Dou Wan () was a Chinese noblewoman of the Western Han dynasty who was married to Liu Sheng, Prince of Zhongshan, a brother of

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi ...

. Her tomb was discovered in Mancheng County, 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. Construction Of the jade suits that have been found, the pieces of jade are mostly square or rectangular in shape, tho ...

, 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 ( zh, s=七国之乱, t=七國之亂, p=Qī Guózhī Luàn) took place in 154 BC against the rule of Emperor Jing of Han dynasty by its regional semi-autonomous kings, to resist ...

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 an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

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 c ...

, 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 metalloid ...

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 Mancheng County seat in

Hubei Province Hubei is a province in Central China. It has the seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland provinces. Its provincial capital at Wuhan serves as a major politi ...

, 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 ; its principal peak is ...

. In the

Western Han The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring int ...

, 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

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