Sacred way

[2][3] A traditional burial site of an emperor or a high official of that era would be typically arranged along the north–south axis; the sacred way would lead from the south to the southern gate of the enclosure within which the tomb itself and the associated buildings were located.

[4] The que were followed by statues of animals, among whom feline-like creatures were prominent: both fairly realistic-looking tigers (long known to Chinese artists) and lions (a Han dynasty innovation), as well as more fantastic varieties, provided with wings, beards, and/or horns.

[8] The last component of the Eastern Han sacred ways, the stelae are believed to be a stone reproduction of wooden slabs, which in the ancient times were placed on both sides of the open grave during the burial.

The Wei and Western Jin rulers (3rd century AD) seemed to have frowned upon funeral art extravagance of the fallen Han dynasty, generally shunning above-ground statuary at their tomb sites.

The qilin, distinguished by their horns and beards, appeared at emperor's tombs, while the princes of blood (wang) had the bixie, who sported lions' manes and long outstretched tongues in their wide-opened mouths.

The stocky bixie is thought to have evolved from the tiger statues of Han-era tombs in Sichuan and Shandong; however, there is now more emphasis on the power of the creature than on its speed.

[15] The more elegant and sinuous qilin, their bodies almost completely covered with complicated patterns of carved curves, have a touch of Chinese dragon in them, and may have been related to the Han tomb statues from central China (e.g. the pair from Cuanlinmiao in Luoyang).