Examples of Chinese door guards

Tomb warrior

The Chinese of Imperial China believed in an afterlife and that their deceased ancestors still existed and had the power to control things in the mortal world. It was necessary therefore to provide the dead with everything they could possibly need in the afterlife to feel at home and be safe in the spirit world.

In the Bronze Age wealthy and powerful people were buried in tombs. Their servants, horses, dogs and concubines were buried alive with them, along with other important objects related to the deceased's earthly life. The idea was to produce an environment that would be familiar to the deceased. The more wealthy and powerful the person, the more funerary objects were placed in the tombs. This practice of providing for an afterlife has ensured that a great body of information in the form of art and craft works is available to modern anthropologists.

The practice of entombing live people and animals died out late in the Bronze Age when facsimiles were believed to suffice. These were often life-sized and made of clay.

In addition to these funerary objects, the Chinese of Imperial China also produced models of other creatures and placed these at the entrance of the tombs or in the corners. These are known as ‘door guards’ or ‘tomb guardians’. They were designed to protect the dead from evil spirits. There are three main categories of door guards.

1. Those that are like warriors, carrying weapons.

2. Those that represent the deceased's worldly existence in some way.

3. Those that are mythical, designed to display certain characteristics.

Warrior guard

Mythical animal

Representation of deceased