Guardians of the Tomb

Last night I was lucky enough to see a series of traveling exhibits in the Summer of China series at the Milwaukee Art Museum. I was lucky because these pieces of art are only traveling to three different museums in America and also because this is the first time these pieces have been allowed out of China.

I saw some amazing artifacts last night! I even saw a doorway that was removed from an actual palace. The doorway was part of the exhibit: The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City. If you would like to read a short page of information about the show, here's a link to a section of our museum's web site:

http://www.mam.org/china/

I could go on about all the beautiful art, architectural pieces, and furniture I saw last night, although that wouldn't really fit with the theme of this blog. Luckily, there was a part of the show that was a fit: Tomb Guardians. The Tomb Guardians I got to see were from the Tang Dynasty which ran from 618-907 BCE. They were still in great shape! Here are a few of the photos I took of the Tomb Guardians:

Tomb Guardians were often sculptures of fierce beasts, warriors, or supernatural creatures that were placed in pairs in tombs. These were placed near the entrance of a tomb to protect the deceased from evil spirits. As you can see in my pictures, they were ferocious creatures. I'm not sure what kind of creatures the first ones are, but they manage to look both menacing and happy at the same time. Actually, almost all the sculptures I saw last night looked like they were smiling!

I couldn't help comparing the ancient Chinese burial rituals with those of the ancient Egyptians. Both cultures saw the afterlife as a place where the dead could keep their possessions. In both cases, all the things a person needed in life would be left in their tomb. There were also some sculptures of musicians on display last night. These were left in a tomb so a deceased person could bring some music along on his trip into the afterlife!

I tried to find a youtube clip about Tang dynasty burial rituals, but that was pretty much impossible to do. So, instead here's a good one from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-475 BCE) You'll still get to see a few Tomb Guardians that look similar to the ones in my photos.

I also ran across an interesting page on the National Geographic web site. There are a series of photos here showing various Chinese burial customs from different time periods. This is really worth checking out!

National Geographic Chinese Burial Customs

For those who would like to see a modern twist on an older Chinese custom honoring the dead, here's something for you:

This video left me really surprised, amused, and informed! It kind of reminded me of Day of the Dead rituals, like leaving full dinner place settings out for deceased family members. It's a little different to burn something in order to send it to a spirit than to leave it sitting out, but both are a sweet way of remembering someone.

* Update * I was back at the art museum to hear a lecture today (Sunday). While there, I took a few more Tomb Guardian photos! I just had to share these. This one is a vicious little dog. Check out those teeth!