Page 331 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

instruments, including sets of bells and chime stones; their number and quality probably

reflected the status of the tomb s owner. By contrast, Tomb 2 at Baoshan contained only one
bell — a zheng, intended for signaling rather than musical performances, a zither for personal
use, and a small suspended drum. Jade objects, so abundant in earlier tombs, are sparsely rep-
resented in that of Shao Tuo. By contrast, the tomb was amply stocked — and notably more so
than tombs of earlier date — with nonritual objects: wooden mannequins wearing swords,
pieces of furniture (a folding bed, low tables, plates, lamps, chests, and cabinets), objects for
the owner's personal use (fans, mirrors, and toilet boxes) and for his adornment. Sixty-nine
bamboo caskets accompanied the deceased; some of them still contained the remains of fruit
(jujubes, persimmons, plums, and pears), as well as lotus rhizomes and ginger, when the tomb
was excavated. One noteworthy continuation of earlier practices is the large amount of armor
(for men and horses) and weapons placed in the tomb.
Writings found in the tomb have shed light on aspects of Chu social and religious life.
Four hundred and forty-eight bamboo strips, two hundred and seventy-eight of them inscribed
with characters, were distributed among the four chambers surrounding the burial room. Most
of the strips were originally tied to one another by string (now rotted) to compose documents;
the fact that they were found in their original positions has permitted the reconstruction of
the documents. The writings from Tomb 2 fall into one of three categories. Most are reports

by the local administration to the central government on issues of law. Another group of texts
deals with divination, and a small number are inventories of the tomb's contents; the latter have
proved particularly valuable for identifying the ancient names of some of the objects deposited
in the tomb. The writings reveal a handsome calligraphy in several hands, but the fact that
many of the characters employed are unknown (some are variants, others long-obsolete char-
acters or even errors) has made the texts difficult to decipher. AT

i Hubei 1991.

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