page_title: Dahuting
section_title: Discovery and history
hierarchical_section_title: Dahuting / Discovery and history
caption_attribution_description: English: The Dahuting Tomb (Chinese: 打虎亭汉墓, Pinyin: Dahuting Han mu; Wade-Giles: Tahut'ing Han mu) of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), located in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, was excavated in 1960-1961 and contains vault-arched burial chambers decorated with murals showing scenes of daily life. For further information, see the Baidu article (in Chinese): 打虎亭汉墓. Click here for more pictures and a step-by-step walkthrough of the tomb, from the outside, down a stairwell, and through the vaulted burial chambers.
context_page_description: The Dahuting Han tombs are Eastern Han dynasty tombs of Zhang Boya and his wife, in modern Xinmi, Henan Province. They are famous for their well preserved murals and stone carvings.
context_section_description: In December 1959, construction workers digging west of Dahuting Village in Mi County (now Xinmi), Henan Province, encountered the southern limits of two subterranean tombs built of stone and brick. The Institute of Cultural Relics of Henan Province excavated the two tombs, designated M1 and M2, from February to December 1961. Subsequent excavations of the area beginning in the autumn of 1977 revealed nine satellite burials surrounding M1 and M2. A report on tombs M1 and M2 was published by Cultural Relics Publishing, Beijing in 1993. The report contains rubbings, line drawings and black and white and color photos keyed to the scale architectural blueprints. Through this combination of media, the correspondence between the decorative programs of the tombs and their built structure is clearly illustrated and contextualized.
  Searching to identify the occupants of the tombs, archaeologists consulted the Commentary on the Water Classic, which includes a description of two tombs located on the southern bank of the Sui River. The text describes two tombs surrounded by a wall and including a shrine, two stone towers, animal and human stone guardian figures. It identifies the occupants of M1 as Zhang Boya, Governor of Hongnong Commandery, and his wife.
    
  Dahuting M1 was a gift from the throne presented to Zhang in recognition of service to the emperor during the power struggle that led to the establishment of the Eastern Han. Liu Xiu became the first Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty after defeating the regent Wang Mang. During a critical battle, Liu Xiu was pursued by Wang Mang's troops and sought shelter in Zhang's house. Zhang disguised himself by using Liu Xiu's clothing and went out to engage Wang Mang in battle. Liu Xiu escaped as Zhang met death on the field. After Liu ascended to the throne as Emperor Guangwu (r. 25-57 CE), he ordered that Zhang be buried near his ancestral home in a tomb constructed at imperial expense.  In this way, the Emperor accomplished a return of grace or baoen, repaying Zhang's act in life with posthumous reward affecting his afterlife.
caption: Banquet scene
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