The first time I learnt about the jade shroud was from a Hong Kong comedy movie called “Modern Bodyguards” “摩登保鏢”, in which the bodyguard wore the shroud and ran away from the robbers.
Jade Shroud Fastened with Gold Threads 金缕玉柙
Gold, Silver, Jadeite | Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-8 AD) | Dimensions – L: 182cm | National Museum of China Collection, Unearthed from Tomb 40 at Bajiaolang, Dingxian, Hebei Province, 1973. 金银丝、玉器｜西汉（公元前202年一公元8年）｜长182 厘米｜中国国家博物馆藏，1973年河北定县八角廊村40号墓出土
The owner of jade shroud is Zhongshan King of Huai Liu Xiu 中山怀王刘脩 (?-55 BC). He is a descendant of Zhongshan King Liu Sheng 中山靖王刘胜1, whose jade shroud was excavated together with his consort Dou Wan 窦绾, which are the only ones found with the bodies still intact in the shrouds.
The Jade Shroud Fastened with Gold Threads 金缕玉柙 (also known as 玉衣) is divided into hood, face cover, top front and back pieces, left and right sleeves, left and right gloves, left and right trousers and left and right foot covers and other parts. It is made up of 1203 pieces of jade pieces, and about 2567 grams of gold thread.
The emperors of the Han Dynasty (202BC—9AD, 25AD—220AD) believed that jade could prevent their corpses from decaying, and they regarded jade as full of dignity and nobility. Jade shrouds are made out of thousands of small pieces of jade. Each piece has holes drilled in the corners. The kind of thread used to tie the jade plates together varied depending on the rank of the person being fitted. Emperors owned the exclusive privilege of using gold thread.
Jadeite as a Funerary Goods
The funeral jade 葬玉, literally is made for the purpose of burial, dates back to Liangzhu Culture period 良渚文化时期 (c. 3300–2300 BC). Many grand tombs in the Liangzhu culture period have yielded quite a lot jade artifacts, and the corpse were fully covered by the jade objects.
In Longshan culture period 龍山文化 (c. 3000- 1900 BC), jade plug 玉琀 began to be carved specifically for being placed into the mouth of the deceased, and this practice was carried on in Shang dynasty.
With the improvement of the funeral rituals in Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 BC-256 BC), , a set of special funeral jade objects used for the deceased in the funeral process was invented accordingly, such as the jade articles for decorating coffin 饰棺用玉, covering the face 玉覆面, plugging into the mouth 玉琀, grasping in the hands of the deceased 玉握, covering the toes 足端殓玉, and offering ceremony 祭祀用玉, as well as the burial Bi 丧葬用璧.
The burial rules were not so strictly followed in Western Han dynasty (202BC—9AD), but they were greatly institutionalised in the Eastern Han dynasty (25AD—220AD). A chapter “Etiquette” 禮儀下 in The Book of Later Han 後漢書/卷96 stated that the Emperors should be armoured after death by the jade suit sewn with gold thread 金缕玉柙; the feudal dukes, first generation marquis, the emperor’s consorts, and princesses, had the jade suit sewn with silver thread 银缕玉柙; emperor’s sisters and other relevant people, had the jade suit sewn with copper wire 铜缕玉柙.
Other Jade Shrouds in China
中山靖王刘胜和王后竇绾的金缕玉衣（现藏于河北博物院）
Statistics suggest that as many as 81 tombs have been found with jade suits and jade coverings in total. At least 10 jade shrouds2 are on display around the museums around the world, including one in Massachusetts although the owner of that shroud was unknown and the relic was not verified. This form of burial disappeared abruptly after the Han dynasty3.
Jade Shroud Sewn with Silk Thread 丝缕玉衣
Silk, Jadeite | Nanyue period (203-111BC) of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-8 AD) | Dimensions – L: 173cm | Museum of the King of Nanyue Collection, Excavated in 1983 from the tomb of the King Wen of Nanyue. 丝、玉器｜西汉南越国时期（公元前204年—公元前111年）｜长173厘米｜南越王博物院藏，1983年南越文王墓出土
In 1983, a jade shroud sewn with silk thread 丝缕玉柙 was discovered from the mausoleum of the King Nanyue in Guangzhou, with the tomb occupant was confirmed to be the second king of Nanyue Zhao Mo 赵眜 (175-124 BC). After restoring, the jade shroud had an overall length of 173cm, composed of 2291 jade plaques totally. Though being a contemporary with Zhongshan King Liu Sheng, Zhao Mo 赵眜 had a crudely made jade suit because he is not a royal, a special exception in the practice of jade burial suit of the mid-Western Han Dynasty.
About Chinese National Treasure Series
中華國寶系列 Chinese National Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
- 劉勝夫婦墓是中國現代最早發現的漢代金縷玉衣實物，印證了古籍中關於漢代「玉匣」一說的真實性，這兩套玉衣，也是中國知名度最高的兩套玉衣。 ↩︎
- （1）西漢中山靖王劉勝夫婦金縷玉衣，1968年出土於滿城陵山中山靖王劉勝墓。現藏河北省博物館（2）西漢南越文王趙昧，1983年出土於廣東省廣州市番禺區南越文王墓，現藏於南越王墓博物館；（3）西漢中山懷王劉脩，1973年出土於河北省定州市東郊中山懷王墓，現藏於中國國家博物館；（4）西漢楚王（第二代楚王劉郢客或第三代楚王劉戊），1995年出土於江蘇省徐州市獅子山楚王墓，現藏於徐州博物館；（5）西漢梁共王劉買，1987年出土於河南省永城市芒碭山柿園漢墓，現藏於河南博物院；（6）西漢梁夷王劉遂，1986年出土於河南省永城市芒碭山僖山漢墓，現藏於河南博物院；（7）西漢廣陵厲王劉胥，1979年出土於江蘇省高郵市天山鄉神居山漢墓，現藏於揚州市漢廣陵王墓博物館；（8）西漢江都易王劉非夫婦，2009年出土於江蘇省盱眙縣大雲山漢墓，現藏於南京博物院；（9）西漢中山孝王劉興，1995年出土於河北省定州市北莊子漢墓，現藏於中國國家博物館；（10）東漢太尉、費亭侯曹嵩，1973年出土於安徽省亳州市董園漢墓，現藏於亳州市博物館。 ↩︎
- 曹魏黄初三年（公元222年），曹丕鉴于汉朝皇陵多遭盗掘，下令禁止穿着玉衣下葬，玉衣开始退出历史舞台。 ↩︎
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