CHAPTER IV. 



Ornaments. 



§ 1. S^obel a o f i Baparia l dignity and fertilizing raiii,_ repi:!aa6iitgd 

 ^,on garments, honorary gates, coffins etc 



As we have seen above (Ch. 1, § 2, p. 39), the Shu king states 

 that the dragon belonged to the emblematic figur es depictej __oa_ 

 the upper sacrihcial garment: of _Lli e EmperOfT" 



It is not to be wondered at that tbis^divinPi giypr of rain, at 

 the same time symbol of a good sov ereign and his bliss fnl 

 government^^s hould be represented among the Imperial ornaments. 

 ~Th e~so^^called shah ( ^ ) are described by_ DE G-root ' as square 

 boards of wood covered with white linen, yi['^i-h^ha.x\f\^(^si fivf^ fppt. 

 lo ng, whip.h in ann ^n t t ImQ s w ^rf^ n^irr(ZA Kg h in d +^^ fnn ort]i 

 cars of grandees, and were plan te d inside the pit when the cof Bn 

 had been lowered into the grave. These shah d i^layed-the-rapk 

 of the grandees b jT emb1e ma±icaL-figftr-as^"The Kien-lung edition 

 of the Three Rituals suggests that the two shah which the Son 

 of Heaven had in addition to the six of a feudal prince, were 

 painted with a dragon, the characteristic symbol of the imperial 

 dignity" ^ 



Fou r pedest als_o f the qu inquepartit e decora tive ga te at the 

 Tmp^^j^Mi^g toT^^T' "'^iapjay, on every face,_anji.nperi al Dragon, 



-iiSTiai~T3Tffblems'~accompanyiB 



soaring inthe_ 



di vine distributor of fruc tifying rains, namely clouds_ and stars" ^ 

 ^'-aT jrj^p abaft nf p.ap.h3^(flQEirfrmT- co l am iTg;^m'T5e~prolongation of 

 the diftgcniaJs~T)f~^TC~taMet'hf)aise— iB^4he-axe^ 

 Min g Tombs) is sculptured with a gi'gantic _ dr.agon, coilJng ltseTT^ 

 around it as if climbing the skies"*. 



Wi l li ji'egar d-^te~ honorary gat es-^Ds Groot remarks that the 

 tablet placed perpendicularly underneath their highest roof, 



1 Rel. Sijst., Vol. I, pp. 18.5 sqq. 



2 P. i87, fig. 20, a picture of a shah adorned with a dragon. 



3 De Groot, 1. 1., Vol. Ill, p. 1193, plate XL. 



4 P. 1194. 



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