Wright Lesson Three: Chinese Funerary Artifacts

East Asian Art

Suzanne Wright, University of Tennessee

Instructions for Completing the East Asian Art Component

There are three lessons in this component. In order to finish the component, choose two of the three lessons and answer two questions from each of the two lessons you select. When you send your work and it is approved, component five will be completed.

Your answers to both questions should range from 250-500 words (about two double spaced pages in 12 pt. font). This is 250- 500 total, not 250- 500 words each. You may send your answers in an email or as an email attachment at this address edast@utc.edu. Please enter Chinese Funerary Artifacts in the subject line of your e-mail

Component Five, Lesson Three: Chinese Funerary Artifacts

Introduction

This assignment is intended to introduce Chinese concepts of the afterlife and funerary practices.

Teachers should first read Chinese Ideas of Heaven and the Afterlife (Pre-Buddhist)
Read Ancestor Veneration in China
Explore the site Ancient Tombs (the links on the right side of this page lead to information about five different tombs.)
Read Confucius: Han Relief Carving (two pages)
Explore the virtual reconstruction of the Wu family shrines (Note: this is not a tomb, but a shrine for memorial services). Focus on Shrine 3, and be sure to look at the carvings on the three walls but also the two gables and the roof.

Questions (Please answer question one and either question two or three):

(required) How do the subjects of the carvings on the interior of the Wu family shrines reflect the Confucian values of the Wu family?
What do the objects found in early Chinese tombs tell us about Chinese conceptions of the afterlife?
How are Chinese beliefs about death and the afterlife and the responsibility of heirs toward the deceased different from those of the Judaeo-Christian-Islamic religions?

Assignment Links