AHOW: 055 Chinese Tang figures 18 Jun 2010




A History of the World in 100 Objects show

Summary: Ceramic figures from the burial of a Chinese Tang general. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, describes how, around 700 AD, the elite of China's Tang Dynasty chose to leave their mark on the world by writing or commissioning their own obituaries. China scholar Oliver Moore explains the ambitions of the dynasty and journalist Anthony Howard describes the power of the obituary.