Page 465 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

The second chamber of the crypt contained a second stone stupa, much larger than the
first and dedicated by Empress Wu. Within it, covered in many layers of precious textiles, was a
casket containing the second fingerbone relic. Beyond it, and close to the doors leading to the
third and innermost chamber of the crypt, was a large cylindrical lacquer box containing a
number of fine stoneware bowls and dishes, one of which is shown here (cat. 167).
By far the greatest number of the gold and silver items, many of which had been made for
the purpose only a year or two before they were brought to the crypt in 874, were crammed into
the third and innermost chamber of the crypt, beneath the very center of the pagoda. The large
incense burner, together with its stand (cat. 163), was used in the ceremonies associated with
the enshrinement of the relics. It was placed in the middle of the chamber, just in front of the

set of eight nesting caskets that contained the third and principal fingerbone relic (the fourth
was found in a crystal sarcophagus contained in a separate casket concealed beneath the rear
wall of the chamber [cat. 162]). The largest of the seven surviving caskets, with images of the
Guardian Kings of the four cardinal directions, is shown here (cat. 164). The remaining items
probably had both secular and Buddhist uses. The spherical censer (cat. 166) could be used
either to perfume clothing or to burn incense for ceremonial use. The utensils (cat. 165) used in
the preparation of tea, together with a set of imported glass dishes (see cat. 168) and a glass cup
found in the innermost chamber, are evidence of its widespread use at this time; tea was drunk
in every Buddhist monastery and probably in most upper-class households as well. RW

1 Translated by Chen 1964, 225- 226.
2 Kegasawa 1998, 61.
3 Kegasawa 1998, 59.

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