Spatial and Temporal Narrativity of Pottery Figurines from the Northern Dynasties

In the large and medium-sized tombs of the Northern Dynasties, pottery figurines were very popular funerary objects, and they can be roughly categorized into tomb-guarding figurines, ceremonial figurines, and household figurines according to their functions. The pottery figurines are not a reflection of the tomb owner’s life, but rather create a narrative of space and time in the chamber. The pottery figurines are usually placed in the position between the coffin and the door of the tomb and are arranged on the left and right sides with the tombstone as the center, recreating the grand scene of the burial for the dead and creating a sacrificial space with the tombstone as the center. In this sacrificial space, the pottery figurines not only continue the temporality between the birth and death of the deceased, but also start the journey from death to immortality.