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Reed mouth organ yu
![Reed mouth organ yu Early Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C. -163 B. C.) Length: 78cm Unearthed from Xin Zhui’s tomb. The yu, being a funerary object made of bamboo and wood, was unearthed intact. The yu is a wind instrument with a wide range. The idiom “pretend to play the yu to make up the number for an orchestra”, or in other words, to fill a post without real qualifications, indicates the popularity of the yu at the time. Another yu was also unearthed from Li Xi’s tomb. The yu’s exterior was damaged, but the internal structure is intact. It is the earliest real yu ever discovered, and it indicates that the tomb owner loved playing yu during his lifetime. Reed mouth organ yu](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/%E7%AB%BD6114_0.png?itok=ZxI6GsDm)
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Liubo chess set
![Liubo chess set Early Western Han Dynasty (206 to 168 BC) Height 17cm, length: 45cm, width: 45. Unearthed from Tomb No.3 (Li Xi’s Tomb) Liubo was an elegant competitive game. It was already commonplace in the pre-Qin era, and became especially popular during the Han Dynasty. Everyone loved to play, from the emperor and his officials to the common folk. This liubo set included one liubo board, 12 large playing pieces - six white and six black, twenty small playing pieces, 42 chips, a carving knife, a sharpening knife and a dice, all contained in a lacquered box. The dice has 18 sides, featuring the numbers 1-16, and the remaining two sides with two Chinese characters respectively. When playing, two players sit down on the two sides of the board and face each other, holding black and white chess pieces respectively. Two players would alternately cast the die and move the chessman, and the one who obtained more chips would be the winner. Liubo chess set](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/6070-1.png?itok=rsDre1ho)
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Dinnerware on a lacquer tray with cloud design
![Dinnerware on a lacquer tray with cloud design Early Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C. -163 B. C.) Unearthed from Xin Zhui’s tomb Five small lacquer dishes containing food, 2 lacquer zhi and 1 eared cup were arranged on the lacquer tray at the time of unearthing. There was also a skewer used for holding pieces of meatand one pair of bamboo chopsticks, making it convenient to drink wine and eat food. It suggests that nobles ate their meals on individual tray in the Han Dynasty. A separate tray was placed in front of each person, with a set of dinnerware. Dinnerware on a lacquer tray with cloud design](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/43.%E4%BA%91%E7%BA%B9%E6%BC%86%E6%A1%88%E5%8F%8A%E6%9D%AF%E7%9B%98.jpg?itok=zxfHDAcT)
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Painted two-tiered lacquer toiletry case with nine small boxes
![Painted two-tiered lacquer toiletry case with nine small boxes Early Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 163 B. C.) Height 20.8cm; diameter at mouth: 35.2cm Unearthed from Xin Zhui’s Tomb. The toiletry case contained the toiletry items, cosmetics and personal items of the tomb owner during her lifetime. In ancient time, both men and women had long hairs and hence all needed the costmetic box. It was wrapped in gauze with “Xin Qi embroidery” when unearthed. The body of the case is divided into top and bottom tiers. The upper tier contained three pairs of mitts, a soft silk scarf, a cord and a silk mirror bag with “longevity embroidery.” There are nine small boxes in the case, which contain makeup, rouge, a silk powder puff, two combs ( shu and bi), a hairpiece and a pack of needles. The exterior of the box is decorated with a painted cloud design. Painted two-tiered lacquer toiletry case with nine small boxes](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/45-6168_5.jpg?itok=xmMSJwBI)
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Printed and painted gauze
![Printed and painted gauze Western Han Dynasty Length: 59cm, width: 40cm Unearthed from Xin Zhui’s tomb. Clothing material. The design on it is a morphing pattern with vines, consisting of branches, tendrils, buds, flowers and leaves. Slightly lozenge -shaped in outline, the patterns are intricately arranged and connected with each other. The curving tendrils are printed on the fabric while the buds, flowers and leaves are painted. This is the earliest textile ever discovered that combines printing and painting methods, and is a masterpiece of printed and painted fabric from ancient China. Three silk-floss padded garments made from printed and painted gauze were unearthed from the same tomb. This gorgeous, fashionable material was evidently favored by female noblewomen of the time. Printed and painted gauze](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/51-%E5%8E%9F6268%E5%8D%B0%E8%8A%B1%E6%95%B7%E5%BD%A9%E7%BA%B1%E6%8D%A2%E6%88%90%E6%AD%A46381%EF%BC%8C%E5%B0%BA%E5%AF%B8%EF%BC%9A%E9%95%BF59%E3%80%81%E5%AE%BD40%E5%8E%98%E7%B1%B3.jpg?itok=5ynieMYO)
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Embroidered cloud-riding pattern on qi silk with paired bird lozenge pattern
![Embroidered cloud-riding pattern on qi silk with paired bird lozenge pattern Western Han Dynasty Length: 39cm, width: 34cm Unearthed from Xin Zhui’s tomb. Clothing material. Nearly 50 pieces of embroidered clothing were unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tombs. Needles and thread were used in place of brushes and ink to embroider the pattern, which had been outlined in ink. “Chain stitch”, “needle stitch” and other embroidery techniques were used. A chain stitch technique was used to portray phoenixes partially obscured by rolling clouds in three colors of threads: vermilion, reddish brown and olive green. The meaning here is “phoenixes riding on clouds”, so it is referred to as “Cloud-riding embroidery” in the tomb inventory of burial objects. Embroidered cloud-riding pattern on qi silk with paired bird lozenge pattern](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/56-6377%E9%BB%84%E8%A4%90%E8%89%B2%E5%AF%B9%E9%B8%9F%E8%8F%B1%E7%BA%B9%E7%BB%AE%E5%9C%B0%E2%80%9C%E4%B9%98%E4%BA%91%E7%BB%A3.jpg?itok=v3bEny_J)
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Plain unlined gauze gown
![Plain unlined gauze gown Early Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to 163 B. C.) Length: 128cm, overall length of sleeves: 190cm, weight: 49g Unearthed from Xin Zhui’s tomb. The gauze gown with a straight lapel has an opening at the right side. It weighs 49 grams. This fabric, which is as thin as a cicada’s wing, was described by the people of the Han Dynasty as “light as clouds and mist”. Most scholars think this translucent piece of clothing may have been worn on the outside of fancy clothing to enhance its beauty, giving it a gorgeous dreamlike quality. Others believe it was worn as underwear. This piece of clothing, the earliest, thinnest and lightest discovered to date, showcases Western Han weaving technology at its peak, and represents the highest standards in silkworm cultivation, harvesting and weaving techniques in the early Han Dynasty. Plain unlined gauze gown](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/66.%E7%9B%B4%E8%A3%BE%E7%B4%A0%E7%BA%B1%E5%8D%95%E8%A1%A3%20%206277.jpg?itok=-T6Zwtdo)
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Floss silk padded robe with lozenge pattern on vermilion luo silk robe
![Floss silk padded robe with lozenge pattern on vermilion luo silk robe Western Han Dynasty Length: 140cm, overall length of the sleeves: 245cm, width at waist: 52cm Unearthed from Xin Zhui’s tomb. The robe with a cross-collar and a diagonal lapel was made of vermilion lozenge-patterned luo silk. It has an opening at the right side. With the lining and edges made of plain juan silk, the robewas padded with silk floss. Verminlion is a very bright color. The red dye mainly contains mercuric sulphide which isalso called cinnabar. Finely and evenly dyed, the gauze’s pores appear very clear without being blocked. It reflects a rather high level in making dyes, such as mercuric sulphide, and in dyeing techniques. Such kind of silk robes were presumably favored by Xin Zhui and it was also the fashionable clothes of the early Han Dyansty. Most of the clothes unearthed from Xin Zhui’s tomb were in very bright and gorgeous colors, with mysterious and romantic patterns weaved, printed or painted. They reflect the magani Floss silk padded robe with lozenge pattern on vermilion luo silk robe](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/64-%E6%9C%B1%E7%BA%A2%E8%8F%B1%E7%BA%B9%E7%BD%97%E4%B8%9D%E7%BB%B5%E8%A2%8D%20%206286_A.jpg?itok=Ly8bOkFt)
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Book copied on silk, Divination Based on the Observation of Five Planets
![Book copied on silk, Divination Based on the Observation of Five Planets Western Han Dynasty Length 221cm, width 49cm Unearthed from Li Xi’s Tomb This is the world’s oldest existing work of astronomy, and is made up of two parts, the divination text and the positional tables. The positional tables record the positions of Venus, Jupiter and Saturn for 70 years, from the first year of the reign of Qin Shihuang (BC246), to the third year of the reign of Emperor Wen of Han (BC177). Venus’ synodic period was measured at 584.4 days, just 0.48 days more than today’s measurement of 583.92 days. Saturn’s synodic period was measured at 377 days, just 1.09 days less than today’s measurement, and its sidereal period was measured at 30 years, 0.54 years more than today’s measurement of 29.46 years. This information reflects the advanced astronomical achievements made at the time in China. Book copied on silk, Divination Based on the Observation of Five Planets](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/69-7185%E4%BA%94%E6%98%9F%E5%8D%A018.jpg?itok=pleZ3P-S)
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Book copied on silk, Divination by Astrological and Meteorological Phenomena
![Book copied on silk, Divination by Astrological and Meteorological Phenomena Early Western Han Dynasty (206 to 168 BC) Length: 58.5cm, width: 31cm Unearthed from Li Xi’s tomb. This manuscript concerns divination through the interpretation of astrological and meteorological phenomena. Around 250 images of various celestial phenomena, including clouds, gases, stars and comets were painted in red and black in this silk book, accompanied by short explanatory texts. The 29 pictures of comets have the highest scientific value. A name was given to each comet, which was depicted with a head and a tail. Except for the very last one, they are all facing downwards, with their tails pointing up, in line with the scientific principle that a comet’s tail always points away from the Sun. This is adequate evidence that China had made remarkable achievements in comet observation more than 2,000 years ago. Book copied on silk, Divination by Astrological and Meteorological Phenomena](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/70-%E5%A4%A9%E6%96%87%E6%B0%94%E8%B1%A1%E6%9D%82%E5%8D%A0.jpg?itok=Gh6YZI7P)
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T-shaped painting on silk from Xin Zhui’s tomb
![T-shaped painting on silk from Xin Zhui’s tomb Early Western Han dynasty (206 to 163 B. C.) Length 205cm, width at top 92cm, width at bottom 47.7cm Unearthed in 1972 from Tomb No. 1 at Mawangdui, Changsha city The T-shaped silk painting is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. It was then laid on the innermost coffin at the burial. It was composed of three layers of fine silk, the top of which was supported by a bamboo rod wrapped with silk ribbons. The silk painting could be raised up. The middle and the four bottom corners are decorated with tassels made of hemp in dark green color. This was a banner carried at the front in the funeral procession, and it was then laid on the innermost coffin at the burial. With the ink drawing and heavy-coloured drawing techniques, the painting can be divided into the heavenly world, the human world and the underworld from the top to the bottom. In the part of the heavenly world are the sun with its crow, the moon with its toad and rabbit, Zhu Long (a mythical god in T-shaped painting on silk from Xin Zhui’s tomb](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/87.%E4%B8%80%E5%8F%B7%E5%A2%93T%E5%BD%A2%E5%B8%9B%E7%94%BB%206352.jpg?itok=XPxu3BRL)
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Coffin with painted designs on black lacquer coating
![Coffin with painted designs on black lacquer coating Early Western Han dynasty (206 to 163 B. C.) Length 256cm, width 118cm, height 114cm Unearthed from Xin Zhui’s tomb Second outermost coffin. The inside of the coffin is painted in vermilion, and the outside has a black lacquer background painted with bold yet graceful cloud patterns. More than 110 designs of fantastical creatures are interspersed among the clouds, such as “fairy subduing leopard”, “sprite handling snake”, “giant bird carrying fish in beak” and “fairy strumming the guqin.” These fanciful designs are smoothly executed in a vivid style. The sprites, birds and animals all take different forms, and are painted in an incredibly lifelike way, with myriad variations, and have a strong romantic feel to them, highlighting the fertile imagination and well-honed skills of the artisans. The lifelike images of sprites and animals painted on the black lacquer coffin are there to indicate that the spirit of the deceased is entering a realm that is under th Coffin with painted designs on black lacquer coating](https://web.hnmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/zhuanti_squareimg/public/91.%20%E9%BB%91%E5%9C%B0%E5%BD%A9%E7%BB%98%E6%A3%BA%206106_A_2.jpg?itok=TOSYWXoz)