The Northern Wei tomb of Ssu-ma Chin-lung and early Chinese figure painting. (Volumes I and II)

This dissertation focuses on the Northern Wei (386-535) tomb of Ssu-ma Chin-lung, discovered in 1965 near Ta-t'ung in Shansi province. The tomb is significant for its dated inscriptions of A.D. 474 and 484 and its unusually rich burial goods characterized by a mixture of foreign and Chinese elements. The most remarkable find was lacquer fragments painted with figure scenes illustrating a Confucian moralizing text which, in style and content, are in the Han Chinese art tradition.; The objective of the dissertation is to test the hypothesis that Han Chinese culture persisted in north China during the "barbarian" conquest after the fall of Han, albeit on a sub-stratum level, and that contacts with and cultural influences from south China gave impetus to the full Sinification of the Northern Wei ruled by the T'o-pa.; The dissertation discusses the historical circumstances in north China after the fall of Han and the cultural eclecticism of Northern Wei society. It analyzes the Ssu-ma Chin-lung tomb and its contents, specifically the lacquer fragments with painted figure scenes. By tracing the development of early Chinese figure painting and examining the painted fragments in the context of Han art, the Northern Wei painted fragments are shown to exemplify the undercurrents of Han Chinese traditional culture that had survived in Northern Wei society. Stylistically, they represent a culminating point of developments visible in Han art.; Because of the more advanced features seen in sections of the Northern Wei painted fragments, and in light of the crude quality of Han-derived art found in the tombs of the "Sixteen Kingdoms" and the Northern Dynasties, the appearance of the much more expressive style seen in the better sections of the painted fragments is inexplicable without the infusion of outside stimuli. By citing relevant literary sources and comparing archaeological finds from the Southern Dynasties as supporting evidence, the dissertation concludes that the stimuli must have come from south China, where a more sophisticated art prevailed during the period of north-south division in China.