Under the succeeding Han dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) Confucianism became state ideology and bureaucratic government became firmly established. Also, a vision of life after death as a mirror of life on earth took root in Chinese society. It still persists in many parts of the Chinese-speaking world today.

Han art reflects this belief in an afterlife as well as the Daoist notion of extending life and even achieving immortality. Noble Tombs at Mawangdui portrays these beliefs as seen through the eyes of Han dynasty aristocrats.

The Mawangdui Burials

Excavated between 1972 and 1974, the three Mawangdui tombs are one of the most important archaeological finds of the twentieth century. Located near the city of Changsha in south central China’s Hunan province, they are the resting places of Li Cang, the Marquis of Dai (d. 186 BCE), his wife, and either his brother or son. The tombs yielded books and other texts written on silk and bamboo, textiles, lacquerware, musical instruments, animal and plant specimens, pottery, weapons, and the preserved corpse of the marquis’ wife.

Noble Tombs at Mawangdui presents over sixty objects from the collection of the Hunan Provincial Museum and opens a window onto the lives and beliefs of people living more than two thousand years ago.