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Hi Patrick, I see your point, but in the case of Tang tomb figurines, and likely those of other periods as well, the only people who had such elaborate tombs as to include these figures were indeed the political and social elites, and during the Tang no doubt the landed aristocracy. While I think some of the guardian figures are identifiable as particular characters, and sets of attendants with zodiac animal heads also appear in tombs, I don't believe anyone has identified many of the other types that turn up when tombs are discovered. Do all the Han horses or warriors in Han tombs have names? How about Sui horses and female attendants? There are certainly stories or political and literary characters featuring women with birds, people who ride horses, and standing attendants, but to suggest that each tomb figurine stands for a specific character is something I don't think we have the information to claim. Also in many cases these figurines were made in batches and included in significant numbers in the tomb, which suggests to me that Chinese artisans were not making 25 versions of the same character, but simply a large number of attendants to indicate the degree of service to which the tomb occupant was accustomed.
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Re: Who is this person? - Patrick Norton - Dec 25, 2011 (10:08 AM)