Dimensions:Height: 17.2cm

Origin: Unearthed from Tomb No.9 at Jinpenling, Changsha City in 1958

The Second year of the Yongning reign, Western Jin Dynasty

As they were used as funerary objects, tomb figures evolved from human burial customs. Though made from various materials, the figures were usually made of clay and wooden. Unearthed from the tomb from the Western Jin Dynasty, this pair of figures were made of porcelain, and are the only figures ever found that display a special method of proof reading.

 The expression of the figures is still vivid. Wearing lofty hats and long robes, the two figures squat facing each other separated by a desk which holds a pen, an ink-stone and bamboo books. One of them seems to hold a pen to write something on a board-like book, while the other holds a pile of books. It seems that they are having a conversation.

Literature was copied onto bamboo or cloth before the Jin Dynasty. As mistakes were always made in the transcriptions, the ancients paid great attention to proof-reading, and proof-reading officials were set up the Eastern Han Dynasty.

To understand the posture of the figures, you must know about methods of proofreading at that time. During the Han Dynasty, there were one or two people responsible for proofreading. It was recorded that “one person would read through the text while the other would search for mistakes. The Chou method involved one person holding the book while the other would read until mistakes were found “. This pair of figures displays the Chou method. As soon as mistake was spotted, the words on the bamboo were scratched off and the correct ones were written in.

The lofty hats that the figures wear were worn by officials during the Han Dynasty. It is high upfront and low behind with bars on it. The numbers of bars represents position of the official. As there is only one bar on the figure’s hat, his position was rather low.