Imperial Tombs of China.

Considered to be the portals between the worlds of the living and the dead, these burial sites contained treasures to ensure that members of the royal family could continue their extravagance in the afterlife.

THE LARGEST exhibition from China's mysterious underground palaces ever to come to the U.S., "Imperial Tombs of China," currently is on view at the Memphis (Tenn.) Cook Convention Center's Grand Exhibition Hall. Spanning seven dynasties (500 B.C.-1900 A.D.), it includes more than 250 objects excavated from the tombs of China's most prominent emperors and ancient rulers. WONDERS, The Memphis International Cultural Series, organized the exhibition and selected objects from 18 museums and cultural centers throughout nine Chinese provinces. Sixty percent of the objects are ranked as national treasures.

Tombs were considered to be the portals between the worlds of the living and the dead. The Chinese believed the soul of the departed was divided into two parts--one went to heaven and one resided within the body. The soul remaining in the body had to be appeased or it could turn evil. The soul going to heaven was thought to act on behalf of loved ones by offering protection or even recommending good fortunes. To encourage their ancestors in heaven to do a favorable job on their behalf, the living did everything possible to ensure the deceased were well-provided for in the afterlife. Tombs also were believed to house the spirits of the world's most powerful emperors, as well as their empresses, concubines, eunuchs, servants, and mighty warriors.

The burial sites were planned carefully. Fengshui, the ancient art that uses numerology, astrology, and other systems to determine the best orientation for a stracture, guided the location choice and tomb construction. Some Chinese still consult a fengshui practitioner before they erect buildings or launch ventures.

Galleries throughout the exhibition are designed to replicate the layout of actual tomb complexes. This puts the objects in context and brings viewers into the atmosphere and environment of the imperial tombs. Visitors are able to enter the re-created tombs.

The treasures are highly symbolic. Stylistic changes in tomb guardians, animals, and decorative patterns show the influence of the major Chinese belief systems based on Animism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.

Inside the tombs, furnishings designed to support a comfortable afterlife included the items and people the emperor had...