The Meaning Of Painting-image Study Of Song Tomb In Hancheng

The Tomb of Song in Hancheng is a well-preserved tomb, which is rarely seen inShaanxi, of wall paintings from the late North Song Dynasty. The complete and exquisite wallpaintings in the tomb perfectly demonstrate the cemetery decoration and funeral culture at itstime to us, which profoundly contribute to our study for the customs in North Song Dynastyin Shaan xi. Based on the existed resource and research of wall paintings in North Song, thisarticle furthers the interpretation of the content and structure of the wall paintings. It focusedmore on the location of the wall paintings in the tomb and the relation of different images,thus in order to unearth the potential meaning of the tomb paintings. Paintings on the northernwall are a combination of working scenery and the portrait of the tomb owner, which conveythe respect to the owner as well as the enlightening to the living. Paintings on the western allare images about dramas indicating the owner’s recreation, which meanwhile are closelyrelevant to paintings on the eastern wall. These three wall paintings, therefore, combinestogether to reveal the owner’s yearn for Buddhist Pure Land Nirvana and to create a “worldunder the ground” for the deader.