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Plate 18.3 Crystal brush rest, excavated
from the tomb of Prince Jing of Ying
(1388–1414). Hubei Provincial Museum
Plate 18.4 Elixirs used in Daoist practice,
excavated from the tomb of Prince Jing of
Ying (1388–1414). Hubei Provincial
Museum
Ying, and was enfeoffed in Anlu (present-day Zhongxiang rare in the Ming royal tombs of Hubei, although according
City) in 1408. He passed away at the age of 27 in 1414 and to textual sources it was customary for the burials of early
8
was granted the posthumous title jing 靖. His consort Lady Ming emperors. The tomb of Prince Jing of Ying and Lady
Guo 郭 (d. 1414) died shortly after him. The tomb that the Guo provides archaeological evidence of this cruel practice
couple share has been excavated by the Hubei Provincial in the early Ming period.
Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. 9 Religious features in the tomb of Prince Jing of Ying and
The underground tomb consists of five chambers Lady Guo can be observed mainly in its burial objects,
arranged in the shape of the Chinese character ya 亞, which which highlight an equal representation of Confucian,
conforms to burial practices at the time. The coffins of the Buddhist and Daoist elements.
couple are placed side by side on top of a platform. Six Prince Jing of Ying is buried with items that he favoured in
further bodies have been discovered in the tomb; they are life, mostly functional scholarly objects, including duan 端 and
believed to have been sacrificed. The east and west she 歙 inkstones, a mountain-shaped crystal brush stand (Pl.
chambers of the tomb each contain three red-lacquered 18.3), a bronze water-dropper in the shape of a three-legged
wooden coffins that have decomposed, but traces of them toad and an agate paperweight in the shape of a dragon-
can still be observed. There are also signs that porcelain beast. The back of the she inkstone is inscribed ‘Studio of the
vases were once placed in front of the heads of the coffins. Book Hermit’ (Shuyin zhai 書隱齋), which denotes the name of
These correspond with actual vases that have been the prince’s study. This suggests the prince was a ‘Confucian
discovered in the tomb. Judging from dental remains, the six scholar’ who was well versed in the classics.
people who were sacrificed in the burial had not yet reached Elixirs (xiandan 仙丹) used in Daoist practices have also been
adulthood. The phenomenon of human sacrifice is relatively discovered in the tomb (Pl. 18.4). This is a very important
166 | Ming China: Courts and Contacts 1400–1450