Imperial Tombs in Tang China, 618-907: The Politics of Paradise Routledge Studies in the Early History of Asia

Author	Tonia Eckfeld
Format	Hardcover
ISBN	9780415302203
Publisher	Routledgecurzon
Manufacturer	Routledgecurzon

This book looks at the religious, political, social and artistic significance of the Imperial tombs of the Tang Dynasty. It traces the evolutionary development of the most elaborately beautiful imperial tombs to examine fundamental issues on death and the afterlife in one of the world's most sophisticated civilizations. Selected tombs are presented in terms of their structure, artistic programs and their purposes.

This important landmark book looks at the religious, political, social and artistic significance of the Imperial tombs of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It traces the evolutionary development of the most elaborately beautiful imperial tombs to examine fundamental issues on death and the afterlife in one of the world's most sophisticated civilizations. Selected tombs are presented in terms of their structure, artistic programs and their purposes. The author sets the tombs in the context of Chinese attitudes towards the afterlife, the politics of mausoleum architecture, and the artistic vocabulary which was becoming the mainstream of Chinese civilization.