International studio (80.1925)

mceRnACionAL

AN EARLY T'ANG STABLE BOY Collection of A. W. Bahr

It became customary to place in the grave objects
otherwise unfit for use. Confucius advocated this,
perhaps in the cause of economy, but more par-
ticularly to emphasize that these things were for
the use of the soul and should therefore be no
more than symbols of what was used in life. "The
bamboo instruments are not quite fit for use," he
says, "those of stoneware cannot well be washed,
nor can those of wood be carved. The citherns and
lutes are strung but not tuned; the mouth organs
and Pandean pipes are in good order, but not
attuned to the same key; there are also bells and
sonorous stones, but no stands to suspend them
from. These things are called instruments for the
manes because they are for the use of human souls."

The images of human beings for the graves
were made of earthenware, wood and straw, while

in Han times (206 B. C.-271 A. D.) there were a
few instances of the use of copper. Confucius
favored straw, for he feared that wood or pot-
tery figures, being more hfe-hke, might cause a
relapse into the savage customs of the past. The
pottery figures, being both numerous and sturdy,
have naturally had the best chance of surviving.
In the main they are a jolly lot, smiling musi-
cians, ingratiating dancers, gracious ladies, husky
grooms and servants, bold soldiers, and a definite
company of mourners whose sad countenances
were to assure the dead that he was missed lest
the equable company in which he found himself
might cause him to wonder. Their peculiar long
sleeves are simply a convention of mourning.
The best tomb figures are of the Wei (386-
557 A. D.) and T'ang (618-906 A. D.) periods.

A WEI OFFICIAL Collection oj A. \V. Babr

three hundred Jour

JANUARY 1925