Exotica, Fashion and Immortality: The New Use of Gold in Han Dynasty China (206bce–ce220)

Abstract

This article explores the use of gold in the elite tombs of Han dynasty China, the popular use of which originated outside the Chinese cultural milieu, and its integration into the Han portfolio of materials representing people's expectations for the afterlife, such as immortality and well-being. In contrast to jade, which had a long history of use in China, gold was in itself a ‘new’ element of Chinese culture. This article outlines the introduction of gold objects from Europe and Central Asia via the Eurasian Steppe and borderland of China from around the eighth century bce. The unprecedented use of gold in the Han-specific jade suits, and the process by which foreign types of zoomorphic motifs were adopted and connected with local motifs, are explored. In light of the political change from multiple competing states before the first unification in Chinese history in the third century bce, and the development in ideology and concept of an ideal and eternal afterlife, this article explains the reasons and meanings of the new use of gold in Han dynasty China and the composite system of motifs, materials and objects.

A Brief Introduction to the Horse Medical Manuscript from the Tianhui Laoguanshan Han Tomb

“…Descriptions of determining a horse's age through examination of its teeth can also be found in Treating Horses. Similar descriptions can be found in Essential Techniques and Collections.55 54 Wang 2022. 55 Jia 1982Li Shi 1957, 20-23.…”