In the Chu's hinterland Jianghan Plain,Changsha and the coast of the East China Sea,coffin-covering paintings from the Chu and Han Tombs should have the same theme which is the portrait of the tomb owner.Moreover,from the middle Warring States period of the"Character Dragon and Phoenix silk painting"and"Character Riding the Dragon silk painting",to the early Western Han Dynasty of Mawangdui tomb T-shaped silk painting,and then to the middle Western Han Dynasty of Jinquishan tomb,these silk paintings have experienced three stages of change,from the establishment of the theme of the tomb master's image,multi-space display and the tomb master's image theme blurred change process.And eventually in the early Eastern Han Dynasty,it was replaced by Mingjing that wrote information about the tomb owner.Although the coffin-covering painting is an artificial evocation ritual and the spirits of the dead associated with death in Chu,it was not only about death from the beginning,but was associated with the belief that the Earth ascended to the heavens.It is not the earliest portrait of the owner of the tomb,but it is the earliest"Realistic"portrait of the owner of the tomb,which shows the owner's personal information such as gender,age and status.
coffin-covering paintingportrait of the Tomb ownerMingjingevocation ceremonyascension into the immortal belief