Yō

These dolls were made as grave goods. They are a type of Ming ware, and the term 'yū' is generally used for Chinese Ming ware dolls. Depending on the material they are made of, there are ceramic figurines, wooden figurines, bronze figurines, and even jade figurines. Jade human figures already existed in the late Shang dynasty, and these are also a type of yū, but most of the artifacts called yū have been excavated since the Warring States period. Well-known artifacts from the Warring States period include the wooden figurines excavated in Changsha, Hunan Province, and the small ceramic figurines excavated in Changzhi, Shanxi Province, and a life-size ceramic figurines was excavated from the Terracotta Army Pit in the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. Many ceramic, wooden, bronze, and stone figurines have also been excavated from Han dynasty tombs, and a variety of figurines have been created from the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties.

[Takeji Iijima]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

墓の副葬品としてつくられた人形。明器(めいき)の一種で、一般に中国の人形明器に俑の名称を用いる。その材質によって、陶俑、木俑、銅俑などがあり、玉石のものもある。殷(いん)後期にすでに玉製の人物像が存在し、これらも俑の一種ではあるが、俑とよばれる遺物の出土は戦国時代以降のものが多い。戦国の遺物としては湖南省長沙(ちょうさ)出土の木俑、山西省長治出土の小陶俑などが知られ、秦(しん)の始皇帝陵の兵馬俑坑(ようこう)からは等身大の陶俑が出土している。漢代の墓からも多くの陶俑、木俑、銅俑、石俑が出土し、魏晋(ぎしん)南北朝から隋(ずい)、唐、宋(そう)、元(げん)、明(みん)に至るまで各種の俑がつくられている。

［飯島武次］

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