Introduction. 21 



graves; but no such specimens have been preserved in any Chinese 

 collections. 



Siao Tse-hien, the author of the Nan TsH shu ("Annals of the 

 Southern Ts'i dynasty") narrates that in Siang-yang (Hupeh Province) 

 brigands opened an ancient tumulus which according to tradition was 

 that of Chao, king of Ch'u (b. c. 515-489); in the tomb were buried 

 footgear of jade {yii li) and a screen of jade (yii p'ing-feng), the latter 

 being very curious. In another report it is remarked that these jade 

 shoes were the jade clogs of eunuchs (kung jen yii ki), and another 

 tradition in the Ts'i ch'un ts'iu ("Spring and Autumn Annals of Ts'i") 

 has it that people of Siang-yang opened an ancient tumulus, in which 

 there was a jade mirror and ancient records written on bamboo tablets, 

 the characters of which could not be deciphered; only the Buddhist 

 monk K'ien Shan could read them, and it is supposed that this grave 

 is identical with the one mentioned in the "Annals of the Ts'i dynasty." 1 

 The rifling of this tomb may be referred to the year 479 a. d. 2 



There are also reports on the discovery of cuspidors of jade, one of 

 which was found with two bronze swords and sundry articles of gold 

 and jade in the grave of Siang, king of Wei (b. c. 334-286) . 3 Of the 

 interesting jade casks buried with the corpse in the Han period 4 to 

 guard the flesh against decay, none has as yet come to light, unfortu- 

 nately, and there are numberless other types of burial jades of which 



of a circular form and one of the surfaces flat with all the smoothness of a crystal 

 looking glass. The other oval and something spherical, and the polish not so fine. 

 They are of various sizes, but generally 3 or 4 inches in diameter; though I saw one 

 a foot and a half. Its principal surface was concave and greatly enlarged objects, 

 nor could its polish be exceeded by the best workman among us. The gallinazo 

 stone [obsidian?] is very hard, brittle as flint and black color." — Copper mirrors 

 were also used, as reported by Garcilasso de Vega, Royal Commentaries of Peru 

 (Book II, Ch. XVI, 1688, translated by P. Rycaut). "The looking-glasses which 

 the ladies of quality used were made of burnished copper; but the men never used 

 any, for that being esteemed a part of effeminacy, was also a disgrace if not ignominy 

 to them." 



1 Ts'i kuo k'ao, Ch. 8, pp. 7b, 8a, 10a. — The TsH kuo k'ao "Investigations into 

 the Seven States" (which are Ts'in, Ts'i, Ch'u, Chao, Han, Wei and Yen) was 

 compiled by Tung Shuo of the Ming dynasty, in fourteen chapters. Reprinted 

 in Vols. 40-41 of the Collection Shou shan ko ts'ung shu. It contains extracts and 

 notes of culture-historical interest regarding these seven feudal principalities. — 

 Compare on the above passage also Hirth, Chinese Metallic Mirrors (Boas Anni- 

 versary Volume, p. 216), and, in regard to another case of the burial of jade mirrors, 

 De Groot, The Religious System of China, Vol. II, p. 414. 



2 Compare A. Tschepe, Histoire du royaume de Tch'ou, p. 280 (Shanghai, 1903). 



3 De Groot, The Religious System of China, Vol. II, p. 397. 



4 They are frequently mentioned in the Annals of the Han Dynasty. Lu Pu- 

 wei, who died in b. c. 235, reports in his book Lu-shih Ch'un Ts'iu: "Pearls are 

 placed in the mouth of the dead, and fish-scales are added; these are now utilized 

 for interment with the dead." The Commentary to this passage remarks: "To 

 place pearls in the mouth of the dead (han chu) means, to fill the mouth with them; 

 the addition of fish-scales means, to enclose these in a jade casket which is placed 

 on the body of the deceased, as if it should be covered with fish-scales." 



