Chinese Tombs
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There were          many rulers and nobles who were honored with a tomb built in their name;          however, there are only a handful of extraordinary tombs that are visited          today by millions of visitors each year. These particular tombs stand          out for many reasons: some are vastly large, and others are filled with          exceptional tomb goods. Of the most recently excavated tombs, the Qin          Shihuangdi tomb, the Han tombs and the Quanling tomb from the Tang dynasty          are the most notable.
In March of 1974, near the city of Xi'an, farmers were digging a water          well and came across a fragment of a warrior figure. After further investigation          by archeologists, the warrior figure was found to be part of the terracotta          army of Qin Shihuangdi, who ruled the Qin dynasty from 246 BCE to 210          BCE. At the time of Qin's death, human sacrifice was less common. Rather          than ordering his entire army to death, he was buried with an astonishing          6,000 symbolic life-sized terracotta soldiers, horses, and chariots assembled          to protect him in the next world.
The emperor's terracotta army was found in three underground wooden                vaults. The first vault contained chariots and the 6,000 soldiers.                Vault 2 contained 1,400 figures of cavalrymen, infantry, horses,                and 90 wooden chariots. The third vault contained 70 various additional                figures. During the Qin dynasty rivals from the upcoming Han dynasty                looted the three vaults and vandalized many of the figures. Today,                archeologists continue to excavate the site, and have built a museum                over the tomb itself.
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In an age of conspicuous consumption, the Han dynasty tombs became grounds          of status symbols and visible expressions of virtue and wealth. Unlike          the first emperor, Qin, the figurines from this dynasty came in miniature          proportions. The joint tomb of the emperor Jingdi and his wife empress          Wang displayed 24 vaults filled with over 40,000 clay soldier figurines;          each one-third life size, with
movable arms, and fully clothed. In addition          to the soldiers there were clay figurines of animals, agricultural machinery,          carts, tools, weights, and measures. Han tomb materials were not only          terracotta, but also bronze, iron, and wood.
Corpses,          such as that of emperor Liu Sheng and his wife the princess Dou Wan, have          been found in spectacular jade suits made of thousands of small plaques          sewn together with gold thread. The Chinese believed that jade would protect          the corpses from decay; it was a symbol of life and vitality. Liu Sheng's          tomb in Mancheng, Hebei was built like an actual house with horses, stables,          windows, storerooms with cookbooks and even a bathroom! Most of the 2,800          goods found in this tomb are unique and include the jade suits and other          jade products, the famous Changxin Palace lantern and a gold-inlaid furnace.
-visit english.sohu.com to see a photo of the Changxin lantern.
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Tombs found in the town of Mawangdi, Changsha and Hebei contain well-crafted              silks. The mummified bodies, such as Lady Dai, were wrapped in 20              garments, bound with silk ribbons and covered in silk banners
depicting              her journey to the land of them immortals. The tombs also included              many bronzes of the Ferghana horses - prizes for their long legs,              which slowly replaced the short-legged horses during the Han dynasty.
Unlike          tombs from other dynasties, Han tombs were made mainly of bricks and stone,          and placed deep into the earth for a greater preservation. The attention          to preservation allowed archeologists to find a number of Han tombs intact.
To date, more than 40 Han mausoleums have been excavated.
-visit www.npm.gov.tw (National Palace Museum in Taiwan) for additional pictures
of these tomb goods.
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The Quanling          tomb of the Tang Dynasty was a          joint tomb of emperor Tang Gaozong and          empress Wu Zetain - the only empress in Chinese history. Quanling is a          town about 80 miles west of Xi'an. The tomb was a rectangular layout of          the city of Chang'an, with four gates on each side. The tomb's circumference          is 40 kilometers and hosts 17 satellite tombs of princes, kings, and high          ministers, such as the tomb of Crown Prince Zhuanghuai, the tomb of Crown          Yide and the tomb of Princess Yongtai.
There are          hills upon hills of animals and human statues leading the way to these          tombs. Among the amazing tomb goods are two winged horses, two vermilion          (ostrich-like) birds, the Tablet of Seven Elements (sun, moon, metal,          wood, water, earth and fire), and 61 stone king figures from foreign countries          who attended Tang Gaozong's funeral - all original to this dynasty.
Other tomb          goods included tri-color glazed pottery figures, poetry, porcelain ware,          murals, and relics. A variety of materials were used to make these artifacts,          among them bronze, gold, wood, jade, copper, iron, and a variety of earthly          materials.