Northern Qi Tomb of He Ba Chang at Taiyuan

Transcription

1 Northern Qi Tomb of He Ba Chang at Taiyuan Taiyuan Municipal Institute of Antiquity and Archaeology Keywords: Northern Qi tomb tomb figurine Shanxi The tomb of He Ba Chang 贺 拔 昌 is located in Yijing 义 井 Village, Wanbolin 万 柏 林 District in the suburb of Taiyuan 太 原. It is on the southeast corner of the No. 4 dormitory, west of the Transformer Factory of the Taiyuan Municipality. The tomb is 15 km southeast of the ruins of the ancient Jinyang 晋 阳 city. It was excavated in June of I. Tomb Plan and Structure He Ba Chang s tomb faces south, aligned at 192 degrees. It comprises ramp, tunnel, and tomb chamber. In order to preserve the present buildings above ground, the ramp was not excavated. The tunnel and tomb chamber are brick structures. The tomb chamber has a square floor plan with convex sides, the longest side being 4.8 m in length. The floor is lined with bricks in a staggered pattern. The walls are slightly convex. The bricks are placed together in a formation of three horizontal and one vertical, a total of six layers. It has a vaulted ceiling made of corbelled bricks. On the southeast side of the tomb chamber, 2.4 m above the floor is a robber s hole, 60 cm long, and 30 cm wide. The four corners of the exterior of the tomb chamber are reinforced with external ribs stacked together with bricks. The tomb chamber is 5.55 m in height, and is 6.30 m underground at present (Fig. 1). The tomb bricks have thick cord patterns, each tomb brick measuring cm. On the west end of the tomb chamber are the remains of timber and human skeletons. Because of damage from water seeping and robbing, it is no longer possible to reconstruct the original structure of the coffin and the manner of burial. II. Tomb Furnishings Most of the tomb furnishings were found in the southeastern section of the tomb chamber. After restoring Volume 4 some of the most severely damaged items, a total of forty-four objects can be accounted for. This includes eighteen relatively intact tomb figurines, all being molded gray earthenware. Sections of these figurines such as the horses legs have been reinforced with iron wire. 1. The figurines all have a white underpaint on top of which are added pigments red, yellow, black, etc.. There are warriors, ceremonial attendants, shield bearers, figurines wearing three-cornered hoods with flaps, female officials, female attendants, acrobats, etc.. Warriors bearing shield, two, 32.5 cm tall. T99HQH9 wears a red hood with a raised ridge at the top, front beak, and the front and sides of the hood are decorated with round beads. There are ear flaps on either side. The neck is protected by a red collar, and over that is a shiny armor, and both chest and back have oval-shaped shields. Both shoulders are protected by red pads. The red belt is round in front and flat in the back. Below the waist is a red tassel, white trousers, round-tipped black boots. The right arm is bent upwards touching the shoulder as if holding an object. The palm of the hand has a hole. A linked chain runs down the front from the hand to the hip (perhaps the lower part of the object held in the hand). Below the wrist is a floral ornament. The left arm is slightly bent and the hand rests on the shield decorated with a lion motif (Figs. 2 and 3). T99HQH10 wears a similar outfit, but the hood is not decorated with beads. The belt is flat both in front and back. Both shoulders have floral ornaments, and the lion motif on the shield has a human-like face (Figs. 4 and 5). Armored equestrian, one (T99HQH4), 27.5 cm tall. The horse is 23.7 cm in height, 23.3 cm in length. The equestrian wears a round hood with flap, a protective collar around the neck, a tight-sleeved tunic, shoulder armor that reaches the elbow. The waist is tied with a 131

2 sash. Over the red trousers is a red armor. On the left side of the waist is a sword, on the right is a sheath of arrows. The warrior holds the reins in his left hand, and the right hand is lowered as if holding an object. The palm of the hand has a hole. The feet are in the stirrups; the horse is protected by red fish-scale armor, complete with bit, reins, stirrups, saddle, etc. (Fig. 6). Equestrian warriors holding objects, three. T99HQH3-3, cm tall. Horse is 23.8 cm tall, 24.5 cm in length. The equestrian wears a round hood with flap, protective collar around the neck, red tight-sleeved tunic, and trousers of an unknown color. The feet are fitted in the stirrups. The left hand is shown as if pulling the reins, the right hand carrying an object that has deterio-rated. The palm of the hand has a hole. The horse is complete with reins, bit, saddle, stirrups, and the saddle is painted red. The horse s tail is tied with a decorative knot (Fig. 7). N 0 20 m Fig. 1 Plan and elevation of the He Ba Chang tomb Equestrian drummers, two. T99HQH2-1, 26.5 cm tall. The horse is 22.3 cm tall and 23.5 cm long. The equestrian wears a round hood with flap, tied with an ornamental knot, red tight-sleeved tunic. A round flat drum hangs from the waist to the left, both hands seem to be wrapped around drum sticks as if beating the drum. The object in the hand has deteriorated but the palm has a hole. The horse is fitted with saddle, reins, stirrups, the saddle is painted red, the horse s tail is tied with a decorative knot (Fig. 8). Equestrian horn-blower, one (T99HQH1), 25 cm tall and 22.5 cm long. The horse is 23.5 cm tall. The equestrian has long ears, round face, short and plump torso, and the forehead is shaved, while the rest of the hair is braided into thirteen strands and spread out in the 132 Chinese Archaeology

3 0 10 cm 0 10 cm Fig. 2 Ceramic warrior with a shield (T99HQH9) Fig. 4 Ceramic warrior with a shield (T99HQH10) Fig. 3 Ceramic warrior with a shield (T99HQH9) Fig. 5 Ceramic warrior with a shield (T99HQH10) Volume 4 133

4 Fig. 6 Armored equestrian (T99HQH4) Fig. 7 Equestrian warrior holding an object (T99HQH3-3) Fig. 8 Equestrian drummer (T99HQH2-1) Fig. 9 Equestrian horn-blower (T99HQH1) back like a fan. The central strand is thinner and plain, but the other twelve are incised with crescent shapes probably representing the arrangement of the braids 134 themselves. The strands are tied with a string at the lower end and divided again into five strands that reach the belt. The costume consists of a red, tight-sleeved tunic, red Chinese Archaeology

5 Fig. 10 Detail of the reverse of the equestrian horn-blower (T99HQH1) Fig. 11 Shield bearer (obverse and reverse) (T99HQH22) Fig. 12 Figurines with a three-cornered hood (T99HQH17-1) Fig. 13 Female attendant (T99HQH18) trousers, and red shoes. The right hand is positioned as if pulling the reins; the left hand is slightly raised to the mouth as if blowing the horn. The palm has a hole. The Volume 4 horse is fitted with saddle, reins, and stirrups. The saddle is red in color and the horse s tail is damaged (Figs. 9 and 10). 135

6 Fig. 14 Ceramic horse (T99HQH8) Fig. 15 Ceramic camel (T99HQH7) Fig. 16 Ceramic pig (T99HQH13) Shield bearer, one (T99HQH22), 21.5 cm tall (Fig. 11). He wears a red hood with a raised ridge at the top, front beak, tight-sleeved tunic, chest armor in front, shoulder shields, belt, white trousers, black shoes, shield hoisted at an angle on the left shoulder. The left arm is bent upward, palm resting on the belt. The right hand seems to be hoisting an object, and the palm has a hole. Figurines with three-cornered hood with flaps, two. T99HQH17-1, 22.5 cm tall. Each wears a black hood with flap, red tunic, belt, white trousers, and black shoes. The right arm is bent forward and lowered; the left arm is placed on the chest. The hand is curled as if holding an object, and there is a hole in the palm (Fig. 12). 136 Female attendants, two, one damaged. T99HQH18 is 22 cm tall. Her hair is arranged into double chignons, and she wears a wide-sleeved tunic that overlaps in front, belt, and beaded ornament below the belt, red trousers, and round-tipped shoes. The left arm is slightly bent and lowered, the right arm is bent at the waist as if holding an object, and the palm has a hole (Fig. 13). Figurines with tall hood, two, and both damaged. T99HQH20 is 12 cm tall, with tall hood, tight-sleeved tunic with turned-out cuffs, left arm bent upward as if holding an object, and the palm has a hole. Acrobat, one (T99HQH21), damaged, 16.5 cm tall. He wears a three-cornered hood; his hair is curly, with bushy eyebrows and prominent nose. He wears a tightsleeved fitted tunic, the cuffs are turned out, and the left arm is bent as if holding an object. The palm has a hole. Civil official figurine, one (T99HQH19), upper body damaged. 2. Earthenware animals, eight, including horse, camel, dog, ram, chicken, etc.. They are similar to those found in the Taiyuan area (Figs ). 3. Kitchen, everyday utensils and other ceramic funerary vessels, nine. There is a jar, narrow-necked ewer, pot, basin, bell, well, mill, mallet, lavatory, one each. Narrow-necked ewer (T99HQH28), 23.4 cm tall, narrow mouth, short neck, round belly, inverted bottom, the base measuring 8 cm in diameter (Fig. 17:1). Chinese Archaeology

7 Fig. 17 Pottery from tomb 1. narrow-necked ewer (T99HQH28) 2. pot (T99HQH31) 3. jar (T99HQH25) 4. basin (T99HQH30) (Scales: /4; 4. 1/8) Fig. 18 Rubbing from the epitaph of Northern Qi tomb of He Ba Chang Volume 4 137

8 Earthenware jar (T99HQH25), 15.5 cm tall, small mouth, short neck, round flat shoulder, belly spread out at the base with a broad bottom (Fig. 17:3). Earthenware pot (T99HQH31), 35 cm tall, flared mouth, narrow neck, round belly, flat bottom, and shoulder with two line designs (Fig. 17:2). Earthenware basin (T99HQH30), 13.7 cm tall, mouth slightly inverted with a folded rim, flat bottom, and inside surface decorated with twelve concentric circles (Fig. 17:4). Earthenware bell-like object (T99HQH27), 4.5 cm tall, wide at the base and narrow on top. The base measures 3.7 cm, and the top measures 2.4 cm. There is a round bead on top, and the upper part of the bell is decorated with five lines. Between the lines are rough hatching lines. Attached to the bottom is an iron wire suggesting that it was once tied to the top of another object. Earthenware mill (T99HQH29), round in shape, bottomless, 13 cm tall. The base measures 7.6 cm in diameter. The mill itself is 10.6 cm in diameter. The millstone is slightly dome-shaped, and there is a small opening at the center measuring 2.8 cm in diameter. 4. Metal objects. There is a gold ring 2.3 cm in diameter, and two circular bronze ornaments. 5. Tomb epitaph, one set (T99HQH34), sandstone, square-shaped, each side measuring 58 cm in length. The epitaph cover is unadorned, with beveled sides and flat top, and around the top is a raised edge, 1.5 cm wide, and 0.5 cm deep. The underside of the cover also has a raised edge 1.5 cm wide, 0.15 cm deep. Water damage is extensive, obliterating most of the characters on the top. The inscription, in intaglio, is in seal script with six columns, five characters per column, and legible are the following characters: Former Standard Bearer of the Qi, Supreme General of the Cavalry lord s epitaph. The epitaph itself is lined with squares. The text is in twenty-two columns, twenty-two characters in each column, with a total of 473 characters (Fig. 18). III. Conclusion He Ba Chang is not recorded in history. According to the epitaph, he was from Shanwu 鄯 无 of Suzhou 朔 州, son of He Ba Ren 贺 拔 仁, Governor of Bingzhou 并 州, Prince of Anding 安 定. During his life he served as General Pacifying the East 安 东 将 军, Imperial Grand Commander 亲 信 大 都 督, Governor of Weizhou 渭 州 刺 史, General of the Northern Campaign 征 北 将 军, Governor of Kuozhou 廓 州 刺 史, General of the Cavalry 骠 骑 大 将 军, Unequaled in Honor as the Three Offices 仪 同 三 司, Commander of the Right Guard 右 厢 都 督, General of the Right Guard of the Crown Prince 太 子 右 卫 将 军, General of the Right Guard 右 卫 将 军, etc.. During the Hou Jing 侯 景 rebellion, he once received imperial order to lead the army, and was the first to subdue the enemy, and was unstoppable. He passed away in the fourth year of the Tianbao 天 保 reign (AD 553) at the age of 42. He died before his father He Ba Ren. Among the dozen tombs found in the Taiyuan area, He Ba Chang s tomb is the earliest in date. In comparison with other later Northern Qi tombs from the Taiyuan area, He Ba Chang s tomb has the following distinct features: (1) The tomb figurines have gray earthenware bodies, and such gray earthenware bodies are found only in the tomb of Zhang Susu 张 肃 俗 dated in the tenth year of the Tianbao reign of the Northern Qi, while those from other later tombs have reddish earthenware bodies. (2) Tomb figurines are more varied in type, but each type is made in limited quantities. (3) There is no stoneware with yellow glaze. (4) The walls of the tomb are directly lined with plain bricks without white underpaint. The horn-blower figurine from He Ba Chang s tomb, the small-mouthed pot with straight sides and the small bronze rings, have not been recorded before. The hornblower with braided hair is an unusual example, thus providing valuable evidence of ethnic costumes and customs of the Wuwuan 乌 丸 and the Xianbei 鲜 卑 tribes. Note: The original report was published in Wenwu 文 物 : with 32 plates, 26 line drawings, written by Chang Yimin 常 一 民 and Zhao Hengfu 赵 恒 富. The present version, an abridgment from the original, is prepared by the first author and English-translated by Judy C. Ho. 138 Chinese Archaeology