For my Sogtoberfest wrap-up, I would like to set the spotlight squarely upon another famous Sogdian: An Jia. An Jia is famous not so much for what he did in his life, but for where he was stored after his death. His tomb, according to Valerie Hansen, was named one of the top ten archaeological finds of 2001(1). The significance of An Jia's tomb lay in two areas: One, that it and its contents were largely undisturbed, while other tombs of Sogdians in China had been looted, sometimes repeatedly, over time (2). And two, it is an excellent example of the blending of Chinese artistic styles with Sogdian cultural and religious motifs.
An Jia, according to his epitaph, was the son of a Sogdian father and a Chinese mother (3). Born in 537, he was desceneded from a Sogdian family hailing from Bukhara. An Jia was a successful sabao, or head of the Sogdian community, in Tongzhou. He was appointed to this position by the administration of the Northern Zhou dynasty (4). Hansen explains that at the time An Jia received this appointment, the originally Sogdian term sabao had morphed in China, being adopted by the Chinese bureaucracy to refer to an administrator of a foreign community (5). An Jia was apparently very good at his job, as Hansen reports he received the highest rank a Sogdian could achieve under the Northern Zhou government (6).
Though the tomb itself is Chinese in design, the Sogdian Zoroastrians would often have small stone houses or platforms in their tombs to hold their remains rather than a funerary bed. Zoroastrians would expose the remains of their dead and collect the bones into small ossuaries, which would then be placed on these platforms or in these small stone houses (7). The craftsmen who created and decorated An Jia's tomb combined the Chinese design and artistic styles with Sogdian religious and cultural symbols. For visual reference, here is the first example of art from An Jia's tomb.
Hansen states that the painting over the entryway depicts "a Zoroastrian fire altar on a table borne by three camels, an attribute of the Sogdian God of Victory" (8).
This next picture depicts the "Sogdian Swirl Dance". Hansen states that this dance was performed by Sogdian men and women at parties and is a popular motif found in many surviving Sogdian artworks from China (9). There are three separate examples of the Sogdian Swirl Dance depicted within An Jia's tomb (10).
This is the funeral couch from An Jia's tomb. It depicts several scenes from An Jia's life, including the Sogdian swirl (10).
An Jia's tomb is not the only Sogdian tomb to be unearthed in China, but his tomb is important for its undisturbed condition and the quality and craftsmanship of the artifacts and artwork contained therein. In life, An Jia was a successful sabao and leader in his community, but in death, he has contributed to our historical knowledge of Sogdian/Chinese relations and left his invaluable mark on world history.
Sources
1) Hansen, Valerie. The Silk Road: A New History. Illustrated edition. New York: Oxford, 2012, pg, pg. 143.
2) Ibid, 143
3) Ibid, 144.
4) Ibid, 144
5) Ibid, 144
6) Ibid, 144
7) Ibid, 144
8) Ibid, 144
9) Ibid, 144-145
10) Ibid, 145
11) Ibid, 145
Images
Images attributed Cultural Relics Publishing House found in Valerie Hansen. The Silk Road: A New History. Illustrated edition. New York: Oxford, 2012.
Images attributed to Stephen Bartlett Travels are the original works of photographer Stephen Bartlett and can be found here.
An Jia, according to his epitaph, was the son of a Sogdian father and a Chinese mother (3). Born in 537, he was desceneded from a Sogdian family hailing from Bukhara. An Jia was a successful sabao, or head of the Sogdian community, in Tongzhou. He was appointed to this position by the administration of the Northern Zhou dynasty (4). Hansen explains that at the time An Jia received this appointment, the originally Sogdian term sabao had morphed in China, being adopted by the Chinese bureaucracy to refer to an administrator of a foreign community (5). An Jia was apparently very good at his job, as Hansen reports he received the highest rank a Sogdian could achieve under the Northern Zhou government (6).
Though the tomb itself is Chinese in design, the Sogdian Zoroastrians would often have small stone houses or platforms in their tombs to hold their remains rather than a funerary bed. Zoroastrians would expose the remains of their dead and collect the bones into small ossuaries, which would then be placed on these platforms or in these small stone houses (7). The craftsmen who created and decorated An Jia's tomb combined the Chinese design and artistic styles with Sogdian religious and cultural symbols. For visual reference, here is the first example of art from An Jia's tomb.
 |
| Photo found in Valerie Hansen's Silk Road: A New History. Source: Cultural Relics Publishing House. |
Hansen states that the painting over the entryway depicts "a Zoroastrian fire altar on a table borne by three camels, an attribute of the Sogdian God of Victory" (8).
 |
| Photo found in Valerie Hansen's Silk Road: A New History. Source: Cultural Relics Publishing House. |
This next picture depicts the "Sogdian Swirl Dance". Hansen states that this dance was performed by Sogdian men and women at parties and is a popular motif found in many surviving Sogdian artworks from China (9). There are three separate examples of the Sogdian Swirl Dance depicted within An Jia's tomb (10).
 |
| An Jia's funerary couch. Xi'an Museum, Xi'an, China. Source: Stephen Bartlett Travels. |
 |
| An Jia's funerary couch and tomb entry arch. Xi'an Museum, Xi'an China. Source: Stephen Bartlett Travels. |
 |
| A closer view of the decorative mural atop the entry arch. Xi'an Museum, Xi'an, China. Source: Stephen Bartlett Travels. |
An Jia's tomb is not the only Sogdian tomb to be unearthed in China, but his tomb is important for its undisturbed condition and the quality and craftsmanship of the artifacts and artwork contained therein. In life, An Jia was a successful sabao and leader in his community, but in death, he has contributed to our historical knowledge of Sogdian/Chinese relations and left his invaluable mark on world history.
Sources
1) Hansen, Valerie. The Silk Road: A New History. Illustrated edition. New York: Oxford, 2012, pg, pg. 143.
2) Ibid, 143
3) Ibid, 144.
4) Ibid, 144
5) Ibid, 144
6) Ibid, 144
7) Ibid, 144
8) Ibid, 144
9) Ibid, 144-145
10) Ibid, 145
11) Ibid, 145
Images
Images attributed Cultural Relics Publishing House found in Valerie Hansen. The Silk Road: A New History. Illustrated edition. New York: Oxford, 2012.
Images attributed to Stephen Bartlett Travels are the original works of photographer Stephen Bartlett and can be found here.
No comments:
Post a Comment