealthy region during the Han dynasty. Found in tombs were earthenware models and figures of houses and performers, along with tomb tiles that portray prosperity and well-being through depictions of fishing and harvesting. Interestingly, they also include new gods and goddesses with the Queen Mother of the West. There was an emergence of a new cult to the Female Goddess, Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West. She had knowledge of everlasting life and held the elixir of immortality on a mountain in the west.

http://www.chinamuseums.com/changsham.htm
[|**http://www.chinaculture.org/classics/2007-10/24/content_121122_3.htm**]

==http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/archae/2liumain.htm ==