The Silk Road with Many Faces
Sogdian Immigrants in Early Medieval China
Jin Xu(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Will be published approx. on 3. February 2027
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-0-19-783342-1 (ISBN)
Description
This book focuses on a distinguished immigrant community in early medieval China (220-589 CE): the Central Asian people known as the Sogdians. Originating in present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Sogdian merchants dominated the luxury trade along the inland Silk Road from the third to the ninth century, and Sogdian migrants established settlements in all major cities between Central Asia and northern China. Drawing on close analysis of a remarkable group of stone sarcophagi--most of which were excavated over the past three decades--this book reconstructs the multifaceted life experiences of elite Sogdian immigrants active in sixth-century China.
Serving as community leaders, these immigrants and their descendants played a central role in the rise of the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907), an era often celebrated as the golden age of Chinese civilization. Absent from dynastic histories, Sogdian leaders expressed themselves through visual art in ways that transcended ethnic, cultural, and religious boundaries. Their sarcophagi were designed to evoke Central Asian jade, Sasanian silver and gold, and Sogdian patterned silk. In the carved imagery, they are depicted as Chinese sages, the historical Buddha, and participants in the cosmic struggle between good and evil. Their creations functioned as ancestral shrines, stupas, and garden pavilions. Through these means, Sogdian immigrants constructed for themselves, in the afterlife, a paradise with many faces.
Serving as community leaders, these immigrants and their descendants played a central role in the rise of the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907), an era often celebrated as the golden age of Chinese civilization. Absent from dynastic histories, Sogdian leaders expressed themselves through visual art in ways that transcended ethnic, cultural, and religious boundaries. Their sarcophagi were designed to evoke Central Asian jade, Sasanian silver and gold, and Sogdian patterned silk. In the carved imagery, they are depicted as Chinese sages, the historical Buddha, and participants in the cosmic struggle between good and evil. Their creations functioned as ancestral shrines, stupas, and garden pavilions. Through these means, Sogdian immigrants constructed for themselves, in the afterlife, a paradise with many faces.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
114 halftones and 11 color plates
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-19-783342-1 (9780197833421)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Jin Xu is the Jane and Leopold Swergold Associate Professor of Chinese Art History at Columbia University. His research examines the art and architecture of imperial China, with an emphasis on materials and techniques, the artistic expression of immigrant communities, and cultural exchange along the Silk Road.
Author
Jane and Leopold Swergold Associate Professor of Chinese Art HistoryJane and Leopold Swergold Associate Professor of Chinese Art History, Columbia University
Content
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part One: Transformed Stone
- Chapter 1: Central Asian Jade
- Chapter 2: Sasanian Gold and Silver
- Chapter 3: Sogdian Silk
- Part Two: Retold Stories
- Chapter 4: Filial Sons and Drunken Sages
- Chapter 5: Prince Siddhartha and Princess Yasodhara
- Chapter 6: Lion-Combating Kings
- Part Three: Juxtaposed Spaces
- Chapter 7: Ancestral Shrines
- Chapter 8: Stupas
- Chapter 9: Gardens
- Epilogue: Bridges to Many Destinations
- Appendix I: List of Central Asian Sarcophagi in China
- Appendix II: Epitaphs for Sogdian Immigrants
- References