On the East-West Differences in the Architectural Form of Large Tombs and the Dual Division of Cultural Customs in the Northern Dynasties
Inherited from Han and Jin traditions,square-shaped kept to be used in the architectural form of tombs in the early Northern Wei Dynasty.The first shift to circular tomb appeared in Yonggu Tomb,which was built by Emperor Xiaowen for his grandmother,Empress Dowager Feng.A strong push of Han cultural assimilation happened after the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang.During this period,form of tombs showed the tendency of reverting to square-shaped again,while the circular dome characteristic was still preserved.Since the split of the Northern Wei,the Western Wei and Eastern Wei pursued different developmental paths.The former primarily used the square vaulted ceiling tombs of Han and Jin styles,while the latter increasingly adopted the circular dome tombs of the Xianbei customs.The dual division has became more pronounced during the Northern Qi and the Northern Zhou periods.In Xianbei culture,circular tomb symbolized the altar,the lofty dome and the celestial imagery expressed religious concepts of the worship to natural objects and natural phenomena.It reflected Xianbei people's attempt to express a vague and incomplete understanding of the afterlife through towering architectural space,as their knowledge of nature and celestial phenomena was still immature during their transition from nomadism to agriculturism.
tombs with muralsdual divisionarchitecturethe Northern Wei Dynastythe celestial imagery
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维普
