La tombe à linceul de jade du roi de Nanyue à Canton

Abstract

In 1983, the tomb of the second king of Nanyue was brought to light on a small granitic hillock, mount Xianggang, in Canton. Well preserved and unviolated, the sepulture was deeply dug into the top of the hill and its chambers were entirely built of sandstone blocks. It provides important clues on the evolution of kingly burial practices as well as on the organization of feudal royalty during the Western Han dynasty. Chinese ruler of an independent kingdom, populated mostly by Yue Barbarians (related to the Dôngsonian people of protohistoric Vietnam), Zhao Mei (who died between 128 and 117 BC), identified by his seals, was dressed in a jade suit and rested in a set of lacquered woodcaskets. Accompanied by fourteen human victims, he was surrounded with numerous exquisitely crafted goods. The burial objects (among which a few situlae (bronze buckets) were the only Yue objects) give information on the process of diffusion of the Han culture, that little by little replaced the Yue one, as well as on the technical and economic level of a kingdom, where metallurgy was locally practiced and where sea trade was flourishing.