Image: Battle at the Bridge, West Wall, Stone Chamber 1

Description: Rubbing detail from Stone Chamber 1 on the West Wall of the Wu Family Shrine in Shandong Province, China, dated 2nd century AD during the Eastern Han Dynasty. This scene is described as thus by Cary Y Liu and Eileen Hsiang-Ling Hsu: This "battle at the bridge" scene can be divided into three zones: above, on, and below the bridge. Above the bridge chariots with officials' titles inscribed in cartouches, cavalry, and infantry come form both sides for battle. At the center of the bridge a prominent male figure in a canopied chariot engages with an armed female before and behind him. The left female wields a long sword in one hand and in the other she carries a double-sickle sword (gouxiang) that has become interlocked with the sword of the man in the chariot. All along the bridge are other combatants. At the foot of the bridge on the right side two horsemen gallop away from the bridge. Under the bridge is a large figure who may be the same man seen in the chariot of the bridge. Again, he is beset by two female warriors, one on each side, but here they stand in boats. Fishermen, fish, and cranes and other birds fill the space around the action under the bridge.
Title: Battle at the Bridge, West Wall, Stone Chamber 1
Credit: "Brilliant Artifacts" in Recarving China's Past (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2005), by Cary Y. Liu, edited by Naomi Noble Richard, image on page 130, description on page 131.
Author: Anonymous tomb artist
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No