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object 16 Jade shroud sewn with gold wire L 188 cm, W at shoulder 44.1 cm Western Han Dynasty (c. 113 B.C.) From the tomb of Liu Sheng, King of Zhongshan, at Lingshan, Mancheng, Hebei Province Excavated in 1968 Hebei Provincial Museum, Shijiazhuang

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Liu Sheng and his consort, Dou Wan, were buried in two separate caves dug into the cliff at Lingshan (Mancheng county) in Hebei province. Liu Sheng was a son of the Han emperor Jing Di and ruled over the principality of Zhongshan. According to historian Sima Qian, Liu Sheng was fond of drink and women and lived a life of luxury, a lifestyle that is reflected in the more than 2,800 objects that were buried with the couple at Mancheng.

The jade suit of Dou Wan in situ in the tomb. The practice of completely covering the body with jade may have evolved from earlier burial traditions, in which individual jade pendants and face coverings were attached to cloth and placed over the body. Full-body jade coverings prevailed during the Western Han period but seem to have been limited to members of the Liu family, from which the Han emperors were descended. The practice was forbidden shortly after the end of the Eastern Han period.

Jade was a durable stone whose properties, it was believed, could be transferred (even by eating) as a way to ensure immortality. Liu Sheng's shroud may have been intended to replace his earthly body with an immortal jade version in death. Or, it may be that this jade "armor" protected him from demonic forces. Liu Sheng's shroud was accompanied by plugs to close the body's orifices and eighteen bi discs (see Jade cong) over the upper body. Consisting of 2,498 small plaques sewn together with gold wire, it has been estimated that the suit would have taken ten years to fashion. Liu Sheng's head was placed on an elaborate headrest of gilt bronze with jade inlay.

Contents of the central chamber of Liu Sheng's tomb. The door at the end leads to the burial chamber. The design of Liu Sheng's tomb represented a shift from burial pits to horizontal rock-cut chambers. Behind an entrance blocked by a brick wall were several linked rooms. The rear chamber, lined with stone slabs, held the prince's coffin. Outer chambers contained stone figures of attendants and other provisions. One chamber was furnished with vessels and canopies, suggesting that it was used for ceremonial feasting and other observances. Stone was used more extensively at this time for tomb structures, wall reliefs, and mortuary statues. Since jade was the most precious of stones and associated with immortality, it was reserved for the body shroud.

Archaeologists were aware of the existence of jade suits before any were discovered, due to this description in a first-century A.D. text by Wei Hong: "When the emperor died, a pearl was placed in his mouth: his body was wrapped around with twelve layers of reddish yellow silk. Jade was used to make the garment. It had the shape of armor and the jade pieces were stitched together with gold threads."

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