"Rabbit Hair"and the Dissemination of Funeral Culture in Northwest China during the Five-Hu Period
Previously unearthed Turpan documents from the northwest region of China include detailed lists of commodities,among which"rabbit hair"is of particular interest."Rabbit hair"(which was actually fox hair)was listed in the category for clothing and beddings items,though the actual objects excavated from archaeological dig sites that seem to correspond to this entry were not suited to be raw materials for making Chinese brushes-a common use of animal hair at the time-nor were they recognized as a symbol of wealth in the region.In other Turpan manuscripts,items like"yellow mulberry wood coffins"and"crossbows"were often listed with"rabbit hair"and appeared together in various dig sites throughout the Hexi region.This indicates that the funeral culture of Turpan and Hexi derived from similar origins.This can be concluded from the fact that the actual objects corresponding to"rabbit hair"were placed on the heads of the dead in both places,while images of the Big Dipper,holy trees,and animal paws were painted on the sides of coffins or in tomb murals in order to construct a complete system of funerary symbolism.It was believed at the time that crowns of rabbit hair formed a ladder by which the dead could travel to the Big Dipper to pray for eternal life and the ascension of their souls to heaven.After offering prayers,the dead would then be reincarnated in the afterlife by imbibing the blood and meat contained in the animal paws and continue to enjoy the wealth and status of their previous lives.These funeral beliefs mark a continuation of Taoist faith in the Big Dipper as a holy object that began in the Western Han dynasty.
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