A Study on the Phenomenon of Women Wearing Men’s Attire in the Wall Paintings of Tang Dynasty Tomb of Li Xian

Abstract

The Hui Mausoleum (the Tomb of Prince Li Xian, the Emperor Rang of the Tang Dynasty), excavated in 2000, is a high-ranking burial constructed in the 29^th year of the Kaiyuan reign (741 AD) under the special Tang institution of elevating a tomb to the status of an imperial mausoleum. Its murals covering the tomb passage, tunnels and passageway are well-preserved and feature abundant human figures. Among these murals, multiple depictions feature female figures dressed in male official robes and wearing futou head coverings. Their compositional arrangements, spatial distribution and functional attributes reflect a highly systematic design. Scholars generally hold that murals depicting female figures in male robes can be regarded both as a manifestation of the diversification of women’s costumes in the Tang Dynasty and as ritual garments with special functional significance deployed in tombs to meet the demands of funerary etiquette. When examining the murals of female attendants in male robes in the Tomb of Li Xian, this paper further analyzes gender perceptions, ritual systems and funerary beliefs of the High Tang period through an investigation of their costumes, facial makeup and ritual functions within the tomb space.