The Invisible Miniature: Framing the Soul in Chinese Art and Architecture

Abstract

Countless miniature forms furnished ancient Chinese tombs. Created over several millennia, these include sculptures, furniture, and mortuary structures and other objets. This essay investigates the fundamental reason for this phenomenon by connecting these forms with the belief in the posthumous soul. Focusing on three groups of objects and architectonic forms -funeral pillows and sarcophagi decorated with tiny entrances, 'soul jars' on which were placed miniature buildings and figures, and tomb chambers of diminishing sizes -the essay explores their ritual significance in facilitating the soul's movement, constructing spaces as the soul's resting places, and providing the soul with nourishment and care in the afterlife. It shows that these physical miniature forms have no independent value because they all signify, frame, and allude to the soul as the essence of the human subject, an 'invisible miniature' inhabiliting these underground ritual spaces.