At Home In Her Tomb:

About At Home in Her Tomb

Over two thousand years ago, a nobleman’s family lived in luxury. The husband, his wife, and one of their sons were buried in lavish tombs stocked with everything their souls would need to be comfortable in the afterlife. Then they were forgotten . . .

Until 1972, when Lady Dai’s tomb was opened—revealing an amazingly preserved, soft-fleshed body wrapped in layers of silk and encased in nested coffins. The thousands of artifacts in the three tombs of Mawangdui revealed long-lost secrets of life in the early Han dynasty. They changed what we understand of people who lived in the first decades of the Chinese empire, one that rivaled the Roman Empire in territory, population, and power. What do they tell us about the people of that time and place?

Primary Source Documents

The following books and websites contain primary source documents of the Qin and Han dynasties, translated into English:

Asia for Educators website. “Primary Sources with DBQs: China“

Barbieri-Low, Anthony and Robin D.S. Yates. Law, State, and Society in Early Imperial China: A Study with Critical Edition and Translation of the Legal Texts from Zhangjiashan Tomb No. 247 (2 vols.). Leiden: Brill, 2015.

Birrell, Anne. Popular Songs and Ballads of Han China. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1993.

Bodde, Derk. China’s First Unifier: A Study of the Ch’in Dynasty as seen in the Life of Li Ssu. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1967.

Chang, Leo S. and Yu Feng. The Four Political Treatises of the Yellow Emperor: Original Mawangdui Texts With Complete English Translations and an Introduction. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1998.

China Mirror website. “Case 5: Popular Belief in Ancient China“

Ch’ü, T’ung-tsu. “Part Two: Documents of Han Social Structure,” in Han Social Structure, edited by Jack L. Dull, pp. 251-506. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1972.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mark, ed. and trans. Readings in Han Chinese Thought. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2006.

DeBary, Wm. Theodore and Irene Bloom. Sources of Chinese Tradition. Volume One: From Earliest Times to 1600, 2^nd ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.

Durrant, Stephen, Wai-yee Li, Michael Nylan, and Hans van Ess. The Letter to Ren An and Sima Qian’s Legacy. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2018.

Duyvendak, J. J. L., ed. and trans. The Book of Lord Shang: A Classic of the Chinese School of Law. Clark, NJ: The Lawbook Exchange, 2003.

Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, ed. “II. The Qin and Han Dynasties” in Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, pp. 47-85. New York: The Free Press, 1993.

Fuller, Michael A. An Introduction to Chinese Poetry: From the Canon of Poetry to the Lyrics of the Song Dynasty. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2018.

Goldin, Paul R. and Elisa Levi Sabattini. Lu Jia’s New Discourses: A Political Manifesto from the Early Han Dynasty. Leiden: Brill, 2020.

Hardy, Grant, and Anne Behnke Kinney. “Primary Documents of Early China” in The Establishment of the Han Empire and Imperial China, pp. 125-151. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005.

Harper, Donald J. Early Chinese Medical Literature: The Mawangdui Medical Manuscripts. London: Kegan Paul International, 1998.

Henricks, Robert G. Lao-Tzu: Te-Tao Ching: A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-Wang-Tui Texts. New York: Ballantine Books, 1989.

Hsu, Cho-yun. “Part Two: Documents of Han Agriculture,” in Han Agriculture: The Formation of Early Chinese Agrarian Economy (206 B.C.-A.D. 220), edited by Jack L. Dull, pp. 157-320. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1980.

Hulsewé, A. F. P., ed. and trans. Remnants of Ch’in Law: An annotated translation of the Ch’in legal and administrative rules of the 3rd century B.C. discovered in Yün-meng Prefecture, Hu-pei Province, in 1975. Leiden: Brill, 1985.

Kern, Martin. The Stele Inscriptions of Ch’in Shih-huang: Text and Ritual in Early Chinese Imperial Representation. New Haven: American Oriental Society, 2000.

Kinney, Anne Behnke. Exemplary Women of Early China: The Lienü Zhuan of Liu Xiang. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014.

Knoblock, John, and Jeffrey Riegel. The Annals of Lü Buwei. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2000.

Lau, D. C. Lao-Tzu: Tao Te Ching: Translation of the Ma Wang Tui Manuscripts. New York: Knopf, 1994.

Lau, Ulrich, and Thies Staack. Legal Practice in the Formative Stages of the Chinese Empire: An Annotated Translation of the Exemplary Qin Criminal Cases from the Yuelu Academy Collection. Leiden: Brill, 2016.

Minford, John, and Joseph S. M. Lau (Ed.). Classical Chinese Literature: An Anthology of Translations. Volume I: From Antiquity to the Tang Dynasty. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Neinhauser, William H., Jr., ed. The Grand Scribe’s Records [by] Ssu-ma Ch’ien. Volumes I-X. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995-2016.

Pan Ku. The History of the Former Han Dynasty. Translated by Homer H. Dubs. Vol. One, First Division, The Imperial Annals, Chapters I-V. Baltimore: Waverly Press, 1938.

Pan Ku. The History of the Former Han Dynasty. Translated by Homer H. Dubs. 3rd printing. Vol. Two, First Division, The Imperial Annals, Chapters VI-X. The American Council of Learned Societies, 1969.

Peerenboom, R. P. Law and Morality in Ancient China: The Silk Manuscripts of Huang-Lao. State University of New York Press, 1993.

Pines, Yuri, ed. and trans. The Book of Lord Shang: Apologetics of State Power in Early China. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017.

Primary Source, Inc. The Enduring Legacy of Ancient China: Primary Source Lessons for Teachers and Students. Boston: Cheng & Tsui, 2006.

Shaughnessy, Edward L. I Ching: The Classic of Changes: The First English Translation of the Newly Discovered Second-Century B.C. Mawangdui Texts. New York: Ballantine Books, 1997.

Silk Road Seattle website. “Silk Road Narratives: A Collection of Historical Texts.”

Sima Qian, The First Emperor: Selections from the Historical Records. Translated by Raymond Dawson. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty I. Translated by Burton Watson. Rev. ed.. Hong Kong: Research Centre for Translation, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Columbia University Press, 1993.

Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty II. Translated by Burton Watson. Rev. ed. Hong Kong: Research Centre for Translation, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Columbia University Press, 1993.

Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian: Qin Dynasty. Translated by Burton Watson. New York: Research Centre for Translation, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Columbia University Press, 1993.

Szuma Chien. Selections from Records of the Historian. Translated by Yang Hsien-yi, and Gladys Yang, 461. Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1979.

Wang, Robin R., ed. Images of Women in Chinese Thought and Culture: Writings from the Pre-Qin Period through the Song Dynasty. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2003.

Yates, Robin D. S. Five Lost Classics: Tao, Huang-Lao, and Yin-Yang in Han China. New York: Ballantine Books, 1997.

Bibliography by Chapter

If you are interested in learning more about the tombs of Mawangdui, here are the books, articles, and other sources I used in my research for At Home in Her Tomb: Lady Dai and the Ancient Chinese Treasures of Mawangdui.  Click below on the title of a chapter to see its list of sources.

Chapter 1: Excavation of a Time Capsule

Chapter 2: The Mysterious Cadaver

Chapter 3: A House Underground

Chapter 4: All the Comforts of Home

Chapter 5: Lady Dai’s Silk Treasures

Chapter 6: Library of Silk and Bamboo

Historical Note: Legacy of the Qin and Han Dynasties

Time Line of the Qin and Early Han Dynasties

Behind the Story

• Teachingbooks.net resources
• Webinar: “A Time Capsule of Early China: Lady Dai and the Tombs of
  Mawangdui”
• Charlesbridge Discussion and Activity Guide
• Book Links article: “Classroom Connections: Death and Burial across
  Cultures”

Honors

• Junior Library Guild Selection
• Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12: 2015 (starred for Selectors’ Choice) – National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Children’s Book Council (CBC)
• Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2015 – National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and Children’s Book Council (CBC)
• Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth, 2014 and Book Links Lasting Connections: 2014 – American Library Association (ALA)
• Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Books of 2014, Best Middle-Grade Nonfiction of 2014, and Best Middle-Grade Books of 2014 That Celebrate Diversity
• New York Public Library’s 2014 list of 100 Children’s Books for Reading and Sharing
• 2014 ABC Best Books for Children Catalog – American Booksellers Association
• Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2015 (starred for Outstanding Merit) – Bank Street College of Education Center for Children’s Literature
• 2015 Cream of the Crop for Children’s and Young Adult Literature – Southern Maine Library District Book Review Group
• 2014 Distinguished Books – Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California
• 2016 Building STEAM with Día! Book List 6th to 8th Grade – Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)

Reviews

• “Debut author Liu-Perkins’ infectious curiosity shines in this exploration of a Han dynasty burial chamber excavated in 1972.”   – Kirkus Reviews, *starred* review. Best Children’s Books of 2014, Best Middle-Grade Nonfiction of 2014, and Best Middle-Grade Books of 2014 That Celebrate Diversity.
• “. . . each of the well-organized chapters delineates . . . how the finds have brought the world of ancient China to vivid, illuminating life.”  –  School Library Journal
• “Liu-Perkins does an excellent job of making kids care about this discovery . . . 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.” – Booklist, *starred* review. Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth, 2014.
• “Liu-Perkins is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic docent, leading readers through the particulars of the excavation and reveling in the enormous amount of information the find revealed about the Qin and early Han periods . . . This material will be a boon for archaeology fans . . .” – Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
• “The revelations from Lady Dai’s burial site . . . help us understand ancient Chinese culture and history in the context of the life of an actual person, making it much more real and understandable.” – Cathy Duffy Reviews
• Rated as ESSENTIAL for middle school libraries and a 2015 Top 50 Secondary book – Kiss the Book
• ” . . . has something to suit young people with a wide range of interests: archeology, history, Chinese culture, or even embalming.” – NSTA Recommends, National Science Teachers Association. Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12: 2015 (*starred* for Selectors’ Choice)
• “A fascinating and well-documented account of the discovery and the contents of Lady Dai’s tomb. . . ” – Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California (ACL). 2014 Distinguished Books.
• “. . . a captivating book about archeology and Chinese burial of important people. . . . extremely useful to anyone who is interested in China or who is interested in archeology in general.” – Library Media Connection, *starred* review. Highly Recommended.
• “Finding mummies in contemporary times, while interesting, may not always be seen as quite as exciting as it might have been 100 years ago; however, this mummy and her story should change any reader’s attitude.” – Children’s Literature
• “. . . such a find not only extends our factual knowledge but also deepens our appreciation of the diversity of past civilizations.” – The Horn Book. “Superior” rating – The Horn Book Guide
• “This book takes readers into the tomb of Lady Dai, along with the archeologists – and forensic scientists – who excavated the site.” – Nonfiction Monday
• “. . . an extraordinary narrative involving ancient Chinese history and language, archaeology and forensic science.” – Asheville Citizen-Times
• “Great for STEM classrooms and also for teachers who are trying to expand students’ interest in reading informational texts.” – Sunday Cummins, literacy consultant
• “. . . part forensics, part history, part family story, and all interesting. . . . A more complete and exciting (and I use that word sparingly) glimpse into Qin and early Han Dynasties for children would be difficult to find.” – Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal‘s A Fuse #8 Production
• “A fascinating blend of science, art, history, and more, this . . . offering will find wide use across the curriculum.” – Book Links Lasting Connections: 2014 selection as a top choice for K-8 classrooms
• “This book tells how Lady Dai’s luxurious tomb . . . serves as an exotic ‘time capsule’ from the ancient Han dynasty. . . . not only an exciting story but also a tempting introduction to archaeology for middle-schoolers with inquiring minds.” American Scientist – Science Book Gift Guide 2014

For Teachers

Thank you for the life-changing work you do! Below are teaching guides, discussion questions, and other resources for using At Home in Her Tomb with students. I hope you find them helpful.

• I presented a 30-minute webinar, “A Time Capsule of Ancient China: Lady Dai and the Tombs of Mawangdui,” that introduces highlights of the tombs, points to further resources, and answers questions asked by the audience. It is archived at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/7876052851393793795.
• 10 Learning Activities for At Home in Her Tomb. This teaching guide includes the following activities: Time Line, Studying Artifacts, Imagined Scenes, Portable Library, Science of Death & Decomposition, Chapter 1 as a Mentor Text, More Mummies, Memorials, Analyzing Nonfiction Media, and Inquiry & Problem-Solving. View in browser or download pdf.
• Charlesbridge Publishing created a Discussion & Activity Guide for At Home in Her Tomb with things to discuss and write before and after reading the book.
• Book Links has a feature article, “Classroom Connections: Death and Burial across Cultures,” that includes At Home in Her Tomb as a recommended resource.
• Author and former school librarian Pat Miller described how At Home in Her Tomb and other nonfiction books use Back Matter features to enhance the main text.