ExhibitionofrelicsfromXinjiangshowsTangDynasty’sinfluenceoverthewesternregions
ByLINQI
[email protected]
T
hesuccess of The Lon-
gest Dayin Chang’an ,
the hit online thriller
series set in the heyday
of the Tang Dynasty
(618-9 0 7), has aroused keen inter-
est. The food, the attire and other
details of the lifestyle that showcases
the empire’s glory have been sources
of much discussion among viewers,
thanks to the production’s refined
costumes, makeup and props.
But to truly understand the exten-
sive power wielded by the dynasty,
there is perhaps no better way than
to take a look at the original docu-
ments and objects dating back to
the era.
An exhibition of cultural relics
from Xinjiang running currently at
the National Museum ofChina in
Beijing shows dozens of such arti-
facts, the majority of which are on
loan from the Xinjiang UygurAuton-
omous Region Museum in Urumqi.
The huge variety of exhibits
provides evidence of the dynamic
exchanges between the East and
West along the ancient Silk Road, the
Tang Dynasty’s far-reaching influ-
ence in Xiyu, or the western regions,
and more importantly, the empire’s
jurisdiction over the Xinjiang Uygur
autonomous region.
The exhibition through Sept 9 is
titled Wan LiTong Feng ,aphrase
borrowed from The Book of Han ,
which documentsChinese history
from 2 06 BCtoAD 23, covering
mostly the period of the Western
Han Dynasty. The title, which liter-
ally means “Shared Social Protocols
in Thousands of Miles”, is used as a
metaphor for the unity of a nation.
In addition to its breathtaking
scenery and dynamic ethnic cul-
tures, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous
region in NorthwestChina is also
home to a plethora of important
archaeological discoveries.
One noted finding has been at a
relic site some 4 0 kilometers east
of Turpan, in Xinjiang’s northwest.
Since the late 195 0 s, around 456
tombs and 1 0 , 000 valuable relics
have been discovered across an area
covering roughly 1 0 square kilome-
ters, which has been hailed by histo-
riansas the “underground museum
of Turpan”.
These are theAstana Tombs, an
ancient burial site where aristocrats,
officials and common people from
different ethnic groups living in the
nearby ancient city of Gaochang
were buried between the third and
eighth centuries.
The bulk of the tombs that have
been excavated so far date back to
the Tang Dynasty.Aselection of
the objects unearthed fromAstana
are among the artifacts now being
exhibited at the National Museum
ofChina, offering visitors a picture of
the daily lives of Gaochang residents
— what they ate, how they dressed,
how they worked and how they pre-
pared for the afterlife, among other
facets.
Highlights include three baked
desserts made of wheat flour found
during an excavation atAstana in
1972, which only measure a few cen-
timeters across and are shaped like
flowers.
According to Li Da from the Xin-
jiang UygurAutonomous Region
Museum’s storage department, the
delicacies demonstrate the highly
developed culinary culture of
Zhongyuan, theCentralChina Plain
along the Yellow River, that prevailed
in the area surrounding Turpan. It
was also via Turpan that grapes, wal-
nuts, onions, garlic and peppers were
introduced to Zhongyuan, enriching
the local food culture and developing
into the basis ofChinese cuisine as
we know it today.
Yu Zhiyong, director of the Xin-
jiang museum, said the rather dry
climate in Xinjiang has helped topreserve artifacts such as paper
documents, brocades and wooden
puppets which are susceptible to
humidity, offering people today an
unprecedented insight into the close
relationship between Xinjiang and
the hinterlands of Zhongyuan since
the pre-Qin Dynasty (221-2 06 BC)
era.
One such example is a pair of
wooden puppets excavated in 1973
from the tomb of Zhang Xiong, a
general of Gaochang, and his wife.
Zhang’s ancestors hailed from Henan
province inCentralChina, and set-
tled in Gaochang to develop into a
well-connected, extended family over
the course of several generations.
One puppet depicts a camel keep-
er whose thick eyebrows, deep eye
sockets and the high bridge of his
nose suggest he was a member of a
non-Han group. The other puppet
portrays a woman who wears exqui-
site makeup and outfits typical of a
lady from Tang high society.
Li said the artfully sculpted wood-
en puppets buried with the Zhang
couple were most likely made inZhongyuan, and represent a style of
art unique to the Tang era’s heyday.
The exhibition also shows arti-
facts from otherChinese dynasties
to highlight the continued exchanges
between Xinjiang and Zhongyuan
in agriculture, metallurgy, trade and
culture.
One eye-catching section shows
several textile works which Yu, the
former head of the autonomous
region’s archaeological team, said
were mainly excavated from the
ruins of Loulan, Hotan prefecture,
and the city of Turpan. The artifacts
date back to the Wei (22 0 -265) and
Jin (265-42 0 ) dynasties.
One of the brocaded pillows on
display demonstrates how popular
burial customs from the central
plains were introduced into the
Xinjiang region. The jiming zhen
(crowing rooster pillow) is believed
to have been made during the East-
ern Han Dynasty (25-22 0 ). It features
relief patterns of auspicious animals,
clouds and intertwined leaves that
are interspersed withChinese char-
acters denoting longevity in the cleri-cal Lishu style of calligraphy.
“Hopefully, this exhibition will
make it clear to the audience the
continued and intensive cultural
influence of Zhongyuan on the west-
ern regions at the time,” Yu said.
Luo Hao, a curator from the
National Museum ofChina, said
the exhibition shows a continuous
administration in Xinjiang by the
government of various dynasties
fromChinese history, beginning with
the establishment of the frontier com-
mand headquarters ( duhufu ) for pac-
ifying the western regions in 60BC,in
the present-day Luntai county, which
is seen as a symbol of Xinjiang’s offi-
cial integration intoChinese territory.
Acontract found in one of the
Astana Tombs in 1967 shows how
a Han settler, Yan Keren, rented a
vineyard from a native named Qu
Shantong. The document outlines
the annual fees that Yan had to pay
his landlord over the course of his
five-year rental. It also includes sev-
eral characters introduced during
the reign of Tang empress Wu Zetian.
Eight seal stamps found on Tang
official papers unearthed in Turpan
are also on display at the exhibition.
Etched in Zhuanshu-style script, the
seals show a facet of the adminis-
trative system being implemented
across several protectorates and
counties in Xinjiang.
Shan Wei, deputy director of the
National Museum, said: “Xinjiang’s
various ethnic cultures have always
been rooted in the soil ofChinese
civilization and constitute an insepa-
rable part of it. The region is a place
jointlydeveloped and owned by the
different ethnic groups ofChina.”CULTURALCONNECTIONS
Three paintings fromthe Tang Dynasty(618-9 0 7)which depictFuxi and Nyuwa, earlyancestors ofthe Chinese in mythology, are on show
atthe exhibitionWan Li Tong Fengatthe National Museum of China inBeijing.PHOTOSBYJIANGDONG/CHINADAILYThe hugevarietyof exhibitsreveal exchanges betweenthe Eastand Westalongthe ancientSilk Road.28 LIFE August9-15, 2019 CHINA DAILY GLOBAL WEEKLY