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- Accumulative archaeological data of the last few decades indicates that a fundamental revision in funeral practice took place during the mid- to late-Western Han period, namely the burial of a husband and wife together in a single chamber, replacing the tradition of separate burials. As a result, the tomb chamber had to be larger to contain two coffins, and a special entrance door was devised to enable the easy reopening of the tomb when the spouse was buried at a later date. Brick and stone tomb chambers became more popular because they were more durable than the wooden ones and enclosed much larger spaces, sometimes including several antechambers. Some of the larger tombs took on the appearance of miniature underground houses with private rooms and public spaces for cooking and storage. It must be remembered that, according to Chinese beliefs, the deceased had not disappeared, he had simply changed his abode and his needs were still the same.
The clay bricks were both solid and hollow and were often stamped or incised with an amazing variety of designs, ranging from simple geometric patterns to hunting and farming scenes or elaborate processions and court scenes. Someofthe murals were concerned with Confucian ideas of filial piety and devotion to the state and family, while others depicted scenes from the life of the tomb master. Stone blocks were similarily decorated with scenes by incising or carving in relief. In some cases, brick surfaces were primed with a thin layer of white clay plaster and then the scenes were painted on.
During the period of disunification between the Han and Tang periods, tomb chambers were usually on a more modest scale and often included only one large chamber (fig. vi). In general, these tombs were constructed of several layers of small, clay bricks. In the excavated tombs in the south near Nanjing, the tomb chambers were lined with bricks moulded with lines in thread relief which, when laid together, formed a large scene. Guardian figures, processions and Daoist scenes such as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove seem to have been quite popular (fig. vii).
The Sui and Tang dynasties made very impressive tomb chambers deep in the ground under the tumulus (fig. viii). The Tang tomb chambers which have been excavated near Xian reveal a long, sloping passageway leading to single- or double- vaulted brick chambers. Some of the larger Tang tombs of princes and princesses had niches filled with large quantities of tomb figurines and other grave goods on either side of the long corridors. The passageways, some of which were up to 100 metres in length, were lavishly painted with murals over the clay-plastered walls. The wall paintings show various scenes of palace architecture, court activities, hunting scenes, polo, etc., reflecting the life of the deceased. Many are in a remarkably good state of preservation (fig. ix).
The tomb chambers of the Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan dynasties were largely built of several layers of bricks. The custom of decorating the walls of the chambers with beautifully-painted murals continued, but one new innovation we find is brick architectural facades, imitating wooden buildings, occurring on the inside walls of the tomb chamber. The architectural elements include false doors and windows, balustrades, pillars, eaves, and bracket-support systems (fig. xi).
The tomb chambers of the Ming and Qing dynasties followed the same combina�tion method of using several layers of grey clay bricks or stone blocks, but the inside walls tended to be rather plain and largely undecorated. The excavated tomb chamber of the Ming Emperor, Wanli (d. 1620), revealed enormous, arch-shaped vaults with unadorned walls made of large blocks fitted together (fig. xii). The Qing imperial tombs of Emperor Qianlong (d. 1799), Emperor Guangxu (d. 1908) and Empress Cixi (d. 1 908) have similar arch-shaped stone block tomb chambers. The walls of the excavated tombs are largely undecorated with the exception of the tomb
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