ResearchontheSpreadofKhotanJadetotheWestduringtheMedievalPeriod
ChenChunxiao(1)
Abstract:Jade with special connotations has played a significant role in Chinese culture.The export of jade materials and objects has promoted the Chinese jade culture to the world.In very ancient times,Khotan jade has been brought into the ancient Iran incessantly,usually for making pommels for swords,belt fittings,seal rings,and vessels etc.Since the medieval period,the westwards migration of nomads had successively brought the oriental jades and its culture to the ancient Iran.From Medieval period,nomadic people in Asian continent migrated to the west,bringing the jade culture from east to the ancient Iran in the west.This has been recorded by Arabic and Persian texts with rich detailed information of Khotan jade in terms of types,origins,functions,and manufacturing processes.When the Khitans established the West Liao state in Central Asia,the design style of the Chinese jade was also introduced into the eastern regions of the ancient Iran.After Mongols Empire conquered ancient Iran,establishing the Ilkhanate (1260~1335 CE),the "official system of jade-seal" during the Yuan dynasty,which was strongly influenced with Chinese jade culture,was resettled by Mongols in the Iranian region,forming a political vogue of "Jade as respect".Hence,through the influence of multi-ethnic cultures,a route has been paved for the spread of colorful Chinese culture between China and ancient Iran.
Keywords:Khotan jade;Spread of Jade;ancient Iran;West migration tribes;Distribution of Chinese culture
TheSpreadofChineseCultureintheGoldenHordebasedonthenewunearthedCoins
MaXiaolin,Е.М.Pigarev(17)
Abstract:The coins unearthed through the archaeology are the important materials for the studies on the Golden Horde and its cultural interaction with others.Over the past twenty years excavation and research,archaeologists have reidentified two capital cities of the Golden Horde,the Old Sarai named Krasnoyarskogo ruin,and New Sarai called Selitrennoye ruin,both in Lower Volga River area.Recently,one Chinese "Blue Colt" Da-Ma-Ge horse chess coin presented in this paper was found in the Krasnoyarskogo ruin.Other two Northern Song coins were found in the Selitrennoye ruin.It is highly probable that the three Chinese coins,so as the others unearthed sporadically along the North Caucasia and Pontic~Caspian region were actually brought from China through the Silk Road during the 13th ~14th centuries.These bronze coins likely to be used as souvenir or amulet rather than currency.Under the ruling of the Golden Horde,the Chinese coins and the custom of using amulet coins came together with porcelains,textiles and metal objects into the Lower Volga,North Caucasia and Pontic~Caspian regions.These coins are the earliest Chinese coins ever discovered in the westmost area away from China.
Keywords:Silk Road;Golden Horde;Mongol Empire;North Song coins;Lucky money
InvestigationontheWesternRegion’smedicineNanRuxiang(SouthernFrankincense)
recordedintheYuanDynastymedicalbooks
QiuZhirong(25)
Abstract:During the Mongols and Yuan Dynasties,transcontinental transportation in Eurasia was unprecedentedly smooth,and many previously unseen western products were able to enter the Central China.So,the name ofNanRuxiang(Southern Frankincense) emerged in some Yuan Dynasty traditional Chinese medical books.Among these books,the earliest and the most intensively using theNanRuxiangwas in theYuyaoyuanFang(Prescriptions of the Royal Pharmaceutical Institute) revised by Xu Guozhen in the 4th year of Zhiyuan (1267AD).Other writers who usedNanRuxiangin their medicine books apparently because they were able to contact with the Mongol elites.Therefore,the western medicineNanRuxiang,Southern Frankincense was only provided for the Mongol court and the aristocracy.By analyzing the medicinal properties ofNanRuxiang,it can be identified that the medicine "Mastic" we called today,is theNanRuxiangused during Yuan Dynasty,which is a sort of resin from the Mediterranean regions.This medicine can also be found in the Chinese literatures during the Yuan~Ming dynasties transliterated as "masidaqi" ,"masitaqi" ,and "musiteqi" in Chinese scripts.These Chinese names were transliterated from Persian~Arabic "Mas·t·akee".After the end of Yuan Dynasty,due to the obstructed exchanges between China and the West,"South Frankincense" almost disappeared from Chinese literatures,and the Chinese interpretation on "Mastic" used today became very fallacious.
Keywords:Medicine;the Mongol~Yuan period;Traditional Chinese medical books;Huihui medicine;Silk Road;Southern frankincense;Mastic
ResearchontheTypes,FunctionsandDistributionsofEarlyBronzeMirrorinChina
PanJing,JingZhongwei(37)
Abstract:Early bronze mirrors in China can be divided into two types: knobbed mirror and handled mirror.After going through the four stages: the early,the late Shang,the West Zhou,and the Spring/Autumn,these two designs of mirrors gradually became mature.As the major style of the early design within the knobbed mirror,the decoration on the single knobbed mirrors developed from geometric patterns to the no decoration,to the animal style.The earliest mirror first appeared in Gansu,Qinghai,and eastern Xinjiang in China.The interregional communication and influence of mirrors in different areas occurred during the late Shang Dynasty,forming two major distribution center: Central China and Xinjiang.Up to Spring and Autumn,local design of mirror was established in Central China,northeast China,and Xinjiang.The handled mirror which were originally from west Asia and north Africa was brought into Xinjiang during Western Zhou period.While,more attention should be given to Hexi Corridor and the east Xinjiang if we seek the origins of the knobbed mirrors.Functionally,the early mirror was usually used for cosmetic and dressing purposes,but sometimes also for ornaments,or religious purposes,or used as a social ranking symbol on some occasions.
Keywords:Bronze mirror;Knobbed mirror;Handled mirror;Type;Distribution;Function
DiscoveryandpreliminarystudyonthebathremainfoundattheTangchaodunsite
RenGuan;WeiJian(58)
Abstract:During the excavation of the Tangchaodun site from 2018 to 2019,a bath remian built about 10thto 13thcentury was unearthed.This site consisted of a brick main building,mud-brick buildings associated with other facilities such as stove and wells.This type of baths first appeared in the ancient Greece around the Mediterranean area,and along with the expansion of ancient Rome,it gradually developed,spread to the surrounding areas during the period of Roman Empire.In Western Asia,the bath design was changed due to the influence of local construct of Persian architecture,and such design of bath continually spread eastwards to Central Asia and further east to Xinjiang of China.The bath remain discovered this time can be identified as the hall,bathing and work areas according to the different constructions.The structure of the bath was obviously influenced by the Roman style,while the artefacts found at the bath remain and the inner decoration of the bath obviously reveal the style of Central Plain and regional characters,reflecting the ancient cultural interaction and integration between East and West along the Silk Road.
Keywords:Tangchaodun site;Bath remain;Gaochang Uyghur
MajorAchievementfromtheexcavationattheArgen-ovoocemetery
inPeople’sRepublicofMongolia
InstituteofArcheologyofNorthernEthnicity,RenminUniversityofChina;
MongoliaNationalMuseumofNationalities(69)
Abstract:The Argen-ovoo cemetery is located in the Jargalant sum (district) of Orkhon province of north-central Mongolia.The cemetery was first discovered in 2008.From 2014 to 2017,funded by the government of Orkhon province,National Museum of Mongolia together with the Museum of Orkhon Province excavated the cemetery within the four excavation seasons.In 2018,a major project of Renmin University of China "The Archaeology in Mobei Grassland from the perspective of Belt and Road" was officially launched.Since then,the prelude to a collaboration archeological excavation of the cemetery between China and Mongolia has begun.Based on the understanding of both Chinese and Mongolian archaeologists,this article is to introduce the preliminary interpretation and achievements since the excavation in 2018 in terms of tomb structure,cultural affiliation,and date.
Keywords:Mongolia;Argen-ovoo cemetery
Indexfor"SuiBestowedGaoChangKingQu-Bo-YaBian-Guo-Gong'"
--OntheInfluenceofEmperorLiangYuan’spainting"ZhiGongTu"
MiTingting;WangSu(75)
StudyontheExamSystemofScholarinWestLiang--Focusingon"FourthYear
ofJianchu(408)Scholar’sDebateWriting"
MaJunjie(82)
YumenguanPassandItsMovingEastwardsDuringHanandTangPeriods
WangLei(96)
Differentiatingthe"Ta-Li-Han"and"Ta-Li-Gan"inYuan-Shi(HistorybookofYuanDynasty)
--CommentontheMiseditingofJing-Shi-Da-Dian-Tu(ClassicAtlas)Pointed
byDingQian
LiuZhenyu(109)
Abstract:Two places "Tan-Li-Han" and "Ta-Li-Gan" appeared in the "Yuan Shi·Tai Zu" and "Yuan Shi Geography Northwest".Because the two places are with the similar name and geographically closed,researchers usually misuse them in their studies.By analyzing the related documents from both Chinese and foreign literatures,this article is to clarify the history and changes of these two places with the conclusion that "Ta-Li-Han" is actually the place called Chachaktu today in the north Afghanistan,and "Ta-Li-Gan" referring to another place Taluqan in the northeast Afghanistan.Moreover,when Ding Qian researched "Jing-Shi-Da-Dian-Tu" (Classic Atlas),he proposed the misediting of "Ta-Li-Gan" and "Tu-Si" which is more likely to be the correct point although it is usually disagreed with many scholars.
Keywords:Ta-Li-Han;Ta-Li-Gan;Taluqan;Jing-Shi-Da-Dian-Tu (Classic Atlas)
WesternandCentralAsianSealsandArtsEastwardsSpread
HanXiang(124)
Abstract:Since the Qin and Han dynasties,the seal-system in ancient China has been established along with the maturity of the development of the Han style of seals.While,along the Silk Road,the western seals,especially the Central and Western Asian seals and its artistic styles spread eastwards into China.Many of these seals are found in northern China during the Middle Age.This article mainly explores the influence of the seal culture from Central and Western Asia,specifically from Persia,Gandhara and other places during the Middle Age of China.It also unveils that the development of the Silk Road during the Middle Age had an significant impact on the communication between the east and west civilizations.
Keywords:West and Central Asia;Seals;Artistic style;Cultural distribution
TextualStudyontheUyghurTranslationExpertKuduludurMishi
ShangYanbin(136)
Abstract:Kuduludur Mishi was a renowned Uyghur translation expert in Yuan Dynasty.He was successively awarded with the titles of Jixian-Academician,Hanlin-Academician-Cheng-Zhi,and Academician of Kui Zhangge Academy by Emperor Wu,Ren,Taiding,and Wen of Yuan Dynasty.Because he was fluent in Chinese,Uyghur,Mongolian and other ethnic languages,he has translated Chinese classics,such as "Zizhi Tongjian" (A General Knowledge and Political Administration and "Daxue Yanyi" (Exposition of Great Learning) into Mongolian.While,so far there is no specific research on this ancient scholar.With broad collection of Yuan Dynasty textual documents,this article is to examine his family background,translation activities,and communication with scholars from different ethnics,in order to unveil the multi-cultural characteristics during Yuan Dynasty.
Keywords:Yuan Dynasty;Uyghur;Translation Expert;Kuduludur Mishi;Yu Ji
TheReviewandProspectoftheResearchontheYuhongs’Co-burialintheLastTwentyYears
--FocusingontheYuHong’sEthnicBackgroundandLocationofYuState
FengPeihong(153)
Abstract:It has been 20 years past that the discovery of the tomb of Yuhong couple in Taiyuan of Shanxi,and a large number of studies have been published.These publication discussed concentratedly on Yuhong’s ethic background,the location of Yu State,and the engravings on the outer stone coffin with diverse opinions and different standpoints.By categorizing,reviewing,and evaluating these different opinions accumulated over the past 20 years this article is to pinpoint the improvement and problem among the past research.The aim of this study is to clarify our research orientation,specifically for interpreting the epigraph,images,and to encourage exploring more historic documents on different perspectives,in order to have an finalized accomplish result.
Keywords:Yuhong couple burial;Yu State;Ethnic background;Location
Reviewof"DictionaryofSilkRoad"
HuiMeng(166)