A Study On The Wooden Funerary Utensil Of Wooden-Chambered Tombs In The Western Han Dynasty

Wooden-chambered tomb is a mode of burial which refers to building a wooden coffin in the vertical pit.According to the archaeological materials,the shape of wooden-chambered tomb has attained its maturity during the middle and late period of Longshan Culture and was prevalent from the Warring States Period to the early and medial stages of the Western Han Dynasty while this mode remained popular and not until stone chamber or brick tomb prevailed in the Eastern Han Dynasty did it faded away.In the Western Han Dynasty,wooden-chambered tomb was widely distributed and used by different people,whatever nobility or civilian,as a result of which the mode presented characteristics such as spatiotemporal differences and hierarchies due to the influences and fusions between cultures.Previous studies on wooden-chambered tomb mainly focused on formation and funerary objects,ignoring the wooden funerary utensil.Therefore,the thesis will compare and analyze wooden funerary utensils of wooden-chambered tombs over the Xuzhou prefecture and north Yangtze River area of Yangzhou prefecture in the Western Han Dynasty with emphasis on the structure,decoration and ways to seal and transport coffins.Given the epidemic time,there was a certain sequence existing in the wooden-chambered tombs between Xuzhou and Yangzhou prefecture and Jingzhou prefecture and the shape of wooden funerary utensils was similar over the areas above.Consequently,the paper will also emphasize on some typical tombs over the Jingzhou prefecture from the Warring States Period to the Western Han Dynasty.The text is divided into six parts:Preface:This part will firstly sort out the development of the wooden-chambered tombs and the range of the study,sketching the findings,studies and issues of the wooden-chambered tombs in the Western Han Dynasty and clarifying the methods and ideas of the thesis.The objects of the study are wooden funerary utensils of the wooden-chambered tombs in the Western Han Dynasty,including wooden outer coffins and coffins,biers,patio slabs and so on.The thesis refers to the division of the administrative districts made by Ban Gu in History of the Han Dynasty,comparing and analyzing wooden funerary utensils of wooden-chambered tombs between Xuzhou prefecture and north Yangtze River area of Yangzhou prefecture with archaeological and historical methods,such as typology and the analysis way of the cultural factor.For the sake of the depth and breadth of the study,the paper will also take the tombs distributed in other areas into account.The first three chapters:The thesis will separately introduce the findings of wooden-chambered tombs over the Xuzhou,north Yangtze River area of Yangzhou and Jingzhou prefecture in the Western Han Dynasty,based on which I will carry on the typology study in the terms of the shape of the tombs and the quantity and structure of the coffins.At the end of the third chapter,the thesis will compare the shape of wooden-chambered tombs over the Xuzhou,north Yangtze River area of Yangzhou and Jingzhou prefecture in the Western Han Dynasty and explore the hierarchical characteristics and culture of Chu state and Central Plains.We can find that the shape of the wooden-chambered tombs over the three prefectures has a successive relationship,lying in aspects as follows.First of all,the mode over Jingzhou were popular in the early Western Han Dynasty while in the middle and late period over Xuzhou and was visible in an entire era over north Yangtze River area of Yangzhou which was the transitional zone.The shape of wooden-chambered tombs in the Western Han Dynasty gave priority to single outer coffin and single coffin,but joint tomb which used two coffins was all the rage then over Xuzhou.The structure of the mode between Jingzhou and Xuzhou was diverse,both of that were adopted by Yangzhou in the Western Han Dynasty.Affected by the culture of Chu state,those tombs continued using ropes to gird the wooden coffins and biers.Additionally,the coffin system and burial objects were impacted by the Central Plains.Historical documents recorded that the texture,quantity,size and decoration of the wooden coffins had the hierarchy,reflected by archaeological materials as well even though there were differences between the two.The fourth chapter:the whole chapter will concentrate on the tombs over Xuzhou in the Western Han Dynasty,especially the wooden.funerary utensils like outer coffins and coffins,biers and patio slabs.In the light of preparation,construction and burial of the tombs,the chapter will probe the structure,decoration and ways to seal and transport coffins,using the typology and referring to the historical documents.The shape and symbolism of biers and patio slabs will also be involved.Simultaneously,wooden-chambered tombs distributed on hodiernal Dongyang,Tianchang,Yizheng,Jiangdu and Gaoyou display regional features since they have the unique burial objects and combinations.Conclusion:Summarize the thesis.