Page 409 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

disks separated by a small stem; the upper disk
has a short projecting handle and a spike in the
center to hold a wick. Between this lamp tray and
the chimney, two removable covers control the
burning of the oil.
Six sets of inscriptions on the lamp provide
some information on its history. One name men-
tioned repeatedly is Yang Xin Jia, thought to be the
name of an imperial family member's household,
granted a warrant in 179 BCE; they lost their posi-
tion in 151 BCE when a member of the family was
found guilty of taking part in the uprisings of 154.
It is likely, therefore, that the lamp dates to the
second quarter of the second century BCE, possibly
to the reign of the emperor Wen Di (179-157 BCE).
The inscriptions also mention the grandmother
of Liu Sheng, the Empress Dowager Dou, and refer
to the Changxin Palace, where the Empress Dow-
ager lived during the mid-second century BCE.
The lamp may have been given to Liu Sheng's con-
sort, Dou Wan, who was probably a close relative
of the Empress Dowager.
Among lamps made in the Warring States
period and the Han dynasty, several exceptional
examples in the shapes of birds, animals, and hu-
mans have been found. Each is unique and many
137 are made of sumptuous materials, including gilded
Gilt bronze human-shaped lamp bronze, as here, or bronze inlaid with gold and
silver. Such highly prized pieces would have be-
Height 48 (18 7s)
longed to members of the elite. The lower gentry
Western Han Dynasty, late second century BCE
made do with ceramic copies; examples recovered
(c. 113) from their tombs nonetheless rival the bronze
From the tomb of Dou Wan at Lingshan, Mancheng, lamps in their inventiveness and exuberance. JR
Hebei Province
i Excavated in 1968 (M 2:4035); reported: Zhongguo 1980!),
Hebei Provincial Museum, Shijiazhuang 1:255, 259-261, fig. 173. An entry on the lamp is included
in Fong 1980, no. 94.
This renowned lamp is remarkable for its elegance
and the aura of serenity that it conveys. 1 A young
woman, wearing a heavy robe and scarf, kneels, eyes
open, mouth half-closed. A square cap falls in a
sharp point behind her head. Her left arm is drawn
across her body to support the lower part of the
lamp; her right arm is raised, and the long sleeve
appears to fall over the lamp, acting as the cover
and the chimney. The lamp itself consists of two

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