Lady Dai's funeral banner and tomb

Did you know one of the earliest silk paintings in Chinese history came from an ancient tomb that was so well preserved that the woman’s body looked like it had been mummified? Travel back in time to explore the Han dynasty tomb of Xin Zhui (AKA Lady Dai) excavated at Mawangdui, Hunan Province, China, in 1972. Lady Dai was buried in a series of nesting coffins with a colorful T-shaped silk painting draped over her innermost coffin. This gorgeous silk painting depicts a personalized narrative of Lady Dai’s ascension from the earthly world and her funeral to the world of the immortals where Lady Dai’s favorite mythological stories are illustrated. These stories include the heroic tale of Archer Yi who shot down nine fiery suns and saved the planet from certain disaster, and the story of his wife Chang’e who fled on the wing of a dragon with the elixir of immortality.
Learn more about Lady Dai’s silk painting and early Chinese mythology in this video!
Speaker: Dr. Cortney Chaffin
CHAPTERS
0:06 Introduction to the Han dynasty tombs at Mawangdui
0:46 The tomb of Xin Zhui
1:00 Why is Xin Zhui called “Lady Dai”?
1:11 Lady Dai’s cherished belongings she took into the afterlife
1:40 What objects were made specifically for burial in Lady Dai’s tomb?
1:55 Introduction to Lady Dai’s silk painting
2:08 What does writing on bamboo strips tell us about Lady Dai’s painting?
2:24 Where was Lady Dai’s painting, or flying cloth/banner, found in the tomb?
3:00 What does Lady Dai’s silk painting depict and how is it organized?
3:20 The underworld and Lady Dai’s funeral scene
4:04 Lady Dai makes her way to the afterlife
4:52 The world of the immortals at the top of the silk painting
5:18 The famous story of Archer Yi and his wife Chang’e
6:46 Nüwa, the goddess of creation
7:07 Wrapping up
Main image: Funeral banner of Lady Dai (Xin Zhui), 2nd century BCE, silk, 205 x 92 x 47.7 cm, found in Tomb 1 at Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan Province. Hunan Provincial Museum, Changsha.
#ancientchina #arthistory #mythology #history #socialstudies #education #china #chineseart #ancientcivilizations #archaeology #mummy #chineseculture #tomb #worldhistory #silk
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