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National Geographic : 1974 Dec
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TO FEND OFF the ravages of time, the wealthiest Han Dynasty nobles of 2,000 years ago com missioned funerary armors of precious jade-a material capable, they believed, of preserving the hu man body forever. This magnificent burial suit, long-hidden gift of an cient artisans, highlights a startling array of archeological finds now tour ing the West as a goodwill gesture of the People's Republic of China. Fashioned for Tou Wan, a Han princess, the regal shroud incorpo rates 2,156 handcrafted jade plaques, and probably took ten man-years to complete. The gold wire, some 24 ounces in all, that links the plaques attests to Lady Tou's social rank. For less exalted members of ancient China's aristocracy, silver or copper wire was used. Inlaid jade enhances the gilded bronze headrest the princess used as pillow for her final sleep. By each hand lay a ritual huang, a crescent of jade. Her attendants also had placed at her sides jade disks called pi, symbols of heaven. The exhibit's 385 artifacts, all un earthed since 1949, span almost the whole of China's cultural develop ment-from a stone hammer more than 400,000 years old to fragile 14th-century porcelains. Nearly two million people have seen these Chinese treasures in Paris, London, Vienna, Stockholm, and most recently at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, where this photograph was made. The show is scheduled to move to Washington, D. C., this December and then to Kansas City next spring. 850
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