Afterlife

1. Chinese Sculpture Chinese sculpture is an art form that has been closely linked to Chinese funerary rites since ancient times. Throughout history, the symbolic protection of important tombs or imperial pantheons by means of life-size or large statues can be seen. In addition, small sculptures of objects, characters and productive activities were also buried in the tombs to accompany the deceased in the afterlife. The introduction of Buddhism meant an enrichment of styles and volumes and the appearance of the first religious and monumental sculptures. The most famous funerary statues are the life-size terracotta warriors of Xi'an, guardians of the tomb of the First Emperor. Then there are the large stone statues of the "Spirit Way" leading to the Ming tombs in Beijing, In all these cases (like the Han and Tang tombs of Xi'an and the Ming tombs of Nanjing) there are representations of real or fantastic animals, guardians or solicitous officials. Ming Dynasty Tombs As for the grave goods, the Neolithic finds have shown the oldest Chinese sculpture known to date: small zoomorphic or anthropomorphic bone and wood objects, jade pieces (discs or human and animal figurines). From the Shang onwards, the latter were found in the…