Mingqi, also known as “burial furniture” and “spirit objects,” translates as “items for the next world” or “spiritual utensils ” and is Chinese term for objects made specifically for burial purposes mingqi Mingqi are miniature earthenware models of items used in everyday life – that were made specifically for placement in tombs of wealthy Chinese upper class to make sure in their afterlife that they were surrounded in the enhanced environment they enjoyed in their life on earth. Chinese strict belief in life after death, filial piety, and the survival of the soul of the deceased in the afterlife resulted in funerary practices requiring families to honor the spirit of the dead and provide for the deceased soul’s comfort and happiness with abundant grave goods which would include miniature ceramic renderings of furnishing, utensils, offerings, livestock, buildings, tools, weapons, servants, animals, mystical beings, dancers and warriors and a huge variety of other everyday items. This practice existed for nearly two millennia but became too costly for most as the rich sought recognition by publicly displaying their wealth, power, social rank and filial piety for ancestors by the amount and quality of mingqi they provided. After spending fortunes to finance burials and contrary to existing laws to limit ostentatious spending and reduce families’ burden, ceramics used for burials were gradually replaced by the end of the Ming Dynasty by paper effigies and other flammable objects burned at funerals. The Song brick tiles used for funerary purposes are also considered mingqi.
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Wing or ear cups (yushang), a term that describes its side flange-like additions to its ovoid body, appeared as early as the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE) made in lacquer and later from a variety of materials. Lacquerware cups were used as dining vessels used for rituals and ceremonies contain fragrances, food or wine; and the…
Hu vessels, first made in the Shang Dynasty is an ancient-pottery wine vessel whose body swells in the middle, flares into a narrow neck and often has a raised circular foot. Very popular during the Han dynasty, it was used as an ancestral tomb burial object (mingqi) to hold liquids and elixirs for the deceased…
Mingqi are ancient earthenware pottery items usually made using a bivalve mould and covered with a lead glaze that fired to a dark green. The lead in the glaze often combined with tomb dampness for centuries creating a chemical reaction changing its coloring into a lustrous and iridescent green seen here. Han mingqi were ancestral…
In China a set of earthenware Zodiac attendant figures was made as a 12 piece grouping, with each figure holding a small calendar animal with each year represented by a different animal – rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig or boar – in a repeating 12-year cycle. Although…
This miniature earthenware mold made horseshoe chair is an example of mingqi, a Chinese term for an object made or burial purposes. Literally translated as, “items for the next world” or “spiritual utensils” mingqi are miniature models of items used in everyday life: furnishings, utensils, offerings, livestock, buildings, etc. made specifically for placement in tombs…
This miniature Ming Dynasty earthenware mould made horseshoe chair is an example of mingqi, a Chinese term for an object made specifically for burial purposes. Literally translated as, “items for the next world” or “spiritual utensils” mingqi are miniature models of items used in everyday life like furnishings, utensils, offerings, livestock and buildings, etc. made…
Stone reliefs or mold made earthenware brick tiles were made for ancestor worship and to decorate doors and the walls of tombs, temples and other structures from the Han Dynasty onwards. As China expanded its trade along the Silk Roads in the Song dynasty, foreign artistic influences began to be seen in the expanded use…
The Song dynasty (960–1279CE) is considered the most culturally brilliant era in later imperial Chinese history. A massive expansion produced government and public buildings and tombs with walls decorated with earthenware unglazed mold made brick tiles. Some were purely decorative and others were wishes for happiness and comfort in live and deceased people’s afterlife called mingqi. With…
Banquet scenes and feasts have been part of Chinese art and culture for millennia. They include celebrations of important rituals and social events, both public and private. These can be religious or social rituals, funerary practices performed by families filling their obligations of filial piety, family fêtes, scenes of scholarly gatherings, casual feasts for couples and…
Unglazed earthenware pottery cocoon jars were used extensively during the Han dynasty as mingqi, items made for placement in tombs to comfort the deceased on their journey to the afterlife. These ancient pottery vessels were ancestral objects, part of ancestor worship, made to revere and honor the deceased, fulfill Chinese duties of filial piety, and have…
During the Song Dynasty earthenware unglazed brick tiles made using a mould were produced to decorate inner chamber walls of tombs and government and public buildings. Used as funerary decorations to wish the deceased happiness and comfort in their afterlife, these Song Brick Tiles are another example of a mingqi ancestral item. Without knowledge of…
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