19 - The Property of a Gentleman, to be offered without reserve (Lots 1 - 56)

The Property of a Gentleman, to be offered without reserve (Lots 1 - 56) A large Chinese pottery funerary model of a farm Han dynasty The large complex well-modelled with an open courtyard and stairs, 44cm wide x 31cm deep x 27.5cm high, with pig, 14cm long, trough, 9.5cm x 3cm, two painted cockerels, 6.5cm and 7cm long, and a mouse, 4cm(6). (Import Duty Charged on the Hammer Price)落槌價徵收進口關稅 Provenance: British private collection, assembled in Hong Kong 1988-1998. 漢 陶製溷厕 來源：英國私人收藏，於1988至1998年間在香港購藏。 Cf. a similar model in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, acc. no. 1971.867. 參閱：一件類似的模型收藏於芝加哥藝術博物館 (The Art Institute of Chicago)，館藏編號：1971.867。 This type of funerary model may be described as either a pigsty or a latrine, but it also has a more specialised name: the hùn cè (溷廁). In Han-dynasty terminology, a pigsty was known as a hùn (圂), while a latrine incorporating a pigsty was called a hùn (溷). Its enclosing wall was known as the hùn bì (溷壁), the structure above the latrine as the hùn xuān (溷軒), and the openings through which pigs entered and exited as zhū dòu (豬竇), also called cè dòu (廁竇) or simply dòu dòng (竇洞). Some of these openings were built into the surrounding walls to facilitate the removal and transport of manure. The model is arranged on two levels, with the latrine raised above the pigsty and reached by a short flight of steps. It has been suggested that this elevated arrangement may even be the origin of the Chinese expression shàng cèsuǒ (上廁所), literally “to go up to the toilet”. The lower level is occupied by the pigsty, while two latrine structures, or hùn xuān, are positioned diagonally opposite one another: one is relatively enclosed, while the other is semi-open. Such an arrangement has been interpreted as evidence that separate facilities for men and women were already in use during the Han dynasty. The approach to the latrine is paved with regularly patterned bricks. The pigsty is enclosed by brick walls surmounted by a roof, while an opening beneath the latrine allows the pigs to move in and out with ease. Compact yet ingenious, this little hùn cè brings together three practical functions—sanitation, animal husbandry and manure collection—in a single, integrated structure. Unlike the Shang and Zhou dynasties, when actual bronze ritual vessels were commonly placed in tombs, the Han dynasty saw the widespread use of miniature funerary models, or mingqi (明器). These included ceramic representations of towers and pavilions, granaries, cooking ranges, wells, pigsties, servant figures, horses and carts, as well as a variety of animals. This shift reflects a changing conception of the afterlife: rather than focusing solely on ritual offerings, burial practices increasingly sought to recreate the familiar world of the living. The principle of “serving the dead as one served the living” (shì sǐ rú shì shēng, 事死如事生) expressed the hope that the deceased might continue to enjoy, in the world below, the comforts and privileges of life as a landed estate owner. Far from being mere curiosities, these miniature structures offer an unusually vivid glimpse into the everyday realities of Han-dynasty society, revealing not only domestic architecture and sanitation, but also agricultural practices, animal husbandry and the organisation of estate life. 此類模型，可以被稱為「豬圈」，也可以被稱為「廁所」。它還有一個專有名稱，叫做「溷廁」。漢代謂豬圈為圂，帶豬圈的廁所名溷，其圍牆叫溷壁，廁上之屋則名溷軒，便於豬出入的洞口稱為豬竇，又稱廁竇、竇洞。一些廁竇開在圍牆上，便於運輸肥料。 整體分為兩層，廁所需要拾級而上，據說這便是中文中「上廁所」一詞的由來；下層為豬圈。兩間「溷軒」呈對角分布，一間較為封閉，另一間則呈半開放式，反映漢代已出現男女分廁的現象。通往廁所的地面鋪設紋樣規整的鋪地磚；豬圈由磚牆圍繞，圍牆設有頂部；廁所下方則設有窦洞，方便豬隻進出。小小的「溷廁」，構成了一套集衛生、養殖與積肥三種功能於一體的系統。 與商周時期使用真實青銅禮器陪葬的做法不同，漢代墓葬中大量出現模型明器，如陶製樓閣、倉廩、灶台、水井、豬圈、僕役俑、車馬俑及各種動物。這標誌著喪葬觀念逐漸由「祭祀」轉向「模擬現實生活」。所謂「事死如事生」，生者希望死者在地下世界仍能延續生前身為莊園地主的生活。這些模型為我們復原漢代的社會生活與經濟形態，提供了極為直觀而珍貴的實物資料。