湖南省博物馆马王堆英文讲解词

An Introduction to Mawangdui Han Tombs

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 Tomb 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 Tablet 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