Two narratives from different angles show different contents in the picture expression: one is an imaginary work that reflects the theme of the soul ascending to heaven after death, and the other is a realistic work that directly describes the life scene of the tomb owner when he was alive. In addition to these two mainstream works, there is also a qigong fitness map that seems to be related to the way of keeping in good health, and that is the guide map.
Subject content
The silk paintings of the Western Han Dynasty discovered today are roughly from three tombs, one of which was unearthed in Mawangdui No.1 Han Tomb. Four pieces were unearthed from Mawangdui No.3 Han Tomb; A painting was unearthed from the Han Tomb at No.9 Jinqueshan, Linyi, Shandong Province. They are all silk paintings of the Western Han Dynasty.
There are three themes:
First, the theme of soul ascending to heaven, such as two T-shaped silk paintings covered on coffins in Mawangdui No.1 and No.3 tombs and silk paintings unearthed in Jinque Mountain, Shandong Province;
The second is to take the life of the tomb owner as the theme, such as two silk paintings hanging on the east and west walls of the coffin room of Mawangdui No.3 tomb;
The third picture is a qigong fitness picture about "the way of keeping in good health", which is the silk painting hidden in the lacquer box on the east side of Mawangdui No.3 tomb. From Xin Mang to the Eastern Han Dynasty, silk paintings similar to Mawangdui in Changsha and Jinque Mountain in Linyi also appeared.