Afterlife Utopia-Comparative Study Of Chinese And Japanese Ancient Burial Objects In Architectural Form

For the continuity of richness in afterlife, the nobility of ancient China used to built luxury tombs, buried with large amount of pottery figurines, furniture and buildings. These graves not only showing the custom and society status in a particular time, they are also the demonstrations of art and craftsmanship. For instance, especially the architecture"Mingqi"of Han Dynasty, excavated from Henan Province in China are the one of the most fascinating examples that we can be inspired from their laconic art forms and high making technique.Why have these complicated burial sculptures been made? Are they functioned as traces of life, evidences of one's existence, or showing one's respect to the ancestor? In this thesis, I am trying to compare the burial sculptures in architectural from between ancient China and Japan——"Mingqi"and"Haniwa", by studying their making techniques and visual elements, in order to look for some inspirations for my artistic creation.My work's title is Village. By making use of the simplicity, softness and the visual effects of clay, I constructed my own Utopia combined with my interpretations from my field trip studies of old towns and historical buildings in China.