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1 Some Observations on Stone Winged Chimeras at Ancient Chinese Tomb Sites Author(s): Barry Till Source: Artibus Asiae, Vol. 42, No. 4 (1980), pp Published by: Artibus Asiae Publishers Stable URL: Accessed: 22/10/ :34 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Artibus Asiae Publishers is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Artibus Asiae.

2 BARRY TILL SOME OBSERVATIONS ON STONE WINGED CHIMERAS AT ANCIENT CHINESE TOMB SITES* Winged chimeras form one of the most important groups within the domain of Chinese vtomb sculpture and hold a key position in early Chinese animal sculpture. In China, there still exist a great number of stone winged chimeras that mark ancient Chinese tomb sites. During the early part of the twentieth century, as well several Chinese stone chimeras found their way into museum collections in the West., Careful records were not made when these chimeras were broken away from their pedestals and as a result, their identities, dates and locations are often uncertain. Therefore, we have to depend almost entirely on stylistic analysis for the determination of their positions in the chronological series. The present paper will make comparisons between them and dated stone tomb animals in China and by doing so, attempt to place these ((immigrant> chimeras into their proper epochs. In the past, several sinologists have been drawn to write about the stone winged chimeras of China,z but since the 193o's, no one has done any new research on them, perhaps because it was felt the subject had become exhausted. However, recently discovered stone tomb sculptures in China have made it necessary to reopen the subject and to reconsider some of the early statements made on the chimeras of ancient China. The term <(chimera>> which we use to describe these stone animals is an expression first introduced by the French sinologist, Victor Segalen.a It is not sure, even among the Chinese scholars themselves, which term or terms are correct to describe these winged animals; the most commonly used are fu-pa, t'ao-pa, t'ien-lu, p'i-hsieh and ch'i-lin. We will eliminate this prob- * I am deeply indebted to Professor Chiang Tsan-ch'u of the University of Nanking, who offered me much guidance and encouragement during my two-year stay at the University of Nanking, and who often accompanied me to tomb sites with winged chimeras. 2 The most noteworthy of these are: two chimeras in the University Museum in Philadelphia (dated by the Museum as 5th to 6th cent. A.D.); two chimeras in the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum in Kansas City (dated as 3rd to 4th cent. A.D.); one chimera in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo (dated as first half of the 6th cent. A.D.); one chimera in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection (dated as probably Liang Dynasty A.D ); one chimera in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm (dated as 5th cent. A.D.); one chimera in the Musee Guimet in Paris (dated as Liang Dynasty A.D ); and the head of a chimera in the Museum Rietberg in Ztirich (dated as beginning of the 6th cent. A.D.). 2For example see Mathias Tchang, Tombeau des Liang (Shanghai 19 I2); Segalen, de Voisins, Lartigue, Mission Archiologique en Chine (ip.4-i;p7, Paris, ); Victor Segalen, The Great Statutary of China (Chicago and London, 1978). Osvald Siren has written several times on chimeras; his most noted article is "Winged Chimeras in Early Chinese Art", Eastern Art, vol. I, (I928), pp Victor Segalen, "Recent Discoveries in Ancient Chinese Sculpture", Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (1917), no. 48, p

3 lem by simply using the Western term "chimera". The chimera as we know it is a mythical hybrid, predominately feline with wings and usually with one or two horns. It is conventionally represented with a bearded snarling head and open jaws. In ancient China, these animals were often carved in stone and placed in pairs at the beginning of a pathway which led up to the burial mound. It was thought that these menacing creatures not only enhanced the dignity of the tomb and served to glorify the memory of the deceased but also would protect the corpse against evil spirits and prevent any violation of the tomb. Their wings and horns suggest that they were influenced by early Persian art. Osvald Siren has pointed out that perhaps the sources of the winged felines in Chinese art may be in Mesopotamian art, which came through Babylon and Assyria to Achaemenid Persia and thence by way of Bactria, found its way across Central Asia to China.* The Chinese tomb chimera guardians may also be related to the winged and bearded felines done in jade and bronze from the Late Chou into the time of the Han Dynasty. Two good examples which come to mind are the bronze winged feline recently found at the tomb of the King of Chung-shan of the Warring States period in P'ing-shan county, Hopei (fig. i) and the minature jade winged feline of the Han Dynasty in the National Palace Museum in Taiwan (figure 2). It was during the Western Han Dynasty (2o6 B.C.-A.D. 8) that the first known stone feline sculpture was placed at a tomb site. This was a crouching tiger at the tomb of the Western Han general, Ho Ch''*-ping (died I17 B.C.) near Sian, Shensi (figure 3). Other stone sculptures near his tomb include a wild buffalo, a boar, fish, a man fighting a bear and sculptures of horses, one of which is trampling on a barbarian. Also there is a stone tiger of the Western Han style which was found at An-yi county, Shansi.5 It is massive and like the sculptures at Ho Ch'td-ping's tomb, it gives the impression more of two reliefs back to back than of a carving in the round. The next known group of stone feline creatures appear at tomb sites during the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D ). The most popular Eastern Han tomb sculptural themes were lions 6 and winged chimeras. Among the best known lions are the ones found at the Wu family cemetery in Chia-hsiang county, Shantung (fig.4). These lions date from A.D The sculptor who carved them was Sun Tsung and he received 40,000 cash for carving them, which in itself must have been a tribute to the great talent of the sculptor and shows that the individuality of artists was then being recognized. The proud animals he carved are full of power and energy. They have immense necks with short puffy manes tapering, to the chest and faint traces of wings on the shoulders. The style of these lions can also be seen in the tomb sculpture of a Han lion in the Musee Guimet in Paris (fig. 5) and the Han lion sculpture which was formerly in the Gualino Collection in Turin (fig. 6). In Lu-shan county, Szechwan, there are three more Eastern 4 See Hackin, Siren, Warner and Pelliot, Studies in Chinese Art and Some Indian Influences (London, 1938), p. 19. s Shan-hsi Provincial Museum, "A Western Han Stone Tiger Unearthed at Tu-ts'un, An-yi-hsien", Wen Wu (i96i) no. 12, p Lions were unknown to early China and it wasn't until the Han period that China first became acquainted with the lion and its symbolism through its contacts with the western regions. In A.D. 87, lions were sent as tribute to China together with an animal called fu-pa by the King of Yiieh-chih, when he asked for a Chinese princess in marriage. In A.D. ioi, the country of Parthia (An-hsi) sent a lion or lions to China and in A.D. 133, the country of Sule (Kashgar) also presented a lion. See Berthold Laufer, Chinese Pottery of the Han Dynasty (Leiden, 1909), pp See Teng Ku, "A Few Notes on the Forms of Some Han Sculptures", T'ien Hsia Monthly, (December, 1935), P

4 Han lions but they are of another style.8 On their mighty backward-bending necks there are several ornamental jagged scrolls which are meant to represent shaggy manes (fig.-7). Exhibited in the Shensi Provincial Museum in Sian are two more very fine striding Eastern Han stone lions representing a different style (figures 8a, b). They have elegant, lean bodies and proudly arched backs. A thick ornamental beard hangs from the chin over the projecting chest. We have seen that the tiger and lion were frequent subjects for tomb sculptures in Han China, but the winged felines which we call chimeras also became a popular funerary theme. It was during the Eastern Han that the chimera came to convey a new dynamic force in Chinese art. The chimeras are often said to be a rough cross between a lion and a dragon, so they also have a close relationship to the previously mentioned stone lions in style. Eastern Han chimeras have been found mainly in Honan and Szechwan. In Honan, there are several good examples of winged chimeras. At the city of Nanyang, there is an important pair of stone winged chimeras belonging to the tomb of an Eastern Han official named Tsung Tzu, dated roughly to A.D. 167 The bodies of these animals are (fig.9). elongated and show a sort of rhythmic beauty, which is quite decorative and artistic.9 Despite the damaged heads, the chimeras are still robust and majestic. One can see a flowing movement in the body made prominent by a backward-bending neck which continues through the curved wings and finally ends in the volute designs on the haunches. Near these tomb guardians, another winged chimera of a similar style was found, dated to the Eastern Han Dynasty (fig.i0o). Recently near Loyang, Honan, two more very interesting and muscular Eastern Han winged chimeras were discovered (fig. i i).1o They are of a different type than the Nanyang chimeras but have the same walking attitude as the pair of lions in the Shensi Provincial Museum. These Loyang chimeras have light engravings on the wings which resemble feathers, and very con- spicuous horns. One chimera has one horn, the other has two. The most famous chimeras in Szechwan are found at the tomb of Kao Yi (dated A.D. 209) in Ya-an (fig. I2). The sculptor of these animals has introduced an excellent impression of tension and agility. Their necks are arched well back and the chests are swelled out forming "S"-like curves. At nearby Lu-shan county beside the tomb of Fan Min (fig. 13), there is another pair of winged chimeras which were carved in the same style as the ones at Kao Yi's tomb. They are quite naturalistic in conception and make one feel that they are not really a mythical animal. Another pair of Eastern Han winged chimeras of slightly larger dimensions and of yet another style can be found in Shih-ma, Szechwan.. Now that the best known of the stone winged chimeras of the Eastern Han have been mentioned, we shall compare them to the Chinese chimeras which are now exhibited in western 8 See Hsin Ping, Ssu-ch'uan Han-tai tiao-su I-shu (Sculptural Art of the Han Period in Ssu-ch'uan) (Peking, 1959), pp.40-41, pls. 4, 5 and 8 belonging to the section shih-k'o. These three felines are called p'i-hsieh, but with only one glance one cannot give them any other name than lion. 9 On the thighs of one of these animals are engraved the characters, t'ien-lu and on the other p'i-hdeb. J. J. M. de Groot, The Religious System of China, vol. 3 (Leiden, i897), p. i On the back of their necks are carved seven characters: Kou-shib Kao Chu-ch'eng mu tso (Carved by the slave Kao Chu- ch'eng from Kou-shih). See the article by Ho Cheng-huang, "Stone carvings of a pair of lions and a rhinoceros", Wen Wu (1961) no.12-, p.48. For another very similar pair of Eastern Han stone chimeras, also found near Loyang, see The People's Art Publishing House, Ancient Relics of China (Peking, 1962), pp Rather unsatisfactory photographs of these chimeras have been reproduced in Hsin Ping, op.cit. p.41, pls.9a and 9b belonging to the section shib k'o. Therefore, it is difficult to give a detailed description of them. 263

5 museum collections. It is possible to divide the chimeras into different groups. Looking at the ones in the western museums, we find that they clearly belong to two stylistic categories. The two fine winged chimeras in the University Museum in Philadelphia belong to Category I (figs. 14a, b). The information which accompanied these stone animals to the museum states that they came from Nei-ch'iu county in Northern Honan. They have been roughly dated to the fifth or sixth century A.D. because of their similarity to the winged chimeras of the Southern Dynasties ( ) in the province of Kiangsu. However, if one compares them to the Eastern Han chimeras found in Nanyang, Honan, taking into account that the Nanyang ones have had their chins and beards broken away; one finds that stylistically they belong to the same group.12, The chests are similarly bulging; the stance before they lost their legs would have been almost the same; and the size and shape of their wings are much alike. Likewise, the spine is accentuated by bobbles and there are flat scrolls and volutes radiating from it. Notice also that both sets have incised ribs on the stomach. This is a distinctive characteristic which is not found on the chimeras of the Southern Dynasties located in Kiangsu province. One of the Philadelphia chimeras (fig. 14a) has lines which form a sort of broad ribbing over the chest running vertically from the neck down over the bulging chest; one of the Nanyang chimeras (fig.i o) has similar vertical lines running down its chest. The other Philadelphia chimera (fig. 14b) has lines curving across its chest horizontally, and in this respect it is similar to the other Nanyang chimera (fig.9) because it also has incised horizontal lines on its chest. The chimeras of the Southern Dynasties do not have this type of deeply engraved lines on their chests, but instead have fanciful spiral designs extending from their beards. Some have said that the Philadelphia chimeras are Liang,1s but if one examines the location in Northern Honan where they were found, one will find that this area was never in the control of the Liang Dynasty. Others have stated that there were some Liang Dynasty princes buried in Honan and have suggested that the Philadelphia chimeras may belong to these However, in Kiang- tombs.,4 su where several known Liang princes are buried, there are massive bulky winged lions of a totally different style to mark their tombs. During the Liang Dynasty, winged chimeras with horns were not used for princes, but were reserved for the tombs of emperors; while the massive winged lions were for the princes and this rule was strictly followed.is Furthermore, the chimeras of the Southern Dynasties in Kiangsu are huge in comparison with the Philadelphia ones. Eastern Han chimeras were much smaller in size than the Southern Dynasties ones and more like the Philadelphia ones. Therefore, because of the style and size, we feel that the chimeras in Philadelphia might be better dated to the second or third century (Eastern Han Dynasty or shortly after). i2 On page 35, footnote 9, in Hackin, Siren, Warner and Pelliot, op.cit., Siren admits that stylistically the Eastern Han chimeras of Nanyang belong to the same group as the chimeras in the University Museum in Philadelphia. However, in the same book on page 21, Siren contradicts this statement by saying that the Philadelphia chimeras may be from the end of the 5th cent., if not later. In his later works, he seems to have forgotten about this footnote and continues to date them as 5th or 6th cent. 13 See Hugo Munsterberg, The Arts of China (Vermont and Tokyo, 1972), p See Helen Fernald, "Two Colossal Stone Chimeras from a Chinese Tomb", The Museum Journal, Philadelphia (June, 1927), p s See Chu Ch'i, Nan-ching ti ming-sheng ku-chi (Historical Sites of Nanking), (Nanking, 1957), P. 32. Also see his Chien-k'ang Lan-ling Liu-ch'ao Ling-mu t'u-k'ao (Survery of the Tombs of the Six Dynasties at Chien-k'ang and Lan-ling), (Nanking, 1934)- 264

6 The winged chimera in the Musee Guimet in Paris (fig. 15) also falls into Category I with the Philadelphia and Nanyang chimeras. It reportedly came from the same location as the Philadelphia chimeras in Nei-ch'iu county, Honan.16 The wing size and design, the horizontal ridges on the chest, the bobbled backbone and relief designs on the back and haunches are all quite similar to the Philadelphia and Nanyang chimeras. Also there is a very impressive winged chimera in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, which fits into Category I (fig. 16). It again has the characteristic incised ribbing on its stomach and horizontal ridges on its chest. Its neck is thrown back in the same proud gesture as the chimeras in Nanyang. The final member of Category I in western museum collections, is the head of a stone chimera exhibited in the Museum Rietberg in Zurich (fig. 17).17 It falls into this group because of a similar head design and because of the incised horizontal lines on its chest. If one looks closely at the chimera head, one can see the horizontal ridges on its neck which would have continued down its chest before its head was cut off. The rest of the stone chimeras in western Museum collections belong to Category II. They include a fine pair of winged chimeras in the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum in Kansas City (dated by the Museum as third or fourth century A.D.) (fig. 18), a winged chimera in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Avery Brundage Collection (dated as probably Liang ) (fig. 19), and the chimera in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm (dated as the fifth century) (fig. 20). All these chimeras belong to the same group not only because of their size but mainly because of their similar ornamental design. Carefully look at the relief designs on the body, starting from the shoulder to the hind legs. The most prominent feature is that the designs are in four motions: at the shoulders there are scales followed by thick quills or feathers flaring downwards; three quills then spring upwards forming the wings; from under the wings more quills move across the body; and on the hind legs the fourth and final motion of quills curls downwards. These chimeras are all quite slim and have gaping jaws. There is another chimera which belongs to Category II. It is the badly damaged statue which was once in the collection of a certain Mr. Grosjean (fig. 21). During the early part of the twentieth century he had acquired the statue in Loyang, Honan, and had it moved to Peking, where he resided. Its whereabouts is now no longer known. This lost chimera is very similar to the one in San Francisco and it might have once formed a pair with it. To which epoch do these chimeras of Category II belong? It is best to use the Kansas City chimeras to represent this group when making comparisons with chimeras in China, since they are in the best condition. They are dated by the museum to the third or fourth century A.D., but they might be better dated to the second or third centuries because of their similarities to Eastern Hart sculptures. Compare the Kansas City chimeras to the Eastern Hart stone lions in the Shensi Provincial Museum (figs. 8a, b), the winged chimeras found in Loyang (fig. I ) and the chimeras found at the tomb of Kao Yi in Szechwan (fig. I2). They all have slender bodies, the same characteristic striding stance with the loins arched higher than the chest, a hind leg well drawn back and what is very interesting, the forepaw is stretched forward resting on some small object. Their chests are swelling and their necks strongly thrown back forming the same impressive 6 Osvald Siren, Chinese Sculpture in the von der Heydt Collection, Descriptive Catalogue (Ziirich, 1959), p See ibid., Siren dates this chimera head to the beginning of the 6th cent. A.D. 265

7 "S"-like curve. Furthermore, by studying the wing designs of the Kansas City chimeras and then comparing them to the wing designs of the chimeras at the tomb of Kao Yi (fig. 12) and the Han Dynasty jade'chimera in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan (fig. 2); one finds that they all have designs similar in form, with two motions of quills forming the wings. This type of wing design in two motions is not found on the wing designs of the stone chimeras of the Southern Dynasties in Kiangsu. To sum up, there are three factors which tend to link the chimeras of the western museums to the Eastern Han Dynasty. First of all, most of the western museum chimeras are much closer in style to the lions and winged chimeras of the Eastern Han Dynasty, as we have seen, than to the fifth and sixth century chimeras of the Southern Dynasties. Secondly, winged chimeras became an extremely popular subject in art during the Han Dynasty and may often be found in jade, bronze, clay figurines and lacquer of that period. Thirdly, some of the western museum chimeras were said to have come from the province of Honan and it should be remembered that the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty was Loyang, Honan. Therefore, a great number of prominent people of this period were buried in Honan and probably many chose stone chimera grave markers since they were such a popular theme in the art of that time. The fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty brought great confusion, and artistic activity in China lost some of its intensity. By the time of the Eastern Chin Dynasty ( ), which had its capital at Nanking, the Emperors had adopted the custom of placing a pair of chimeras before their tombs. Unfortunately, none of these Eastern Chin stone chimeras have been found. During the Southern Dynasties period ( ), the capital of South China continued to be Nanking. At this time, chimeras as well as winged lions became the regular guardians of the royal tombs. Many of these have survived on their original tomb sites and are in a remarkably well-preserved state near Nanking and Tan-yang in Kiangsu province.1 Their great weight and colossal dimensions would have made their removal very difficult. These stone winged felines of the Southern Dynasties period carry on the same realistic tradition of some of the stone beasts of the Han period, but are larger and introduce a more noble and energetic life into tomb sculpture. They have undergone a number of stylistic changes which resulted in a definite style particular to the Southern Dynasties. The earliest stone chimeras of the Southern Dynasties can be found at the tomb of the first emperor of the Liu Sung Dynasty, Sung Wu-ti (died 422), which is located just east of Nanking at the Ch'i-lin gate (figs.22a, b). The stone animals at his tomb are badly worn but it is still possible to see the flowing spiral designs on their bodies. The wing designs have changed from the Han period and seem to have almost become an additional limb blending together with the body. The second earliest dated stone chimeras of the Southern Dynasties are those which mark the imperial tombs of the Southern Ch'i Dynasty ( ) in the old city of Tan-yang in Kiangsu province. These animals have longer necks, shorter legs and thinner torsos than the 1s Most of these guardian animals are described in the excellent work by Chu Hsi-tsu and others, Liu-ch'ao ling-mu (The Tombs of the Six Dynasties) Monumenta Sinica I (Nanking, 1935). This study straightens out a number of the mistakes made in grave identifications that occur in western publications. For example, in Segalen, de Voisins, Lartigue, Mission pl. I3a should be Sung Wu-ti not Sung Wen-ti; pl. I3b should be Ch'i Ming-ti not Ch'i Wu-ti. Osvald Sir6n copied these same mistakes in all of his writings on chimeras. 266

8 Liu Sung chimeras in Nanking. They have become very baroque and quite serpent-like in character. They combine an unwieldy sturdiness with suppleness and elegance. The Ch'i tombs with chimeras at the entrances to the spiritual paths may be found at the tombs of Hsitan-ti and Ching-ti (pre-dynastic fathers promoted and reburied by their emperor sons in 479 and 494 respectively), Wu-ti (-493), Ming-ti (-498), and Prince Wen-hui (-493, being Wu-ti's son) (fig s ). The best-carved of the Ch'i creatures is the one that marks the tomb of Ch'i Wu-ti. The rhythmic arch of its back, the powerful muscles of the neck and legs, are all reminiscent of the Han style, but give a more fantastic appearance. The ugliest of the Ch'i beasts, of a different style, is found at the tomb of the usurper Ming-ti. Its head is too large, and is rather grotesque. The designs on the back are composed of several thread-like lines in spirals, and the wing design appears to be in three parts. Similar chimeras to this may be found at Ling-k'ou, a small village southeast of Tan-yang (fig. 28).I9 The imperial sepulchre of the Liang dynasty ( ) is also found at Tan-yang. There are three Liang Dynasty tombs located together a few miles east of the city. The tombs represent three generations, those of the first emperor Wu-ti (figs. 29a, b), his father (fig. 30) and his son. The chimeras at the tomb of Liang Wu-ti's father have the same bold designs and style as the Ch'i Dynasty chimeras. These fearless creatures with head erect and teeth bared now rest upon new stone blocks. Despite the loss of their paws, they still look proud and powerful. The chimera that marks the tomb site of Liang Wu-ti is of a different style. Even though the beast is out of proportion with its very large neck and head, it still manifests great force and realism. The sculptor has taken great pains to express the nobility of his subject. The designs on its body are either in very low relief or simply engraved. The tomb statue of Liang Wu-ti's son and successor, Hsiao Kang is located just a few metres to the north of Liang Wu-ti's tomb. Here there is a headless half buried chimera, which appears to be in the same style as the chimera at the tomb of Liang Wu-ti. The final group of stone chimeras dating from the Southern Dynasties period are two pairs of Ch'en Dynasty ( ) animals near Nanking. The tomb statues of the first Ch'en Emperor, Ch'en Wu-ti, appear not to be chimeras at all but to be more like big heavy winged lions (fig.-3 1). These animals are simple, coarse, heavy and quite unattractive. In sharp contrast to them, the two stone chimeras which belong to the tomb of Ch'en Wen-ti (died 566) are magnificent with an undeniable beauty and are probably the handsomest pair of winged chimeras ever to be carved in China (fig. 32). These majestic stone beasts with chest swelled and head erect stand decisively on powerfully modelled clawed feet. The wing designs and the ornamental low flat reliefs on the bodies of these chimeras are very similar to the designs on the chimeras of the Liu Sung Emperor, Wu-ti (died 422) at Ch'i-lin gate near Nanking.zo 19 It is thought that the two chimeras at Ling-k'ou do not mark a tomb, but mark the gateway to the tombs of the Ch'i and Liang Dynasties, which are to the north. Hence the name of the village Ling-k'ou meaning "tomb entrance". See Chu Ch'i, "Stone Tomb Sculpture of the Six Dynasties in Tan-yang", Wen-wu ts'an-k'ao tzu-liao (1956) no.-3, P See Chiang Tsan-ch'u, Nan-ching ti fang shih kang-yao (Outline of the Local History of Nanking), (Nanking, 198o), p The author suggests that Ch'en Wen-ti's tomb chimeras may have been modelled after those that mark the tombs of the Liu Sung Emperors because the Ch'en could easily visit the Liu Sung tombs since they were located near the capital of Nanking. The Ch'en probably did not copy the style of the Ch'i or Liang chimeras because these chimeras were located a great distance from Nanking at Tan-yang (75 kilometers east of Nanking) and the Ch'en may not have had the opportunity to see these chimeras, unless they made a special trip to Tan-yang. 267

9 In the vicinity of Nanking, there are several tombs of princes of the Liang Dynasty. As mentioned before, these are not marked by stone chimeras but by stone winged lions. These winged lions give a more heavy impression then the chimeras and have massive bulging chests and long stylized manes which extend to the shoulders where there are folded wings. The animals have powerful jaws and are yawning as wide as possible as if uttering a prolonged roar. From the enormous mouth hangs a huge lolling tongue which reaches well down its chest. There are many Liang winged lions to be found in the fields near Nanking; the most impressive ones are those at the tombs of Hsiao Ching (fig. 33), Hsiao Hung, Hsiao Hsiu and Hsiao Chi (fig.-34). These beasts are masterpieces of ancient Chinese tomb sculpture. A comparison between the Southern Dynasties tomb sculpturestill in situ and the stone winged chimeras found in western museum collections, will show that while some of the latter show a superficial resemblance between the two groups, their small size tends to separate them out. The tomb chimeras of the Southern Dynasties are far more massive and the designs on their bodies are more baroque. Also the felines of the Southern Dynasties differ from the ones in western museums in that they have no incised ribs on the stomach, no horizontal ridges on the chest, and different wing designs which do not have two motions of quills. Previously stone winged chimeras in Chinese art were known to Westerners almost entirely through those of the Southern Dynasties period found in Kiangsu province. It has therefore been quite natural for art historians and connoisseurs to seek resemblances between them and the stone beasts in the West, thus dating the examples acquired by the museums to the fifth or sixth century. However, in the last few decades, there have been many new discoveries of reliably datable Eastern Han feline sculptures in China, bringing to light creatures that are very close to the chimeras in our collections. When one views the captions on the following pages, the linear movements are accentuated, and one can clearly see the stylistic similarities of the western museum chimeras with the Eastern Han statues and the dissimilarities with the sculptures of the Southern Dynasties. In North China, there are some stone winged felines belonging -o the Northern Dynasties which were carved at about the same time as the winged animals that mark the Southern imperial but these can't tombs, compare with the beautiful winged beasts of the South. The stone lions found in the Northern Wei Buddhist caves at Lung-men, Honan, and the ugly, coarse, lifeless, winged creature (fig. 35) exhibited in the Shensi Provincial Museum in Sian, which once marked the tomb of the Western Wei Emperor, Wen-ti (died 55 ) don't have the artistic freshness of the stone animals of the Southern Dynasties. Following the Six Dynasties period, the mythical winged felines apparently lost their popularity and were replaced at tomb sites by feline statues of more life-like lions and tigers. JEditor's note: The tomb precinct in which Liang Wu-ti was buried in 549 had existed under the name Hsiu-ling since his enthronement as founder of the Liang dynasty in 502. Its first occupant was his first wife, daughter of a former ruling clan, who had given him three daugthers and died in 499. As a private individual she had been buried in her family home; with the new dynasty she was promoted post-humously and re-buried in the capital region. Wu-ti died in 549 at the age of 84 as a prisoner of the rebel general Hou Ching, in a looted and largely deserted 268

10 Fig. I Bronze winged feline from tomb of King of Chung-shan, Warring States period Fig. 2 Jade winged feline, National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China, Han period Fig. 3 Stone tiger at tomb of General Ho Ch'ti-ping, ca. 117 B.C., Sian, Shensi Province Fig. 4 Stone lion in Wu family cemetery, A.D. 147, Chia-hsiang county, Shantung Fig. 6 Stone lion, Eastern Han period, former Gualino Collection, Turin Fig. 7 Stone lion, Eastern Han period, Lu-shan county, Szechwan

11 Fig. 5 Stone lion, Eastern Han period, Musee Guimet, Paris Fig. 8b Figs. 8a, b Stone lions, Eastern Han period, Shensi Provincial Museum, Sian Fig. 8 a

12 Fig. 9 Stone chimera at tomb of Tsung Tzu, ca. A.D. 167, Nanyang, Honan Fig. Io Stone chimera, Eastern Han period, Nanyang, Honan

13 7 A P\! 'rw ii? AWL Fig. i i Stone chimera, Eastern Han period, Loyang, Honan. Nr Fig. 12 Stone chimera at tomb of Kao Yi, A. D. 209, Ya-an, Szechwan 'mmmmmw'? mm 'A... t "xk Qf if 61 ' WAS" IV41 W, k-,"a -1 4,' WN:?MRR `k\v\%_' ZkMlwv'? 117- lit A Ic vp At UP w I sly, Tv 41 IT Fig. 13 Stone chimera at tomb of Fan Min, Eastern Han period, Lu-shan county, Szechwan

14 III Ml 'o's, 4?,...k MIR 3 Wl 3?'? M?R: MgU?Z M I q 0'-,' A'e?,2 N J5 'M al IN\ IE INMIN S'N'M Aft INOW, k "On k?- OR S-IM REMO, v Figs. 4a, b Stone chimeras here dated by author as probably Eastern Han period, University Museum, Philadelphia xor\ N Al K?,n MT P IMIllum ON I WIF III ININM 21ofto"mm, Imm Oft, M446"m"", "S a MIN A? Fig. 14b

15 al,.. vl- NYR wt, MON IN I R\l It *311"."11\1 rl Fig. 15 Stone chimera, probably Eastern Han period, Muse'e Guimet, Paris... s m g -MA- Ax A", MA 7, xx WOR?10 o;v', q, FIR, 7A, lkv, 77. ol? M 0, ftmill ,11111KkI ^F//o V", pv// Fig. 16 Stone chimera, probably Eastern Han period, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, Gift of Georgia M. G. Forman

16 Fig. I7 Stone chimera head, probably Eastern Han period, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, The von der Heydt Colleclion OR:," -ORM,1w Fig. I8 Stone chimeras, probably Eastern Han period, Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City

17 px 'o V/k, Fig. i9 Stone chimera, probably Eastern Han period, Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco "A"A Ego. PH P, ooc I-A01; jild x A rvx AMN Z-ffi OP,?M- v eerl "04.. 0r Mt V"N's Fig. 20 Stone chimera, probably Eastern Han period, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm

18 ,?? IA Al 'Av a?qmm' --p Fig. 21 Stone chimera, Eastern Han period, whereabouts unknown 'Alp, A?dlvffi MIN "o?... am ap WM\ wvi\\q\\ll-\\-\\?gq /,oma vlewlil ///;?/ a/m/m/g, -Mrml IMAM" I. I. A q?g ON 77" 4" al Mobl", NOR, N%?? ma" g "loot, 13 go \? NN Nwo W Fig. 22a Fig. 22b Figs. 22a, b Stone chimeras, at tomb of Sung Wu-ti, ca. A.D. 422, Nanking, Kiangsu Province ININ, \AIlk,51 44VI

19 Fig. 23b Figs. 23a, b Stone chimera ca. A.D. 494, at tomb of Ch'i Ching-ti, Tan-yang, Kiangsu Province Figs. 24a, b Stone chimera at tomb of Ch'i Hstian-ti, ca. A.D. 479, Tan-yang, Kiangsu Province Fig. 24b Figs. 25a, b Stone chimera at tomb of Ch'i Wu-ti, ca. A.D. 493, Tan-yang, Kiangsu Province Fig. 25 b

20 Figs. 26a, b Stone chimera at tomb of Ch'i Ming Ti, ca. A.D. 498, Tan-yang, Kiangsu Fig.26b Fig. 27 Stone chimera at tomb of the Ch'i Prince Wen-hui, ca. A.D. 493, Tan-yang, Kiangsu Province Fig. 28 Stone chimera at Ling-k'ou near Tan-yang Figs. 29a, b Stone chimera at tomb of Liang Wu-ti, ca. A.D. 549, Tan-yang, Kiangsu Fig. 29b

21 Fig. 30 Stone chimera at tomb of Liang Wen-ti, ca. A.D. 502, Tan-yang, Kiangsu Province Fig. 31 Stone chimera at tomb of Ch'en Wu-ti, ca. A.D. 5 59, Nanking, Kiangsu Province Fig. 32 Stone chimera at tomb of Ch'en Wen-ti, ca. A.D. 566, Nanking, Kiangsu Province Fig. 33 Stone lion at tomb of the Liang Prince Hsiao Ching, ca. A.D. 523, Nanking, Kiangsu Province Fig. 35 Stone beast from tomb of Wen-ti of Western Wei, ca. A.D. 55 1, Shensi Provincial Museum, Sian Fig. 34 Stone lion at tomb of the Liang Prince Hsiao Chi, ca. A.D. 529, Chu-jung, Kiangsu Province

22 capital city. His heir Chien Wen-ti served briefly as Hou Ching's puppet, was murdered in 5 5 1, and was buried in a differently-named precinct, Chuang-ling. In the following year loyalist troops recovered the city, but the new emperor chose to rule from the mid-yangtse metropolis Chiang-ling. The old capital was restored only under the new dynasty, Ch'en, in Under such circumstances it is impossible to imagine that two imperial mausolea could have been furnished and occupied in the traditional way. The second emperor had been proclaimed heir in 53 1, on the death of his older brother. Mausolea for him and his father might have been prepared well before the 549 catastrophe. The uncouth appearance of the first Ch'en statues, provided only two years after that dynasty's start, presumably demonstrate what the Liang stones might have looked like had they been carved in 55 o0-55 i. 28i