FILE PHOTO: A mural discovered at the cemetery from the Liao Dynasty at Tonghua, Hebei Province

Tomb art encompasses various forms, including colored murals, stone reliefs, stamped brick images, and decorations on wooden or stone coffins. The form emerged alongside the transformation of burial chambers into structures that mimicked residences, mirroring the ornamental styles of palace and house walls. These tomb images significantly compensate for the loss of pre-Song paintings, enabling the reconstruction of a “hidden” history of early Chinese art. However, tomb art fundamentally differs from surviving paintings and domestic murals; it is an integral part of ancient funerary rituals, representing the spiritual world of the ancients, vividly embodying their cosmology, ethics, and understanding of life and death.

Depictions of the universe

From the Han Dynasty onward, tomb interiors frequently depicted perceptions of the universe at that time. In a Western Han tomb excavated on the campus of the Primary School attached to Xi’an Jiaotong University, a celestial band painting on the tomb arch was discovered, featuring three colors—black, white, and green—depicting celestial phenomena, including the sun, moon, and over 80 stars, alongside human and animal figures. A mural found in the tomb depicts The Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, each symbolizing one of the four cardinal directions. This imagery aligns closely with the “Twenty-Eight Mansions” [part of the Chinese constellations system, equivalent to the zodiacal constellations in Western astronomy] described in the Records of the Grand Historian. These celestial images reflect Western Han people’s observations and understanding of nature. By combining celestial symbols with human and animal figures, the mural embodies the philosophical belief in a profound connection between Heaven and humanity.

The Wuliang Shrine in Jiaxiang County, Shandong Province, was built for the tombs of the Wuliang family from the late Eastern Han period. The shrine features extensive carvings on its roof and walls, organized into vertical sections that depict Heaven, the immortal realm, and the human world. The roof carvings feature auspicious creatures representing Heaven, while the “shanqiang” walls bear images of Queen Mother of the West and King Father of the East, symbolizing the immortal realm. The walls present tales of ancient sages, individuals known for their filial practices, loyal court officials and other chivalrous persons, all emblematic of human history. Daily life scenes, such as formal pavilion visits, outings by chariots, and kitchen preparations, occupy the lower wall sections. Seated with dignified presence in the pavilion, the figure receiving guests is likely Wuliang himself, representing his place within the social world. Together, these depictions seem to embed Wuliang and his environment within an ancient cosmic landscape.

The tradition of depicting a cosmic landscape in paintings continued following the Han Dynasty. In the Northern Wei period in north China, tombs were intentionally constructed as “microcosmic universes.” The squared burial chambers paired with high domed ceilings reflect the ancient Chinese views of the universe, where the sky was imagined as a dome-shaped sphere, while the Earth was seen as a flat, square surface. The murals maintained a vertical hierarchy, depicting heaven, the immortal realm, and human society from top to bottom. In the tomb of Yuan Yi [Lord of Jiangyang, 486-526] in Luoyang, a ceiling mural depicts the Milky Way with over 300 stars, vividly presenting the idea of a spherical heaven and square earth. This tomb design likely drew inspiration from “Mingtang,” the national ceremonial building, reflecting the acceptance of the view of Mandate of Heaven by the Sinicized Xianbei rulers. Sui and Tang tomb murals followed this style, presenting Heaven with depictions of celestial phenomena and auspicious animals, and the human realm with scenes of daily life. A noticeable shift during the Sui and Tang eras, however, is the reduced emphasis on immortal themes and an increased focus on worldly scenes.

Moral messages

Beginning in the Han Dynasty, murals depicting ancient virtuous figures and loyal officials became common on the walls of ceremonial and public buildings. As Confucianism was elevated to the official state ideology, funerary practices gradually adopted Confucian ethical principles, fostering a belief in elaborate funerals that valorized extravagance over modesty. This shift oriented society towards ritualized devotion to the deceased as a demonstration of filial piety and loyalty. Additionally, themes of filial piety and loyalty, often depicted in palace murals, were often incorporated into tomb art as a means of expressing Confucian ideals.

In tomb art, the Confucian virtues of loyalty and filial piety are frequently emphasized. For instance, Tomb 61 at Shaogou, Luoyang, dating to the late Western Han period, features a mural on a beam illustrating the story of “Killing Three Warriors With Two Peaches,” a tale that embodies loyalty. The attempted assassination of Qin Shi Huang by Jing Ke, a famous historical episode from the Warring States period, is another popular theme found on pictorial stones of the tombs from the mid and late Eastern Han Dynasty. Although Jing Ke’s attempt on the life of Ying Zheng—who would later unify China as its first emperor—was unsuccessful, his bravery became legendary, symbolizing resistance against tyranny.

As a core aspect of Confucian ethics, the deeds of filial sons and virtuous women are prominently represented in burial images, with such themes flourishing from the Han through to the Song, Liao, and Jin dynasties. Across these periods, burial art images were filled with portrayals of loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness. This enduring focus reflects not only the enduring vitality of Confucian ethics but also illustrates how funerary rituals themselves became a concrete practice of Confucian values.

Journeys of the soul

The binary belief in “hun” (soul) and “po” (form) was central to Chinese concepts of life and death, positing that life comprises these two entities. The ancients believed that the invisible soul, worshipped as the essence of the deceased, required a visual substitute in funerary rites. These visual substitutes varied, including “ancestors” played by the grandchildren of the deceased, wooden memorial tablets, curtains and altars, portraits, or groups of images depicting empty chariots and horses without riders. These visual art forms were created by the ancients based on their understanding of death. Through various representations of the soul, they produced highly creative funerary art.

In Han Dynasty burial images, a common scene depicts the “Honored One” seated beneath a curtain, enjoying delicacies, entertainment, or receiving visitors. This scene, often placed prominently in the tomb chamber, represents the presence of the tomb owner’s soul, and is referred to as the “Tomb Owner Being Honored.” These scenes first appeared in tombs from the late Han to the Wei and Jin periods, typically narrating through frontal depictions of the tomb owner and images of chariots and horses, where death was portrayed as a journey. For example, in the Eastern Han tomb from 151 CE in Cangshan County, Shandong, a 328-character inscription and 12 images narrate the tomb owner’s soul receiving offerings, transforming for the afterlife, and embarking on a journey to another world via chariots and horses.

During the Northern Wei and Northern Qi periods, a more stable format for burial murals developed. Typically, the “Tomb Owner Being Honored” scenes are arranged in the center of the main wall of the tomb chamber, depicting the tomb owner and their spouse seated facing forward beneath a curtain, surrounded by musicians and attendants, with abundant sacrificial food placed before them. On either side, images of prepared chariots and horses are symmetrically distributed, absent of both passengers and riders, indicating that the chariots and horses are prepared for the journey of the tomb owner and their spouse after receiving offerings. The tomb passage itself serves as a grand procession, symbolizing the dignified afterlife of the tomb owner and their spouse. The upper parts of the tomb chamber and the vault ceiling are adorned with images of divine birds, mythical beasts, and celestial images representing the eternal dwelling of the soul.

In addition to the concept of the soul, “ascending to immortality” is another important theme in these images, reflecting the desire for posthumous transcendence. In the tomb of Bu Qianqiu from the late Western Han in Luoyang, a long scroll-like image composed of 20 painted bricks is found at the top of the rear chamber, depicting the ascent of the tomb owner and his spouse toward immortality. In front are mythical figures including as Nüwa, celestial beings, the moon, and various divine creatures, while behind are Fuxi and the sun, with each tomb occupant riding a dragon and a phoenix, respectively, guided by celestial beings to the realm of immortals.

After the introduction of Buddhism to China during the Han and Wei periods, subtle shifts emerged in burial art depicting ascension to the immortal realm. Despite the contrasting Buddhist and traditional Chinese views on life and death, late Han and Three Kingdoms tombs in the Yangtze River basin show little evidence of conflict between Buddhist beliefs and traditional ideas of ascension. In some images or artifacts, the figure of the Buddha even coexists with depictions of the Queen Mother of the West, indicating that during the early introduction of Buddhism, people viewed the Buddha as another divine figure aiding in the fulfillment of their desires for ascension.

During the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, Buddhist elements became increasingly prominent in burial images, incorporating motifs such as Flying Apsaras, stupas, Cintamani, incarnated boys, honeysuckle patterns, and lotuses. As a city imbued with a strong Buddhist culture, Pingcheng [present-day Datong, Shanxi] in Northern Wei saw a significant presence of Buddhist symbols in tombs, with some tombs entirely decorated with Buddha images. Nevertheless, most Buddhist elements remained as subordinate decorative patterns, leaving the main narrative focus of traditional ascension scenes intact. Traditional ascension scenes continued to play the dominant role in burial art.

Li Meitian is a professor from the School of History at Renmin University of China.