Lacquer Hu

Western Han, 168 B.C.
Hunan Provincial Museum, Changsha

This big lacquer hu (wine vessel) was found in Lady Dai's tomb. It holds about five gallons. It is decorated with a cloud design on the belly, and geometric designs elsewhere. Far too many English-language sources, both in print and online, refer to this as a "Zhong," but zhong just means "round." It's really a "zhong hu," that is, a round wine-vessel.