Capital of Hunan
Province in south central China, Changsha is at the center of a rich
agricultural region amid the Hunan plains and bordering the Xiang River.
The site has a 3,000-year history of occupation, and was an important
center of the southern Chu State culture in the Warring States period
(5th-3rd c. BC). The lacquerware and silk textiles recovered from a
Western Han (2nd century BC) tomb at Changsha are an indication of the
richness of local craft traditions. In 1904 Changsha was opened to
foreign trade, and large numbers of Europeans and Americans settled
there. Mao Zedong was born in nearby Shaoshan, and he studied and taught
at Changsha. Today Changsha is an important commercial center and river
port, with abundant light industrial production.
YUEYANG
TOWER (Yueyang Lou)
Yueyang
Tower is one of the most famous structures in China, renowned for
its ancient literary associations. It stands on the northeastern shore
of Lake Dongting in Hunan Province in the riverside city of Yueyang,
where the Yangzi River intersects with the lake via canals. Originally
built in 716, the present tower was rebuilt in 1045 on another site, and
restored in the early Qing and again as recently as 1983. In the Tang
period, at the height of China’s literary glory, the original tower
was a meeting place for famous poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu, and Bai Juyu.
In the early Song period the tower was associated with the literary man
Fan Zhongyan (989-1052). The
three-story tower is 20m (66 ft.) high, constructed without cross-beams
or nails. It includes four main halls and 24 outer and 12 inner rooms.
Three upward-curving roofs covered with glazed yellow tiles are
supported by huge red pillars. The top of the Tower offers broad vistas
of Lake Dongting.
MAWANGDUI:
Spirit-World of a Han Dynasty Noblewoman
The early Han period (early
2nd century BC) tombs of a noble family excavated at Mawangdui are among
the most important archaeological discoveries of the past
quarter-century. The astonishing state of preservation of one of the
tombs, including the mummified corpse of the occupant, and vulnerable
materials such as lacquer-painted wood and silk textiles, are only part
of the story. The intact contents of the tomb offers unparalleled
insights into burial practices and beliefs in the after-life for the far
southern culture of early imperial China. In addition, the tomb contains
manuscript texts of versions of classic scriptures from early Chinese
philosophical schools, shedding important light on the development of
early Chinese thought. Further, the tombs contained silk funerary
paintings,
which offer insights into early imperial period mythologies and
cosmological beliefs.
The tombs were
discovered in 1972 during construction work at Mawangdui, about 4 km
northeast of Changsha, and excavation was completed in 1974. The best
preserved, and entirely undisturbed tomb, was that of the Marquess of
Dai, or
Xin Zui, buried about 180 BC, whose husband was a minor nobleman in
charge of administering the region of Changsha. Their son’s tomb was
nearby. The tombs were marked only by two earthen mounds above ground;
the actual tomb chambers were 16 meters underground, accessed from the
north via a sloping passageway. The tomb walls were surrounded by layers
of charcoal and pounded clay, which seem to have been instrumental in
keeping the moisture level constant and preventing the decay of the
corpse and other tomb contents.
Among many other
remarkable finds, a painted T-shaped silk funerary banner, a so-called
spirit robe, was laid over the innermost coffin. The banner has a cord,
which may indicate that it was carried in a funerary procession before
being draped over the coffin. Since silk is a perishable material, the
discovery of a silk painting with well-preserved ink and brilliant color
designs near 2,200 years old was a major event, matched by only a very
few other painted silks of comparable age.
