Page 392 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

5 3 , 1 disks in such burials may even have intrigued the
7 Han and inspired them to place disks within the
jade shrouds, as was done both for the King of
Nanyue (cat. 140) and Liu Sheng.
4 ^2 It has often been suggested that these shrouds
9 =?7^v were intended to effect the transformation of their
4
owners' bodies into jade. A more plausible inter-
pretation is that such shrouds served as armor
6 to protect the bodies of the elite from the attacks
11 R
"f 8 of evil demons and forces thought to cause illness,
10 corruption, and decay. Tombs of other members of

12 the Liu family were sometimes also equipped with
5
FIG. i. Schematic drawing jade-bladed weapons, which were probably in-
of the sections of Liu tended for protection. Liu Sheng was also supplied
Sheng's jade shroud. After with a set of plugs to block the body apertures;
Zhongguo i98ob, 1:348,
fig. 227. their function may have been similar to that of the

391 R O Y A L T O M B S A T L I N G S H A N