Rubbings from the Wu Family Shrine

This rubbing was made around 1920 in the carved stone chambers of an Eastern Han dynasty funerary offering shrine belonging to the Wu family in Shantung Province in northeastern China. The scene depicts a two-story residence of a Han emperor or nobleman with a homage ritual taking place on the first floor and a gathering of aristocratic women on the second level. Outside the residence is a Fu shan tree complete with birds and an archer drawing his bow at them. This mythological tree figures in an important Han dynasty legend. A ceramic version of the tree is shown nearby, describing the Fu shan story in detail.