Pictorial Eulogies in Three Eastern Han Tombs

In light of the more recently excavated evidence and advancements in archaeological research, it is necessary to look again at the three Eastern Han tombs at Wangdu and Anping that were discovered more than thirty years ago in central Hebei province. While these tombs are geographically close and share some similarities, there are significant differences in pictorial program, grave goods, and tomb structures. Reexamination of previous scholarship on the excavated material offers new information that challenges preexisting views of aspects of Eastern Han society, such as art, literature, religion, and material culture of the elite in first- and second-century C.E. China. This project also seeks to interpret funerary wall paintings from an emic perspective and to study the development and innovations of this art form in Eastern Han using the three tombs as primary case studies. The biographical nature of the subjects of the wall paintings indicates that they are intended as pictorial eulogies and expressions of individualism in an age of conformity. As pictorial eulogies, they give us a rare view into the private life of the Eastern Han elite. Similarly, the selection of grave goods shows an emphasis on representations of personal achievements and predilections. Identification of the incumbents of the three tombs becomes possible at the conclusion of a closer examination of the material, pictorial, and historical evidence.