Cicada 琀蟬

汉朝 Han dynasty
(206 BC–220 AD)
China

Jade, 6.3cm tall

cat# 140181

Cicada shaped jade amulets were placed in the mouth of the deceased during the Han dynasty. Because the cicada burrows into the ground for up to seventeen years before emerging from the earth for its final form, it is believed these amulets were used to guide the spirit into the afterlife.

在漢代，蟬形玉護身符被放置在死者口中。 因為蟬在從地球出來進入最終形態之前鑽入地下長達17年，因此相信這些護身符被用來引導精神進入來世。