Fashion and Tradition in the Han Dynasty: The Use of the Bi-Disc and Dragon Imagery in Ancient China
VIEW EVENT DETAILSAsia Society-Orientations Art Lecture Series
Evening Presentation by Dr. Chen Shen, Vice President, Senior Curator (Bishop White Chair of East Asia Archaeology) at the Royal Ontario Museum
Drinks reception at 6.30pm
Presentation at 7pm
Close at 8pm
This talk explores the concept and meaning of the dragon and bi-disc during the Western Han dynasty. Dragons hold different meanings in Eastern and Western traditions and the significance of the bi-disc evolved over centuries. Chen Shen examines the image of two dragons running through a jade bi-disc on the famous T-Shape silk painting discovered in tomb no. 1 at Mawangdui in Hunan province. He also discusses three works of art from the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum: a Western Han hollow tomb brick from the Luoyang area, depicting a warrior riding a dragon; a decorative copper disc in the shape of bi-disc that was recovered from a Han coffin; and a jade bi-disc—a recent acquisition that was formerly in the collection of Wu Dacheng. Shen argues that the imagery on the Mawangdui silk painting represents what was in fashion in the art of the time, based on tradition, rather than holding more significant cultural meanings.
Chen Shen joined the ROM in 1997 as the first Bishop White Curator of East Asian Archaeology. He is responsible for the development of the ROM's Chinese galleries, exhibitions, and collection management and his research focuses on the study of prehistoric stone tools and pottery, Bronze-Age archaeological materials including bone, jade and bronze artifacts, as well as coin and mirror collections. Shen has curated numerous exhibitions at the ROM, including the critically acclaimed Treasures from a Lost Civilization: Ancient Chinese Art from Sichuan (2002), The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army (2010) and The Forbidden City: Inside the Court of China’s Emperors (2014).
Co-presented with