The Tomb of Lou Rui (Northern Qi Empire) as a Monument of a Transitional Period

Abstract

The article presents the preliminary results of the study of an incredibly important monument – the Tomb of Lou Rui, who was one of the highest officials in the state of Northern Qi. A rich funerary inventory was found there, as well as coloured frescoes with a preserved area of approximately 200 square meters. They include 71 compositions, among which the pictures of the solemn departure from the palace and the return back stand out. The most noticeable part of all images painted on the walls are horses, which number up to 200 heads. Therefore, the horse decoration and harness were specially studied by the authors of this article, and the transitional nature of some important elements (saddle, stirrups) was noted. The clothing of the riders is dominated by «barbaric motifs», which could be seen in the men’s suit from Northern Qi up to the Song Dynasty. The religious and ideological aspects of the burial organization can be determined as syncretic in nature, where traditional ideas about the transition to the «other world» were combined with Confucian and Buddhist motives, possibly with the influence of Zoroastrianism. The placement of multi-figure compositions on the walls of the Tomb’s dromos had a status character. Their creation was led by a palace painter (perhaps, he was the famous Yang Zihua), however a whole team of apprentices helped the master in creating templates, drawing outlines on the wall and filling them with different paints.