BEIJING, Feb. 9 -- Wearing a jade mask and a long, jade garment embroidered with gold thread, the body of an ancient Chinese prince lies on the floor of an exhibition hall of the National Museum of China in downtown Beijing.

    Not far from it stands an impressive red wooden coffin, inlaid with jade.

    But who is the person behind the jade mask? Why is he wearing such a beautiful ornate garment? Does the coffin belong to this man? Is he also a prince and if so what happened to him and his fief?

    These are some of the questions visitors to the ongoing exhibition of "Tombs of the Chu State in Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24)" might be asking.

    With at least 190 sets of exhibits on loan from Xuzhou Museum of East China's Jiangsu Province, the exhibition vividly showcases the burial customs from an important period of Chinese history and reflects in detail the lavish lifestyle of the ancient princes, their wives and their officials, said Li Yinde, director of the Xuzhou Museum, which co-organized the exhibition with the National Museum of China.

    With quite a few items on show to the public for the first time ever, and running through April 20 in Beijing, the grand exhibition features the Xuzhou Museum's most valuable exhibits, many of which were excavated over the last few years from a dozen Chu State tombs scattered in the eastern part of the city of Xuzhou, according to Li, who himself has been directly involved in the excavation project in that area.

    The State of Chu, with its capital in Pengcheng, or today's Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, had 13 princes, over a period of more than 200 years between 202 BC and AD 8.

    Except for the first prince Han Xin, who was removed from the throne within two years by Liu Bang (256-195 BC), the founder of the Western Han Dynasty, all other princes, surnamed Liu, are the descendants of the ruling family of the Western Han Dynasty emperors.

    "Similar to the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, who, after their passing away from the human world, were put into an underground palace, in hopes of seeking an eternal existence in the nether world, the ancient Chinese kings and queens from the Western Han Dynasty had also prepared for themselves almost everything they needed for a high-profile, comfortable after-life in their alternative palace which was usually carved out in the rock mountains near Xuzhou," explained Shan Yueying, a researcher with the National Museum of China and chief co-ordinator for the exhibition.

    With four major sections, the tomb exhibition aims to offer viewers an overall picture of the social, political and cultural life of a typical state of the Western Han Dynasty, one of the most prosperous eras in ancient Chinese history, said Shan.

    The princes of Chu, greatly influenced by the funerary rites of the Western Han Dynasty emperors, were buried with both treasures and honours in order to keep their authority even in the nether world.

    The first section of the exhibition displays the kingdom's political life, with particular attention to the official systems with items ranging from the silver and bronze seals and official lutes with inscriptions, gold disks, bronze coins, to pottery figures of horses, statues of armoured soldiers, cavalry, guards of honour, and their iron helmets, bronze weapons and jade ornaments.

    Judging from the inscriptions on the seals and lutes, researchers concluded that the Chu State maintained a large-scale official system and a powerful army in its initial stages, said Shan. And they attempted to rule their sate like emperors.

    In several archaeological sites of the Chu State including ones at Shizishan Hills and Beidongshan Hills, experts have found more than 200 seals and lutes, and tens of thousands of coins and coin casting equipment.

    This section's most impressive exhibits, however, are without doubt the pottery figures of soldiers, said Shan.

    Smaller in size when compared with the terracotta warriors discovered in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, the figures, about 25 to 60 centimetres in height, are well coloured and sculpted, depicting detailed facial expressions.

    For example, the 224 figures of guards of honour excavated in 1986 from a tomb around Beidongshan Hills have been well-preserved clearly exhibiting their facial features. Their elegant robes and headdresses are rendered with a wealth of colours that work in harmony with each other, Shan said.

    "Each single figure is a unique piece of art. The figures clearly demonstrate the superb craftsmanship of the sculptors and painters at that time in China," she explained.

    Clay dancers and singers

    The second section of the exhibition mainly exhibits clay figures of Western Han dancers, musicians and their musical instruments, jade and bronze ornaments, and an assortment of bronze and glass cooking and eating utensils.

    The most eye-catching items in this section are the dancing figures with long sleeves, and figures playing instruments, said Wang Lilin, a veteran researcher and cultural relics conservationist with the Xuzhou Museum.

    The painted pottery figures, to a great extent, reveal a critical aspect of cultural life of people in the Chu State, Wang said. They have provided concrete evidence for customs of the era which have been noted in such historical records as Records of the Historian written by Sima Qian.

    "The findings from the tombs give us the message that each prince and their wives had a large group of servants who had the duties of preparing food, drinks, dancing, singing, and playing instruments," said Wang.

    Bathing culture

    The third section of the exhibition is probably the most interesting one for modern day viewers, said researcher Shan Yueying, as it deals with all aspects of the bathing culture popular amongst both the royal families and common people of the Chu.

    Among the items on show are bathing tubs, pots and flasks, bronze mirrors, a huge silver basin which, when filled with water, was used as a mirror, and well-designed toilets and bathrooms.

    "According to the findings from the tombs, experts have discovered that these ancient people developed very complicated procedures for taking baths," said Shan. "They even put certain herbal medicine in their bathwater to keep their skin healthy."

    Bathing was most probably a leisure activity as well as a daily necessity, Shan said, citing evidence from historical records of that period.

    A book entitled "The Rite" of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) indicates that for every five days, the emperors and princes would give their officials and officers a holiday to take a bath, which is called ximu, or xiumu, literally meaning "taking bathing leave."

    Jade masks and jade garments composed of more than 4,000 pieces of jade, and the lacquered wooden coffin are placed at the centrepiece of the final section of the exhibition, according to Wang Lilin, who headed a team of experts who worked with the help of computers to restore the mask, garments and lacquered coffin.

    However, experts with the National Museum of China pointed out that the so-called "mask and garments" were not the actual clothes of the deceased but made specifically for the tombs of the princes and their wives.

    "According to rituals at that time, a dead prince or the wife of a prince of the Chu State would be covered with a three layered coffin, the outer one being the rock mausoleum, the second one being the lacquered wooden coffin, and the innermost one being the jade shroud," said Sun Ji, a veteran researcher with the National Museum of China.

    The fourth section of the exhibition showcases many other burial objects such as more jade ornaments, and stone and bronze weights in the shape of tamed bears and leopards wearing neckbands.

    However, probably the most intriguing items on show are the jade body coverings placed on the dead royalties.

    According to Zhang Guangzhi, a veteran researcher of Western Han tombs, the ancient Chinese people at that time held the belief that when a human being died, their soul would split in half, with one part flying into heaven and the other staying with the dead body.

    "As a popular practice, the coverings were applied to the bodies of the princes and their wives, to secure a merry life as luxurious after death," said Shan Yueying.

(Source: China Daily)