A Study On The Tomb Of Zhongshan In Warring States Period

The cultural landscape and its assimilation into the mainstream Huaxia(华夏)culture of Zhongshan, a vassal state established by ethnic minorities from the north of China during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), occupies an important position in the study of the historical and cultural evolution of the Warring States Period as a whole. The excavation of Lingshou City and two mausoleums of rulers of the Zhongshan State in Pingshan County, Hebi Province, has not only filled in blanks in historical records, but also served as precious basis for the study on the culture of the Zhongshan State.This thesis tries to trace the transition of the cultural identity of the Zhongshan State based on exploration on the planning and construction of the Zhongshan Imperial Mausoleums from the perspective of art history.Different from previous studies either in terms of archeology or art history which tend to look at an object or a category isolatedly, this thesis tries to examine sites, mausoleums and funerary objects against the same background from the perspective of the creation of artworks. The author believes that not only the objects in the mausoleum can be taken as artworks, but also the process from planning to construction of the imperial mausoleum itself can be interpreted as a process of creating an artwork by manpower. The form, location and the city an imperial mausoleum is located in were never improvised, rather, all these factors were carefully designed and planned before construction. This is the basis for the author’s opinion that when looking at a mausoleum, it can be seen as an artwork with the process from planning to construction and its relations with the creators into consideration.The author believes that the Zhongshan Mausoleum of Prince Cuo serves as an optimal example to look at the process from planning to construction of a tomb. Examination of this mausoleum indicates that the creation of a mausoleum, which can be seen as an artwork, involves many groups of creators. Ideas of these creators, influenced and restrained by historical and social factors, competed with each other in the prolonged process of construction and determined the final look of the mausoleum. Looking at a mausoleum based on the time and space it was in gives us a brand new perspective of understanding the giant artwork from the eyes of designers and builders.