Page 417 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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stronger state to the north. His jade shroud, how- 1 Excavated in 1983 (D 50); reported: Guangzhou 1991,
ever, was less complex and less carefully made than 1:154-158. The two dragon-shaped jades were originally
held in the right hand of the jade shroud. Guangzhou
most of those that have been excavated from the 1991, i: 204, 206.
tombs of the kings of Zhongshan at Mancheng, Chu 2 Compare the jade shroud for Liu Sheng, cat. 129; see
at Xuzhou, Lu at Qufu, and Liang at Yongcheng. 2 Zhongguo i98ob, 2: color pi. 1-2; 1:348, fig. 227, and
Rawson 1996, no. 81.
Zhao Mo's shroud consists of 2,291 jade plaques. 3 For the jades, see Lam 1991.
The hands, head, and feet are constructed of
plaques pierced at the four corners and sewn to-
gether, but the plaques that form the tunic, arms,
and legs were simply glued to a cloth backing and
decorated with silk ribbon. Whoever made and
supplied the shroud to the King of Nanyue must
have been familiar with the jade shrouds made
for imperial family members. While it is possible
that the suit was made by the imperial workshop,
it could have been made in central or southern
China.
Many of the jades in the tomb, like the jade
shroud, resemble pieces from tombs much farther
north. In particular, the carved details of the pen-
dants, and of other decorative pieces, resemble
those of jades found in the provinces of present-day
Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shandong. Zhao Mo, the King
of Nanyue, may have acquired his jades from the
state of Chu, or he may have been in a position to
entice craftsmen from the Chu state to work for
him. The tomb contained many jade vessels, pen-
dants, and fittings for the iron swords found in
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the tomb. It is likely that both the shrouds and
the jade-fitted weapons were intended to equip
the king for the perils of the afterlife. Neither the
shroud nor the weapons would necessarily have
defeated a human enemy, but against enemies of
the spirits and demons, they may have been effec-
tive as a complex protective system devised for the
highest-ranking members of the elite. JR

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