Dou Wan () was a

Western Han 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 ...

noblewoman married to

Liu Sheng, Prince of Zhongshan Liu Sheng (; died 113 BC), posthumously known as King/Prince Jing of Zhongshan (), was a king/prince of the Western Han empire of Chinese history. His father was Emperor Jing, and he was the elder brother of Emperor Wu of Han. His mausoleum is ...

, a brother of

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign la ...

. Her tomb was discovered in

Mancheng County Mancheng District () is a district of west-central Hebei province, China, in the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains. It is administratively part of Baoding prefecture-level city, of which the Mancheng is a northwestern suburb. Mancheng is ...

, and many of her burial goods, including her

jade burial suit A jade burial suit () is a ceremonial suit made of pieces of jade in which royal members in Han dynasty China were buried. Structure Of the jade suits that have been found, the pieces of jade are mostly square or rectangular in shape, though t ...

, have been declared national treasures.

Biography

Dou Wan was the wife of Liu Sheng, who, after the

Rebellion of the Seven States The Rebellion of the Seven States or Revolt of the Seven Kingdoms () took place in 154 BC against the Han dynasty of China by its regional semi-autonomous kings, to resist the emperor's attempt to centralize the government further. Background ...

in , established Zhongshan in the former territory of the rebellious Zhao Kingdom. The date of her death is thought to have been between 118 and 104 BCE, and it remains a point of debate as to whether she died before her husband or after him.

Tomb

Dou Wan's burial is one of few Han elite burials that have not been robbed. The wealth represented by her and Liu Sheng's tombs was unprecedented when it was excavated, with Dou Wan's burial alone containing a total of 5,124 artefacts, including

jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...

, and

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 such ...

Location

The tomb of Dou Wan is located on the eastern slope of a hill known locally as Lingshan (), which lies to the south-west of the

seat in

Hubei Province Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

, to the east of the

Taihang Mountains The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of . The principal peak is ...

. In the

, this area was part of Beiping County () in the north of Zhongshan State. Dou Wan's tomb is located approximately 120 m north of her husband's, and 18 other members of Liu Sheng's family were buried on Lingshan's southern slope.

Discovery

Archaeologists excavated the tomb of Liu Sheng in 1968. When finishing the excavation, they noticed signs of stone cutting on a hill several hundred metres to the north. Test excavations revealed the presence of another large tomb and full excavations were conducted from August to September 1968.

Tomb structure

Dou Wan was buried separately from her husband but their two tombs together form a pair. A 6–14 m wide stone-cut path links the entrance to Dou Wan's tomb with her husband's.

Burial goods

Dou Wan's body was encased in a

constructed from 2,160 pieces of jade stitched together with gold thread. The suit was intricately constructed to fit her body, and the head part is shaped to represent eyes, ears, a nose, and a mouth. Hers and her husband's were the first jade burial suits to be discovered by archaeologists. These burial suits were made to protect the people from the flesh-soul. The common belief of this period was that every human being owned two souls: a flesh-soul and a breath-soul. The breath-soul escapes after the death of a person, but the flesh-soul remains in the body for a period of about a year. The flesh soul was supposed to be very malignant, so the wealthy were plated in jade suits to prevent it from escaping the body. Inside a back chamber of the grave, a house-like construction was found, built to imitate the outside world. Amongst the inventory there was also a number of sexual tools.

Notes

References

* * * Archaeology of China 2nd-century BC Chinese women 2nd-century BC Chinese people {{noble-stub