The Terracotta Warriors by Edward Burman

Author:Edward Burman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2018-09-12T16:00:00+00:00

9

WHAT IS IN THE MAUSOLEUM?

The title of this chapter presupposes an answer to the apparently much simpler question, what in the mind of kings and emperors of that era was a mausoleum? This in turn entails other questions, such as what should it look like, what were its functions and where should it be built? But, above all, what would be placed or built inside it?

The answer to all these questions ultimately derives from the fact that the imperial mausoleum was first and foremost to be conceived as a home. An afterlife required the existence of a structure where it could take place, a duplicate of the world of the living. The particular items interred with the dead changed with dynasties and the passage of time, but the belief in an afterlife which was very much like earthly existence meant that the dead would need their favourite objects, as well as things of value, in the other world. This may be seen in the tombs of non-imperial generals and aristocrats unearthed throughout China in recent years.

It has been observed that the Chinese ‘have from at least the third century BC, and probably much earlier, shown a willingness to combine pictures, models and objects from life in tombs, with the effect of duplicating the settings of life above ground’.1 An interesting instance may be seen in the Zhuangzi, composed in the second half of the fourth century, when, in refusing the accoutrements of a grandiose tomb for himself, Master Zhuang provided by reverse logic an insight into what an important or wealthy personage would have in his tomb: ‘When Zhuangzi was about to die, his disciples signified their wish to give him a grand burial. “I shall have heaven and earth”, said he, “for my coffin and its shell; the sun and moon for my two round symbols of jade; the stars and constellations for my pearls and jewels; and all things assisting as the mourners. Will not the provisions for my burial be complete? What could you add to them?” ’2 Jade, pearls, jewels and mourners (in the sense of government officials and concubines) were obviously the quintessential funerary possessions. The planners of such an important monument as that of the First Emperor would clearly draw on burial customs of the ancient emperors, and also develop new traditions for the succeeding generations of Qin emperors. It would have been a priority from the moment he became king. Indeed, it is specified in the Li Ji that when a ruler succeeds to his state, he makes his coffin, and thereafter varnishes it once a year, keeping it deposited away’.3 This is not to say that King Zheng did precisely that, but that even as a youth he would have been fully aware of the importance of rites and ceremonies concerning the long-term preparation for death. The Mausoleum itself was conceived as an everlasting replica of the actual state of Qin Shihuang’s empire and capital. According to the Annals of Lü Buwei,

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