The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum is composed of a brick tomb (E. Han or slightly later) and an exhibition hall adjacent to it. It is located at 41 Tonkin Street, in

Cheung Sha Wan Cheung Sha Wan is an area between Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is mainly residential to the north and south, with an industrial area in between. Administratively it is part of Sham Shui Po District, which als ...

Sham Shui Po District Sham Shui Po District is one of 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is the poorest district in Hong Kong, with a predominantly working-class population of 405,869 in 2016 and the lowest median household income of all districts. Sham Shui Po has long ...

, in the northwestern part of the

Kowloon Peninsula The Kowloon Peninsula is a peninsula that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong, alongside Victoria Harbour and facing toward Hong Kong Island. The Kowloon Peninsula and the area of New Kowloon are collec ...

of Hong Kong.

History

According to the structure,

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined ...

and content of the inscriptions on tomb bricks and to the tomb finds, the tomb is commonly believed to have been built during the

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

(AD 25 – 220) although the

Southern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

period was also suggested. It was probably built for a Chinese officer attached to the local garrison. The tomb is constructed of bricks (average size 40x20x5cm) and consists of four chambers set in the form of a cross. The dome vault at the center was constructed by laying bricks in a spiral, while the other chambers are barrel vaulted. Some bricks are stamped or carved with inscriptions or patterns on the exposed sides. It is believed that the rear chamber is the coffin chamber, that side chambers were used for storage, while ritual ceremonies were performed in the front chamber under the domed roof. The tomb's cross-shaped structure and the burial objects found inside show great similarities as compared to other Han tombs found in South China, which prove that early Chinese civilization had spread to Hong Kong 2,000 years ago. The inscription ''

Panyu Panyu, alternately romanized as Punyu, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. It was a separate county-level city before its incorporation into modern Guangzhou in 200 ...

'' () on tomb bricks further confirms the dating, since, according to historical records, ''Panyu'' was the name of the county to which the present territory of Hong Kong belonged during the Han dynasty. Also, the style of the calligraphy used in the inscriptions was an angular version of '' lishu'' (clerical script) which was generally used in inscriptions on

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

wares and stones during the Han dynasty. There were no bodies found in the tomb.

Discovery and preservation

The tomb was accidentally discovered in August 1955, when the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino- ...

was levelling a hill slope for the construction of resettlement buildings at Lei Cheng Uk Village (present-day Lei Cheng Uk Estate). The tomb was then excavated by members of

Hong Kong University The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fir ...

and workers of the Public Works Department, Hong Kong under the supervision of Professor F.S. Drake, former head of the Chinese Department at the University of Hong Kong. After excavation, the tomb and an exhibition hall were formally opened to the public in 1957. In November 1988,There were senior residents told the journalists, some construction workers might already stole the antiques discovered in Lei Cheng Uk Han tomb. ( 李鄭屋漢墓－－維基百科�
Environment Protection Department - List of Declared Monuments as on 1 January 1999
the Han Tomb was declared as a gazetted monument by the Hong Kong Government, and it is now protected and preserved permanently under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance. Due to conservation reasons, visitors have not been able to enter the tomb itself since the mid-1980s. They now have to view it through a glass panel at the entrance passage, and the tomb is sealed in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. The tomb, which had been protected by concrete, waterproofing layers, topsoil and turf, suffered from rainwater leakage problems and its protection underwent a renovation project completed in 2005. The renovation works included the building of a canopy to cover the tomb.Press Release: "Renovated tomb offers new museum experience"
December 30, 2005

3D Laser Scanning Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

Technology in digital recording of structures was applied to capture 3D images of the structure.

The museum

The tomb and gallery came under the management of the former

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Servic ...

in 1969. The museum later became a branch of the Hong Kong Museum of History in 1975. As such, it is managed by the

Leisure and Cultural Services Department The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), is a department in the Government of Hong Kong. It reports to the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. It provides leisure and cultura ...

of the Hong Kong Government. A newly built exhibition hall opened in 1988, when the tomb was declared a gazetted monument. The hall was refurbished in 2005.''The Standard'': "Ancient tomb date sparks celebrations"
, December 31, 2005 Details on the discovery and characteristics of the tomb, as well as bronze and pottery artefacts found in the tomb are on permanent display in the exhibition hall. A 3D digital animation in the exhibition hall provides a detailed view of the interior of the tomb. Moreover, a 1:1 replica of the inside of the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb is displayed at the Hong Kong Museum of History.

Exhibition Hall

HK LeiChengUkHanTombMuseum GranaryPotteryModel

HK LeiChengUkHanTombMuseum PotteryDingTripod

The Exhibition Hall is located next to the tomb. The first section is about food and drink in Han as it seems because most of what was found in the Han tomb is related to food. The display of this section begins with the old Chinese adage, 'food is the first necessity of the people'. There is a map depicting food distribution, a

pictogram A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and ...

of rice distribution and a table of the major food groups. There are also three replicas of figurines. Two of the figurines are cooks, and another one is a farmer. The second section is about the excavation of the Han tomb. The excavation process, the inside of the tomb and the archaeologists at work are shown with several photographs. The tomb's structure and layout are shown with the models and plans. This displays also how the professionals dated the tomb by using the inscriptions on the bricks. The third part of the gallery shows the artefacts found in the tomb. As the only Eastern Han dynasty brick tomb ever found in Hong Kong, the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb has invaluable historic value containing 58 items found on site. Objects include cooking utensils, food containers, storage jars and models (a house, a granary, a well and a stove) made of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

(50), as well as bowls, basins, mirrors, and bells made of

(8). No human skeletal remains were found.

Transportation

The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum is served by the

MTR The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving :Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus service centred on a 10-line rapid transit network ...

station (exit A3).

Surrounding

The Han Garden, located next to the museum, was completed in December 1993. The features in this

Chinese garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate ...

were built following the style of the Han dynasty and include

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

s, terraces, towers, fishponds and rock sculptures. Once overlooking the seashore, the site of the tomb is now almost 2,000 m from the sea, following a series of

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamat ...

References

External links

Museum website

Deformation survey for the preservation of Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb
{{authority control Archaeological museums in China History museums in Hong Kong Declared monuments of Hong Kong Archaeological sites in Hong Kong History of Hong Kong Mausoleums in China Cheung Sha Wan Subterranean Hong Kong Han dynasty 1955 archaeological discoveries