Page 406 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

hands of servants or immortals and one in the
shape of a man holding a lamp riding a camel. 2
How interiors were illuminated prior to the
appearance of lamps remains an unresolved ques-
tion; wicks may have been placed in oil, within
simple ceramic bowls, and torches and flares may
have been used in larger buildings.
Whatever their origin, one of the extraordinary
features of these lamps is the wide variety of forms
and fine materials used. A simple standard form,
resembling the ancient dou vessels, consists of
a tray on a tall foot, with a spike (perhaps to hold
3
a wick) and a tall stem. A number of such lamps
were found in the tombs of Liu Sheng and his con-
4
sort Dou Wan. This ram-shaped lamp is a relatively
unassuming example of more exotic forms originat-
ing particularly in the center and north of China. 5
Ram-shaped objects may have had specific
symbolic connotations for their owners. The char-
acter for "ram" resembles xiang, "auspicious," and
it is likely that the associations of the two would
have been prized. Moreover, rams, as well as deer
and camels, were popular subjects for harness and
belt ornaments. These subjects may have been
introduced from distant kingdoms. Artifacts,
designs, and techniques borrowed from the border
areas were probably not viewed as inferior and in
fact may even have been cherished for their associ-
ation with peoples purportedly in contact with
strange deities and spirits thought to live beyond
the limits of the known world. JR

1 Lee 1998, no. 54; Rawson 1996, no. 74.
2 Hubei 1996, color pi. 5.
3 For an account of Qin and Han lamps, see Ye 1983. See
also Sun Ji 1991, 351-357.
4 Excavated in 1968 (M 1:5181); reported: Zhongguo i98ob,
1:66-69.
5 Capon 1992, no. 32.

405 I ROYAL TOMB S AT LINCSHA N