Researches On The Tombs Of Han Dynasty In The Northern China

The Northern China is on the east side of Eurasia Steppe. It is the contacting area of the Northern Nomadic Culture and the Central Plain Culture. During the Han Dynasty, this area has been kept in the control of the Han court, since when it comes into a new different age. This paper takes the tombs of Han Dynasty found in the northern China as the study object, lists systematically on the published archaeological materials, establishes the chronological sequences, and analyzes the development stages and characters, in pursuit of promoting further researches in this field.This paper consists of six chapters:Chapter one is the preface. In this part, the author defines the spatio-temporal scope of this paper. And then makes reviews on the discoveries and researches of the tombs of Han Dynasty in the northern China, analyzes the shortcomings and problems in the previous studies, upon which the thoughts and purposes of this paper were raised.Chapter two is about the burial customs and artifacts. In this part, the author typologically analyzes the burial customs and artifacts. According to the different materials used for constructing the chambers, the burial customs could be classified into five categories: pit burials, catacombs, brick-chambered tombs, stone-chambered tombs and bricks-stone-chambered tombs. Each category could be divided into several types. The burial artifacts include bronzes, potteries, irons, lacquerers, jades and stones, bone wares and silks etc. Throughout all the artifacts, the numbers of bronze wares and potteries are the most, and these two kinds of artifices are in a relatively good state of preservation. So the author typologically analyzes some bronze wares, such as Ding, Fang, Zhong, mirrors and coins and potteries, such as Fang, Ding, pot, jar, kitchen range, well, and storehouse.Chapter three discusses the times and the development stages of the tombs. This part is the chronological study of the tombs. Currently, some areas have been established the frameworks of the tombs. Based on the analysis of the previous study, according to the changes of burial customs, major bronze wares and potteries, combined with some character records, the developing process of tombs in the northern China in Han Dynasty could be divided into six phases: the early period of the Western Han, the middle period of the West Han, the late period of the Western Han, the final period of the Western Han and the initial period of the Eastern Han, the early period of the Eastern Han and the middle and the later period of the Eastern Han. Considering the changes in burial customs and consists of burial artifacts, the six phases could be summed up in three stages. The first stage is the early period of the Western Han. In this very stage, the tombs are mostly pits, and buried with potteries, such as pot and jar, and a few Fang and Ding. This shows that the first stages are influenced by the culture of Zhou Dynasty (which is symbolized by the very district hierarchy). The second stage is from the middle period of the Western Han to the final period of the Western Han and the initial period of the Eastern Han. It is the growth stage of the tombs with the fusion of old and new characters. During this time, the old fashion of burial customs fades away, while the new trends are getting more popular. The burial artifacts reflecting the real life are taking the place of those standing for the social rank. The potteries used in the daily life are becoming the main artifacts in the tombs and the model objects are emerged. The third stage is the middle and the late period of the Eastern Han. In this stage, the Han culture keeps developing, and the old traditions almost disappeared. The brick-chambered tombs, stone-chambered tombs and bricks-stone-chambered tombs are the main three burial customs and the living goods, the models and the potteries used in sacrifice are the main burial artifacts. In these three stages, the developmental direction of burial customs and artifact combinations is the chamber becoming more like houses and the artifacts are more daily used. In the perspective of cultural influences, the three stages are the phrases in which the influences of old culture are on the decline, while the influences of Han culture are getting intense and finally establish its force.Chapter four is about the character of the tombs'development and the analysis of its background. In this part, the author mainly studies the distribution, regional differences and cultural factors in each stage. The characters in each are very differ in each develop stages. In the first stage, each area is affected by the earlier local culture, which causes the differences. In the second stage, the Han culture spread out in the northern China, but there are still some differences in different area. In the last stage, the regional differences are getting less apparent. Compared to the earlier two stages, the cultures are more uniform. After that, the author then concludes the whole character of the development. That is, the speed of developing is slower than that of the Central Plains; the development in each area has a lot difference; the influences get from the earlier local is relatively weak. Since the historical literature could give us some important clues, the author collects the records about the management and military colonists throughout the Han Dynasty. According to the records, the history of exploitation in northern China could be traced back to the Warring States. But in fact, before the governing time of Emperor Wu, most part of the north area was still occupied by Xiongnu. Since Emperor Wu successfully repelled the nomadic Xiongnu from systematically raiding northern China, this area has been in the control of Western Han Court. However, the dynasty fell into states of corruption and political power struggles in the Eastern Han. With the frequent wars in the northwest, the number of residents in the north decreased. According to the archaeological materials, in the prime when the Han court developed the northern, the number of tombs was increased and the culture was getting prosperous. But lots of counties were moved interior in the East Han, correspondingly, in some area tombs of east Han Dynasty were not found. This shows that political factors have played a decisive role on cultural pattern in the north throughout the Han Dynasty.Chapter five is the comparative study between the tombs in the northern China and the tombs of Xiongnu's found in the territory of China. Although there are some similarities between the Han's tombs and the Xiongnu's, the deference is more significant. The tombs in the north are the results of the control and exploit carried out by the Han government, and are mainly of the Han culture. Some factors of Xiongnu's found in the tombs are still not forceful enough to prove that some tombs in the northern China belong to the Xiongnu. However the consist of the residents in the northern Han Dynasty are the Han people and the Xiongnu. Because of the special location of the northern area, it may have some other ethnic minorities living there.Chapter six is the conclusion. In this part, the author summarizes the five conclusions in this paper and points out the deficiency and some problems require in-depth study in the future.