The Study Of Ornaments In Majiayuan Cemetery At The Warring States Period

Ornaments are used to decorate and beautify things in our daily life, The process of decorating and beautifying things shows people’s pursuits of beauty and perfect. For example, being well-dressed and attractive can gain beauty of human beings.Majiayuan Cemetery was discovered in 2006. It is said that Majiayuan Cemetery belonged to the upper classes of Xirong(a country at that time) and this cemetery can be traced to the Warring States period.According to the unearthed cultural relics from Majiayuan Cemetery, this paper mainly talks about the ornaments on animal decorative pattern made of medal, gold and silver ornaments, natural jade, artificial chamilia beads and other ornaments,concluding their style、source、material and technology:1. Majiayuan Cemetery’s animal decorative pattern made of medal shows two kinds of styles---the early Chinese bronze animal features of north China and gold animal decorative pattern. 2.The study about gold and silver ornaments covers four kinds including belthook(shape of animal heads and “V” shaped pipa), earrings(including single ring style and earrings with a pendant ornament), armlets and bow-shaped ornaments. According to our comparison and analyses, we have made four conclusions.(1)The two kinds of belthook from Majiayuan(made of gold or bronze) can be traced to the Spring and Autumn period. The belthook with Chinese characteristics began in the Central Plains region but it also shows some aesthetic fashions of the nomads.(2) The single ring style earrings began first in northern grassy areas and they were very popular in northern grassy areas. The earrings with a pendant ornament were affected by jade decoration of the Central Plains region.(3) Bracelets came into being earlier in Western Asia than Andronovo Culture. One gold armlet and one silver armlet were unearthed in Majiayuan. The gold armlets from M16 tomb were with the characteristics of Middle and Eastern Asia grasslands. The silver armlets were made by people of the local Northern China.(4) The bow-shaped ornaments are also called “semi-annular jade pendant” and it’s said that bow-shaped ornaments spring from Qi culture(regulating the family culture). 3.There are lots of beads made of artificial or natural materials from Majiayuan Cemetery and these beads are with features at home and aboard.Zhangjiachun Hui Autonomous County is located in the Eastern south of Gansu province. From here, to the north, we can reach Hexi Corridor and the Mongolian steppes; to the east, we can reach Xinjiang province and Western Asia; to the south, we can reach Sichuan Basin; to the east, we can reach Guanzhong plain. Majiayuan Cemetery was affected by the Eurasian steppes of animal decorative pattern, Chinese bronze culture of north China, Guanzhong culture and others. When it comes to the early ornaments culture of China, it contains: localness, regional features and the impact of foreign styles.