This thesis studies the jade burial suits of the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), particularly the significance and the role they played in the society of that period.
In the first part thesis examines the jade suits and their importance in the Western Han dynasty (206BC–25AD) it presents the different stages of manufacturing a jade suit and the finds found in China. The second part then continues by describing the development of the idea of immortality and longevity, and the idea of the hunpo 魂魄 ‘soul’. The last chapter focuses on the role and significance of the jade suits. It looks at why jade was used in connection with the afterlife, the transformation of the corpse into a body encased in jade, and the social position in the afterlife.
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