Some well-preserved murals have been discovered in a tomb of
more than 1,500 years old in Datong, North China's Shanxi Province,
supplying rich first-hand evidence for the research of early ethnic
apparel and rituals.
The tomb was identified to belong to a general's mother who died
in AD 435. Taking up an area of 24 square meters, it was found in a
cemetery of 12 tombs excavated last summer by local
archaeologists.
Lying on a plateau in the rural suburbs of Datong, the cemetery
dates back to the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534).
The murals were painted in red, black and blue on all the four
walls of the tomb and its pathway.
Murals on the northern wall are divided into two parts by a
horizontal red line, said Liu Junxi, a local archaeologist who led
the excavation.
The upper part depicts six exotic animals with each symbolizing
a constellation; while the lower part contains seven rows of
pictures.
The first row portrays 19 well-dressed women. Under it is a huge
picture of an ancient ceremonious outing: A number of riders,
musicians and soldiers carrying streamers and lances are
surrounding a canopied carriage, in which sits a man.
Although most of the murals feature women on the eastern wall, a
big building dominated one at its lower centre.
Inside the building are a couple, probably the tomb owners,
sitting up straight. Both of them wear big black hats, indicating
they were minorities.
A total of 34 male images have been found on both the eastern
wall and the southern wall. Meanwhile, the latter also has a big
banquet scene, involving various wine vessels, food, carriages and
instrumentalists.
Two scenes of baking and brewing are painted on this wall,
too.
In the rest of the murals, archaeologists saw pictures of
soldiers wearing helmets and armour, and some fairies.
"The soldiers are all in pairs, either in red clothes or armour,
holding swords in one hand and shields in the other," Liu
described.
Compared with the faces of the soldiers, fairies in the mural
look more amiable. They are half human and half dragon with
garlands on their heads, flying on the wall of the tomb
pathway.
Ancient artists outlined partial pictures of these murals with
red lines first, then sketched out the entire picture with black
lines, and finally filled in paints, according to Liu.
She said the murals could be reflections of real life at that
time, or an expression of the deceased's expectation for future
life.
"The tomb murals we found are unique in all excavated tombs of
that historical period," Liu added.
Archaeologists also unearthed scads of color lacquer remains in
the tomb.
On the remains are paintings of the couple's everyday
activities, including cooking.
"We also found inscriptions on a piece of lacquer remains, from
which we conclude that the female tomb owner was the mother of a
high-class officer," Liu added.
Now Liu and her colleagues are duplicating these murals and
planning further protection efforts.
(China Daily May 18, 2006)
