Mingqi

Terra cotta figure from Shaanxi, Western Han Period (206 BC – 9 AD)

Mingqi (Chinese: 冥器 or 明器, p míngqì), sometimes referred to as "spirit objects"[1] or "vessels for ghosts", are Chinese burial goods. They included daily utensils, musical instruments, weapons, armor, and intimate objects such as the deceased's cap, can and bamboo mat.[2] Mingqi also could include figurines, spiritual representations rather than real people,[3] of soldiers, servants, musicians, polo riders, houses, unicorns and horses.[4] Extensive use of mingqi during certain periods may either have been an attempt to preserve the image of ritual propriety by cutting costs, or it may have a new idea separating the realm of the dead from that of the living.[5]

  1. ^ Loewe, p. 266
  2. ^ Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward L. (1999). The Cambridge history of ancient China: from the origins of civilization to 221 B.C. Cambridge University Press. pp. 728–. ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  3. ^ Higham, Charles (2004). Encyclopedia of ancient Asian civilizations. Infobase Publishing. pp. 224–. ISBN 978-0-8160-4640-9. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  4. ^ Brooks, Sarah (January 1994). "Images from the Underworld". The Rotarian. Rotary International: 22–23. ISSN 0035-838X. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  5. ^ Stark, Miriam T. (2006). Archaeology of Asia. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 212–. ISBN 978-1-4051-0213-1. Retrieved 26 January 2011.