Tomb Architecture of Shang-Han (c. 1600 BCE–220 CE)

Tomb architecture in China has a rich history and is characterized by its diversity, complexity, and symbolism. In different geographical and cultural contexts, “architecture” is often defined differently and includes different topics. For this article, the “tomb architecture” focuses on the architectural matters of early Chinese tombs, such as the construction and the internal and external structures. Literature regarding the funerary traditions in general and the buried artefacts (the grave goods) is rich but not covered here. In China, the earliest tomb construction emerged in the Neolithic period. From 7000 to 5000 bce, communal cemeteries appeared in some early societies. These cemeteries were often located either in or near residential areas. The common type of tomb was the so-called shaft tomb, or pit tomb, which was built by digging a vertical pit in the ground to hold the body and the grave goods. From 5000 to 2000 bce, most tombs continued to use this structure, although the inequality among buried individuals, indicated by the quantity and quality of the grave goods, increased significantly. In many tombs, timber coffins or nested coffins were used to hold the deceased. In some tombs, additional structures such as the secondary ledge (ercengtai二层台), an earthen surface constructed along the pit walls; the waist pit (yaokeng腰坑), an additional small pit under the coffin; and the niche (bikan壁龛), a recess on the wall were added, facilitating the needs to accommodate and display more grave goods. The first radical change to this shaft tomb tradition occurred in the late Shang period (c. 1250–1046 bce). Elite tombs, both in Anyang and its neighboring regions, became much larger, deeper, and more complicated than their forerunners. In Anyang, some large tombs were constructed at a special, moat-surrounded location, providing the earliest example of a cemetery complex separated from residential districts. The Zhou elites inherited these architectural inventions after they conquered Shang. During the Zhou period (c. 1045–256 bce), there was increasing interregional exchange. Elite tombs of the Zhou period not only became much bigger but also added new elements from various origins, such as the tomb mound (fengtu封土) and the horizontal division of the interior space, often by adopting a multichamber structure. These changes led to the tomb of the First Emperor (reign 221–210 bce), which was also the grandest tomb in East Asia in the first millennium bce. In the following Han period (206 bce–220 ce), new changes appeared in tomb architecture. In particular, chamber tombs, sometimes cut on the rocks and with horizontal rooms (chambers), replaced vertical shaft tombs and became the major tomb type, especially for royal and high-elite members. This horizontal tomb architecture became a predominant standard in later dynasties.