Virgil Nunan
ARTH 1300
Alexander W. Penn, Section 102
December 2, 2016
THE HAN DYNASTY DOG: A KEY FIGURE IN ANCIENT CHINESE TOMBS
Unidentified Artist, Dog, 1st Century CE – 3rd Century CE
Earthenware, Glaze
Height: 12.5 inches; Width: 13 inches; Depth: 4.5 inches
Eastern Han Dynasty
1
In ancient Chinese dynasties, ceramic sculptures of animals were frequently used in the
funereal process. Specifically, sculptures of dogs primarily served to protect both the tomb and
those buried within. The sculptural figure of the dog examined in this paper was from the Han
Dynasty period (the “Han Dynasty Dog”). This paper will explore historical evidence supporting
this claim—i.e., the purported function of the Han Dynasty Dog—by looking to contextual
information about the Han Dynasty, astrological descriptions of dogs, and physical evidence
found in tombs.
The Han Dynasty lasted from 206 BCE to 220 CE.1 During that time, numerous political
and social changes took place. Liu Bang was a peasant who rose through the ranks to become
Emperor of the new Han Dynasty. Before his rise to power, China had been ruled by a system of
Legalism; a government that enforced adherence to law and restricted free choice.2 Liu Bang
fused values of Confucianism—a system based off of social equality—and Legalism to reform
the new Dynasty’s method of governance.3 This restructuring helped to bring people, ideas, and
goods closer through trade. One result of the Han Dynasty that was carried forward into new
dynasties was the Silk Road, a trade route which was used to spread the influence of goods and
services throughout the dynasty into other countries and cultures.4
The existence of the Silk Road, which allowed ideas to spread throughout the dynasty,
enables us now to compare findings in tombs from later dynasties to the Han Dynasty Dog. For
example, if a figure from the Tang dynasty (which lasted from 618 to 906 CE, hundreds of years
1
The Great Courses, The Great Empire of the Han Dynasty, Lecture, Performed by Gregory
Aldrete (2011; The Great Courses, 2011), Online Video.
2
Merriam Webster Online. Accessed November 27, 2016. http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/legalism
3
Ibid.
4
Stacey Pierson. Chinese Ceramics. (London: V & A, 2009), 78.
2
after the Han Dynasty ended)5 had similar characteristics to the figure of the Han Dynasty Dog,
we assume that such similarities were not a coincidence, and that those characteristics were
influenced by Han Dynasty ideas. In fact, while Tang Dynasty tombs were built on the premise
that they would be less extravagant than Han Dynasty tombs, the end result was a continuation of
the Han Dynasty burial traditions.6 This comparison will allow for an analysis of the figure of
the Han Dynasty Dog in the context of regime change in Chinese history.
During the Tang Dynasty, ceramic figures evolved to include sculptures of “heavenly
kings” and “guardian beasts.”7 This is important because it sheds light on a possible use for the
Han Dynasty Dog as a guard dog or a religious symbol of those buried in that tomb. In Chinese
Astrology, the dog is “fiercely defensive of friends and family.”8 The figure of the Han Dynasty
Dog in tombs could be the embodiment of the idea of a guardian, or watch dog. The guardian
aspect of the dog is meant to protect against ghosts that exist to carry out “post-mortem
judgment”9 on individuals buried in Chinese tombs. Dogs do not just protect humans from harm
by others, they also protect the structure in which its family lives; shielding against damage from
elements like water and wind.10 During the Han Dynasty, protecting the two aspects of the soul,
one that entered heaven and one that stayed grounded on Earth,11 gained importance and
therefore increased the significance of the earthenware dog figures. In this sense, the Han
Dynasty Dog not only protected the spirit of the person buried, but also the physical properties of
5
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Chinese ceramics: a new comprehensive survey from the
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco / He Li. (New York: Rizzoli, 1996), 334.
6
S. J. Vainker. Chinese Pottery and Porcelain / From Prehistory to the Present. (London:
British Museum Press, 1991), 78
7
Ibid.
8
Derek Walters. The Chinese Astrology Bible. (New York: Sterling Publishing Co Inc, 2009), 58
9
Patricia Ebrey. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1996), 71
10
Walters. The Chinese Astrology Bible, 58
11
Ebrey. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 71
3
the tomb itself. The Han Dynasty Dog’s oversized head and fierce aspect support its guardian
functions.
The figure of the dog might serve more than a symbolic purpose; it is possible that it
served a functional purpose. Observing the physical characteristics of the sculpture itself, there is
a hole on the backside of the dog where the tail would normally be located. One hypothesis for
the hole’s function is that it was used to fill the figure with some sort of liquid or small grain.
Indeed, burial ceramics “included figurines as well as jars for burials of grain offering.”12 This is
not far-fetched because the hole would be used to “accommodate a separately molded tail.”13
The sculptor a) did not want to make the tail permanently attached to the figure or b) made a tail
to be used as a lid so that materials could be stored inside of the figure before it was buried in a
tomb. The figure also has a harness that is finished in a loop behind the dog’s head. This is a
place to attach a leash, although it does not appear to have any meaning in the context of
funerary purposes.
It is useful to examine the figure of the Han Dynasty Dog in the context of the other
figures buried in the same tomb. The study of Daoist “wushi” explores the occurrence of five
minerals found in the tombs of ancient Chinese Dynasties. Wushi literally translates to five
minerals.14 The five minerals were meant to prevent “the body and soul of the deceased from the
tortures of the hells and benefiting his or her descendants .”15 These minerals were stored inside
of pottery vessels which explains a possible use for the dog figure. A pottery jar discovered
12
Pierson. Chinese Ceramics, 80.
13
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Chinese ceramics, 114.
14
Xiaoqi Wang, Liu Weipeng, Xie Gaowen, Zhang Mengqun, and Dong Saochun. “An
Interdisciplinary Investigation on Daoist Wushi (五石, Five Minerals) Unearthed from Three
tombs dated to the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25–220) in Xianyang City, China,” Journal of
Cultural Heritage 18, (2016): 349
15
Ibid.
4
during a tomb exploration from an Eastern Han Dynasty site was inscribed with instructions on
how to construct a proper tomb for the deceased: “[s]et up an altar with wushi… inside to keep
the peace of the tomb owner and his posterity.”16 Since there are five minerals of importance in
Daoist wushi (each have varying properties from color to magnetic attraction),17 and assuming
that there would be five vessels to hold each mineral, it means that the Han Dynasty Dog would
have been accompanied by other figures or objects. As evidence, a figure of a horse discovered
in a Tang Dynasty tomb is hollow, and was molded together from separate parts.18 This horse
figure, and others like it, could have held wushi minerals. It is unknown which mineral the Han
Dynasty Dog would have held.
Objects found in tombs reflected the power and wealth of those buried inside.19 The
figure of the dog may have represented characteristics or traits of the person in the tomb in which
it was found. Looking again to Chinese Astrology, instead of focusing on the symbolism of the
dog itself, it is useful to examine the human characteristics of a person born in the “year of the
dog.” For example, the statement that “the Dog is a lover of the countryside and open spaces”20
is an astrological characteristic of “Dog people.” Perhaps the person buried in the tomb with the
Han Dynasty Dog exhibited characteristics of the astrological dog, and therefore should be
accompanied by one after death.
A simple, yet elegant explanation for the Han Dynasty Dog is its place in the everyday
life of the person buried in the tomb. Burial ceramics in the Han Dynasty were divided into two
major categories: pots “used by the deceased” and “models of anything relevant to everyday
16
Ibid. 353
17
Ibid. 350
18
Vainker. Chinese Pottery and Porcelain / From Prehistory to the Present, 80
19
Jiao Nanfeng. “On the Construction Concept of Western Han Imperial Mausoleums,” Chinese
Archaeology 8, no. 1 (2008): 183
20
Walters. The Chinese Astrology Bible, 59
5
life.”21 This reflects a possible connection between the Han Dynasty Dog and the person buried
in the tomb. Perhaps the dog lived with the person during their dying days, or had been a
childhood friend, and it was buried with them to keep company with their soul.
The Han Dynasty Dog was placed into the tombs of ancient Chinese dynasties to protect
the physical characteristics of the tomb, to guard the soul of those buried within, to speak to the
human characteristics of the deceased, and to reflect the person’s life before death.
21
Vainker. Chinese Pottery and Porcelain / From Prehistory to the Present, 42
6
Bibliography
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Chinese ceramics: a new comprehensive survey from the
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco / He Li. New York: Rizzoli, 1996.
Ebrey, Patricia. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1996.
Merriam Webster Online. Accessed November 27, 2016. http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/legalism
Nanfeng, Jiao. “On the Construction Concept of Western Han Imperial Mausoleums,” Chinese
Archaeology 8, no. 1 (2008): 178-184.
Pierson, Stacey. Chinese Ceramics. London: V & A, 2009.
Vainker, S. J. Chinese Pottery and Porcelain / From Prehistory to the Present. London: British
Museum Press, 1991.
Walters, Derek. The Chinese Astrology Bible. New York: Sterling Publishing Co Inc, 2009.
Wang, Xiaoqi, Weipeng, Liu, Gaowen, Xie, Mengqun, Zhang and Saochun, Dong. “An
Interdisciplinary Investigation on Daoist Wushi (五石, Five Minerals) Unearthed from Three
tombs dated to the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25–220) in Xianyang City, China,” Journal of
Cultural Heritage 18, (2016): 349-359.