Journal of Jishou University(Social Sciences)

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The Yin-Yang and Immortal Ideas in the T-shaped Silk Paintings of Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb

DENG Hui,CHEN Huali   

  1. (College of Philosophy,Law and Politics,Shanghai Normal University,Shanghai 200234,China)
  • Online:2020-01-01 Published:2020-01-12

Abstract: It is generally believed that Mawangdui Han Tomb (in Changsha of Hunan Province) is a Han Dynasty (202 BC-220) tomb influenced by Huang-Lao thought (Taoism highly praising Huangdi and Lao Tzu) and Chu (in today's Hubei and Hunan provinces) culture.In fact,the Taoist theory of Yin and Yang (the most antagonistic relation in ancient Chinese philosophy) and the immortal idea also had a great influence on the burial ceremony and system in the early Han Dynasty.In the Taoist logic of universe formation,Qi (spirit) gathers into essence and gives birth to all things.If strangers want to interfere with the fate of the tomb owner after death,what they can do is to try to gather the spirit of the deceased,so the T-shaped silk paintings depict a large number of scenes of Yin and Yang,in the hope that the tomb owner can "get out of death into life".At the same time,the combination of jade and dragon in the silk painting contributed to the transformation of the dead from physical existence to eternal soul,from this world to that world.The idea of immortals,which was popular from the end of the Warring States period(475 BC-221 BC) to the beginning of the Han Dynasty,believed that human beings could become immortals under the guidance of God,breaking away from the constraints of time and space like God,but they were not completely isolated from earth like God.Starting from the immortal thought,we can clearly see the third use of silk painting to recall the soul from the underworld and guide the soul of the deceased to enter the immortal world through the hole of the jade,rather than leading the soul to heaven or earth.

Key words: Huang-Lao Taoism, Yin-Yang theory, Immortal thought, Mawangdui Han Tomb, T-shaped silk painting

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