"Dongyuan Coffin" Research

The funeral reward system is an important part of China funeral system in the Middle Ages,.At the same time, it also reflcets political, economicl and other aspects of this time. The "Dongyuan coffin" is a kind of funeral furnitures produced in the Han Dynasty. It is not only a high level of funerary objects, but also a system from the Western Han Dynasty to Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty.This paper first reviews the mid ancient literature about the "Dongyuan coffin" from the Western Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, and sort out the tombstone material from the northern and Southern Dynasties to the Tang Kaiyuan Dynasty at the same time, Identify relevant personnel, Screen out the related archaeological materials, find out the specific connotation of Dongyuan secret device and study the related issues.This paper is divided into four chapters:The first chapter is the introduction part, which identifies the "Dongyuan coffin"as the object of this article, and summarizes iteratures, archaeological materials and tombstone epitaph. Because of the lacking of the "Dongyuan coffin" before the Tang Dynasty and some certain characteristics, So the study of this article will be mainly in the Tang Dynasty. This paper identifies with Mr. Sun Ji’s viewpoint:the "Dongyuan coffin" is a kind of lacquer coffin and refers to the previous research and put forward a specific research methods,which means finding out the most basic characteristics and evolution after archaeological research on these materials and making speculation in the characteristics of tomb master unidentitied. Due to the current found limited data, this part will focus on the Northern Wei and Tang data. Finally, on the basis of the above research, according to the specific historical background and the environment, this paper analysis the intrinsic and extrinsic causes of variation of the "Dongyuan coffin"The second chapter analysis all relevant literature about the "Dongyuan coffin" of history. The "Dongyuan coffin" is produced in the Western Han Dynasty, and related to "Huangchangticou". And this chapter analyzes the "Dongyuan coffin" refers to the emperor reward for high level officials and some members of the royal clan buried with the coffin, in particular. Then according to the documents and unearthed epitaphs and other materials, this paper finds out all the recipients and summed up the drawing table. In general, there are 2 examples in The Western Han Dynasty,11 examples in The Eastern Han Dynasty,0 examples in Three Kingdoms period,16 examples in The Jin Dynasty,1 examples in The Former Qin,25 examples in The Southern Dynasties,36 examples in The Northern Wei Dynasty,37 examples in The Tang dynasty. Since The Southern Dynasties the epitaph came into prosperity and 1 example was found in it. There are about 47 examples which are rewarded by the "Dongyuan coffin" in The Tang dynasty. In a total the number is 137. After reviewing the results we can find that the "Dongyuan coffin" originated and got developed in the Han Dynasty, gained regular and became institutionalized in The Jin Dynasty. The South Dynasty, especially Qi and Liang, continued the tradition. And the "Dongyuan coffin" came out in The North Dynasty under the influence of Han policy, and matured after The South Dynasty.The third chapter is the archaeological studies about the "Dongyuan coffin". On the basis of the first two chapters, according to literature and unearthed objects, this paper analysis the material object of the "Dongyuan coffin" and compares similarities and differences with the burial same time. Specifically, the "Dongyuan coffin" in The Northern Wei Dynasty has more northern ethnic characteristics comparing with this in Tang Dynasty which is more close to the Han tradition. And as far as the Tang Dynasty itself is concerned, there are indeed differences between ministers. But considering the low rank of Arched roof and the subtle differences, we can presume this connotation of the gap is more vague.The fourth chapter is the conclusion part, which takes summary and comprehensive depiction of the "Dongyuan coffin" in the evolution of the medieval era. From wood to stone after hundreds of years of change, the changes in material reflect the Dahir of Emperor Tang Gaozu:" Inheriting rules from the Han Dynasty and Wei Zhaozhong". Since the Tang society is quietly undergoing tremendous changes, the promulgation of "Ban of Stone", the demise of the aristocracy, along with the fuzziness of ethnic differences make the "Dongyuan coffin" fade away.