The recently published The Sui and Tang Tombs of Wuchang reveals several Sui dynasty tombs burying Shengxiao figurines,which presents the earliest examples of this burial custom in South China.To understand the process how this motif became popular in tomb art,4 groups of Shengxiao are analyzed in this article,including figurines from the Northern Dynasty Cui clan tombs,mural paintings of Northern Qi,epitaph stone carvings of late Northern Zhou and Sui,and figurines from Sui tombs in the middle Yangtze river region.This study implies that the influence of the Cui clan tomb Shengxiao figurines probably generated 2 types of burial traditions:The Shengxiao motif was adopted by upper-class tombs in the North,later widely applied on epitaph carvings;meanwhile the custom of burying mythical creature figurines spread from local Qing and Qi districts to the Yangtze river region,inspiring people there to reinvent Shengxiao figurines during Sui Dynasty.
Northern and Southern DynastiesSui DynastyTomb ArtShengxiao(Chinese Zodiac)Mythical Creature Figurines
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
