The Manchester China Institute

In this in-person talk, Dame Jessica Rawson explores ancient Chinese tombs, their treasures, and relevance in today's China.

Drawing from her new book, Life and Afterlife in Ancient China, Professor Dame Jessica Rawson will discuss the significance of China's ancient early tombs in a wider political and social context, and how parallels can be made to the modern Chinese state and society.

This event is part of a new Chinese Culture Lecture Series organised by the Manchester China Institute and Manchester Museum, also marking the opening of the new China Culture Gallery at the Manchester Museum, where various Chinese cultural artifacts are displayed.

About the Author

Prof Dame Jessica Mary Rawson, DBE, FBA is an English art historian, curator, and sinologist. She is also an academic administrator, specialising in Chinese art. After many years at the British Museum, she was Warden of Merton College, Oxford, from 1994 until her retirement in 2010.

Dame Rawson's research interests center around the cosmology of the Han period (206 BC- AD 220) and its relation to tombs and their decoration. She is also interested in Chinese rituals and decorative traditions and their role in Chinese Culture.