and a half pounds of gold wires. In 1973, a jade burial suit belonging to Prince Huai of the Western Han Dynasty was discovered in Dingxian, Hebei. It consisted of 1,203 pieces of jade and 2,580 grams of gold thread. In 1983, a jade suit was found in the tomb of Zhao Mo, the second king of Southern Yue, in Guangzhou. The red silk thread used to bind the 2,291 jade plates represented Zhao Mo's immersion into local culture. It is exhibited in the local Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King. In 1991, a jade burial suit was excavated from a group of monumental tombs of the King of Chu, Liu Wu, in Xuzhou. This magnificent, life-sized jade and gold burial suit is the finest to have survived, thereby possessing a high value for artistic appreciation. It is now believed that jade burial suits were actually relatively common among the wealthiest aristocrats of the Han Dynasty, but that over the years most have been lost due to the activities of grave robbers. Gallery See also Chinese jade References External links Chinese Civilization: Funerary Jade Armor — Video on The China Times China.com.cn — Chinese language article on Jade burial suit, with photograph An Armor for Immortality Jade objects Archaeology of death Archaeological artifacts of China Chinese art Jade Chinese inventions Hardstone carving Han dynasty culture