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- Mythical Creatures of the Tomb
Since ancient times in China, artists and craftsmen have found artistic expression for a multitude of fantastic creatures from the spirit world. The ancient ceremonial bronzes placed in Shang and Zhou period tombs are often covered with dragon motifs and monster masks called taotie. There have been a number of bronze statues of mythical creatures excavated from Warring States period (475-221 b.c.) tombs, such as the winged creatures from the tomb of the KingofZhongshanandthe antler-horned, long-necked bird from the tomb of the Marquis of Yi. Perhaps the most spectacular tomb figure of this period is a large carved and lacquered wood figurine of a horned, long-tongued monster from a Chu State tomb found near Xinyang, Henan (fig. i). Its meaning and function are still under discussion.
A great number of mythical creatures are depicted on the wall decorations and banners in many of the Han dynasty tombs. The best example isthe bannerfrom the Mawangdui tomb of the Western Han dynasty, which depicts beings of the nether world, the world of men, and the heavens. On it we find all sorts of mythical creatures like dragons and human-headed birds, etc.
During the Han, some ceramic and wood rhinoceros- or unicorn-type creatures made an appearance (fig. ii). Their horned heads are lowered and their tails raised as if ready to defend or to do battle. They appear to be related to the zhenmu shou (grave- quelling beasts) which occur as ceramic tomb guardians in later periods. By the time of the Three Kingdoms and Western Jin periods, this rhino-like creature has acquired three large horns on its shoulders and head, which is again lowered in an aggressive fashion (fig. iii). In an Eastern Jin tomb at Lijiashan near Nanjing, a ceramic creature with horns from its head to hind quarters has been excavated, which seems related to the previous beast, but it resembles an ox and is much less menacing in appearance (fig. iv).
During the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534), whose rulers were strong believers in Buddhism, horned creatures seated in a dog-like posture made their first appear�ance. These creatures, which are called zhenmu shou (grave-quelling beasts), are believed to quell evil beings which might intrude into the tomb. They occurred in pairs: one has the face of a human being, with horns running along its spine or on its head, and the body of an animal; while its mate, seated in the same pose, has a feline face. The human-headed creature is usually depicted sneering with bulging eyes, while the feline creature is usually snarling in a ferocious manner (fig. v).
A great variety of these zhenmu shou figures have been excavated from the tombs of the Northern Wei, as well as the short-lived dynasties of Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Northern Zhou and Sui. One of the zhenmu shou creatures with a human head, found in a Western Wei tomb, has no horns and is almost comic in appearance (fig. vi), but on the whole, these creatures have a fierce and powerful expression. In some tombs of the Northern Qi and Sui periods, we find these seated hybrids with a pronged spike emerging from their back and the horns on the spine have become less pronounced projections (fig. vii).
By the time of the Tang dynasty, the zhenmu shou has become quite colourful and fantastic in appearance with extremely long horns, flame-like manes, spiky wings and powerful legs with hooves or paws (fig. ix, x). In addition, they have been placed on a high pedestal which makes them look even more awesome. Some earlier creatures of this type show traces of wings, but during the Tang their wings become very pronounced at the shoulders, making the creature all the more grotesque and frightening. The human-headed creature in many cases has devel�oped enormous cow-like ears, while the feline-headed creature has developed a
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