The Lady with the Phoenix Crown

Tang-period Grave Goods of the Noblewoman Li Chui (711-736)

edited by Sonja Filip and Alexandra Hilgner

Book cover: The Lady with the Phoenix Crown

Extent: 144 pages

Publisher: LEIZA – Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie

Subjects: Art & Art History

Series: Studi. Schriften des Deutschen Studienzentrums in Venedig

Series volume number: 7, 7

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(November 2014)

ISBN: 9783795429270

8.27 x 10.98 inches

Price: $30.00

In stock

The undisturbed tomb of Li Chui who had died in AD 736, a descendant of emperor Gaozu, was excavated in Xi’an in 2001. A German-Chinese team restored the intricate grave furnishings, and this richly illustrated book presents the results of the restoration to a wider English-speaking public, providing insights into Tang period everyday life.


The Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), China’s Golden Age, was a flourishing period teeming with fascinating cultural phenomena. At the centre of this cosmopolitan empire lay the capital city of Chang’an – one of the largest metropolises of its time and now hidden below present-day Xi’an.Aristocrats as protagonists of courtly life shaped the character of the city, their luxurious everyday life equally reflected in lavishly furnished tombs. Nowadays, most of these tombs are found robbed. Evidence of the former splendour of these subterranean chambers only survives in the form of marvellous wall paintings and clay figurines disregarded by the grave robbers.

  • Edited by Sonja Filip
  • Edited by Alexandra Hilgner