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At Home in Her Tomb: Lady Dai and the Ancient Chinese Treasures of Mawangdui
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About At Home In Her Tomb: Lady Dai And The Ancient
Product description Unearth the mysteries of the Mawangdui tombs and take a sneak peek at life in Han dynasty China! This middle-grade chapter book unearths one of China’s top archaeological finds of the last century. Miniature servants, mysterious silk paintings, scrolls of long-lost secrets, and the best preserved mummy in the world (the body of Lady Dai) are just some of the artifacts that shed light upon life in China 2200 years ago. Illustrations include archival photographs as well as gorgeously rendered illustrations of Lady Dai's life. Back matter includes historical notes on the Qin and Han Dynasties, a time line, glossary, author’s note, bibliography, quotation sources, and an index. From School Library Journal Gr 6–10—In 1972, archaeologists made an astonishing find at a site called Mawangdui near Changsha, China. Inside an ornate coffin nested three other elaborate ones, and wrapped in many layers of fine silk lay the body of a woman, buried for over two millennia but whose skin was soft and supple. Buried with her were many treasures, including foodstuffs that, amazingly, looked fresh enough to be eaten upon discovery. More than a year later, two other tombs within the same burial chamber were unearthed-those of the woman's husband and son, though their remains were far more degraded. In time, the woman was identified as "Lady Dai," the name by which she is now commonly known, the widow of the Marquis of Dai, a high official during the Han Dynasty. Her story makes for fascinating reading. The writing is accessible, and each of the well-organized chapters delineates all the treasures that were found in Lady Dai's and her son's tombs-and how the finds have brought the world of ancient China to vivid, illuminating life. Chapters open with an illustration and an imagined scene written in the present tense-a device the author has used to bring readers directly into Lady Dai's world. Budding forensic scientists will appreciate the information and pertinent photographs about how the woman's body was preserved after her death in 158 BCE and about the modern-day autopsy performed on her. The book benefits from handsome design: photographs are of high quality, and illustrations, maps, and diagrams are attractive and helpful. This volume will serve as an interesting browser and as a fine supplementary resource in units on ancient China.—Carol Goldman, Queens Library, NY From Booklist *Starred Review* There is quite a good selection of youth titles that deal with archaeological finds, but this well-researched book about a remarkable discovery takes readers somewhere they’ve never been before: China, 150 years before the time of Christ. Although the two mounds that look like a saddle have been a focal point in the Changsha area of south-central China for more than 2,000 years, it wasn’t until 1971 that archaeologists began excavating these ancient tombs, and what they uncovered was astounding. The books made of bamboo, the lacquer dishes, the carved wooden servants—all would have been priceless finds on their own. But there was also a body of a woman so well preserved that her skin was still soft and pliable. During an autopsy, doctors found they could discern her illnesses and what she had had for her last meal! And this was no anonymous woman. Artifacts gave her name and her position: she was Lady Dai, the wife of a high official during the early Han dynasty. Liu-Perkins does an excellent job of making kids care about this discovery (well, the photo of Lady Dai’s remains does draw them in). Just as important, she explains a wide variety of topics—silk making and funeral practices, to name a few—easily packing in a great deal more information. Delicate original art juxtaposes well with the many photos of artifacts, making this a handsome as well as an intriguing offering. Grades 4-7. --Ilene Cooper Review "Debut author Liu-Perkins' infectious curiosity shines in this exploration of a Han dynasty burial chamber excavated in 19
