Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 18. (Budapest, 1999)

Györgyi FAJCSÁK: The hun soul's wanderings. A pair of Chinese burial jars from the 13th century

have had its roots in the shamanism of this southern region in the Warring States period (5th-3rd c. B. C.) Parallel with the cult of Mt. Kunlun the cult of immortals also became an increasingly important cultural phenomenon from the late Zhou period onwards. The realms of immortals were placed in the great mountains, especially in the sacred mountains. From the late 1st century B. C. onwards the cult of the Queen Mother of the West became popular among people in the larger area of China, and in the cult of Mt. Kunlun the mountain was identified as her seat, or as a path to reach her. Worship of her as a goddess residing on Mt. Kunlun as the main deity of immortals also began also in the 1st century B. C. She appeared as a human-shape deity with tiger's teeth in leopard's skin in the early representations. Later she became a beautiful lady, the goddess of the wu spirits collecting the elixir of immortality. Therefore the cult of the Queen Mother of the West as goddess of immortals and goddess of Mt. Kunlun became an important factor in funerals. Desire for immortality, belief in the ascent of the hun soul to a paradise of the immortals, which was assimilated to Mt. Kunlun, became the major theme of Han art. In Han tomb decoration the image of the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu) had implications regarding the ascent of the soul of the deceased through Mt. Kunlun as a cosmic pillar, not through any other existing sacred mountains. The ascent itself was to give way increasingly to evocations of the pleasures of the next world, to representations of the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu), who reigns over this paradise, and of protective beasts and emblems. Among the protective beasts there are the four guardian animals, common decorative motifs of Han art. Among the animals depicted on the funerary items there were several mythical and real, as well as protective and fierce beings. Several figures gradually rose from the generality of animals, those who were responsible for the order of the world. A complete system of mythical figures began to develop in the Han period and the four guardian animals were constant elements in this system. In spite of some alterations the guardian of the east was the dragon, the guardian of the south was the bird, the guardian of the west was the tiger and the guardians of the north were the snake and the tortoise. The dragon and the tiger were also responsible for the circle of the seasons, and the bird and the guardian of the north harmonized the forces of y in and yang. SHAPE AND DECORATION OF THE SONG BURIAL JARS The forms and decorations on Chinese burial objects are closely connected with the beliefs about the netherworld. Burial jars (guiyiping) of the Song dynasty (960-1279) reflect the ideas of the afterworld, and particularly the belief in the ethereal soul (hun) which travelled after death to a realm of immortals. The high oval jars decorated with appliqué figures on the neck and on their covers excavated in the tombs dated to the Six Dynasties (4th-6th c. A. D.) reflected Buddhist ideas regarding the afterworld. Around the base the vase was undecorated, but on the neck and on the cover various scenes were applied showing figures, houses and utensils. Mainly buildings, lowers and houses with human figures and seated Buddha figures decorated the Six Dynasty burial jars containing ashes of deceased Buddhist persons/

9 The burial jars of the Northern Song dynasty go back to the celadon ware of the Tang dynasty (7-10. c). They were made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, as representatives of typical Chinese late Song and early Yuan qingbai ceramics. Tang dynasty vases decorated with appliqué twisting