“The Silk Road” was a trade route that extended for over 7,000 kilometers to connect Asia and the Mediterranean region, starting in the east from Changan (or Luoyang) and ending in the west at Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. This route passed over mountains, deserts, grasslands, and oases to connect Asia and Europe. It passed through the mighty cross-continental empires of Persia, Macedonia, Rome, and the Ottoman, and many great political and military events of the ancient world are connected to it. This road also spread religions that have influenced billions of people—Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. The Silk Road spanned over 1,700 kilometers inside China. In the pre-Qin times, many tribes of people lived in northwestern China and many kingdoms rose and fell in China’s historical border region. In this place called the “Western Territory” in ancient times, an ethnically diverse civilization developed. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, many ethnic groups moved to the northwest and became increasingly powerful. In the time of Han Emperor Wudi, Zhang Qian went to open up the Western Territories, and the campaigns into the Western Territories led by Wei Qing and Huo Qu-Bing finally opened up a road to the Western world. This road sent silk and ceramics from China and gradually brought the civilizations of the Western world into China. This gave it the name of the Silk Road, and its peak period was seen during the Tang Dynasty.
The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is located at the vital hub of the Silk Road, and because of its dry climate and special geographical conditions, many thousands of ancient artifacts have been unearthed in good condition by archeologists. There are Loulan beauties, Xiaohe Culture relics and pre-Qin metal vessels, Han and Jin textiles, Wei and Jin wall paintings, and Tang Dynasty silk paintings, which reflect the grandeur of the desert frontier of the ancient Western Territories. These all have great academic value for studying the trade, transportation, diverse ethnic civilizations, and Chinese-Western interchange of the Silk Road. The artifacts unearthed in Xinjiang are amazing and priceless, and they have been exhibited many times in foreign countries in North America, Europe, and Japan, seen by millions of visitors.
【Section I】
The Elegantly Dressed Amid Willows in the Wind
- Art of the Silk Road
The Silk Road, which saw vigorous growth in the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, is the setting for countless historical stories that people never grow tired of hearing, such as the expeditions to open up the route by Zhang Qian, the pacification of the Western Territory by Ban Chao, and the western voyages of the eminent monks Fa Xian and Xuan Zang. In those glorious times, the most beautiful scenes were undoubtedly the large-scale camel caravans and the unending stream of traveling merchants. Meanwhile, the silk that was “beautiful as rosy clouds, thin as cicada’s wings” was the focal point of these scenes along the route. The items in this exhibit include a considerable amount of silk goods, such as different types of clothing, skirts, pillows, straps, and quilts, all embellished with rich patterns, displaying the blending of Eastern and Western cultures. In addition, there are also ancient silk paintings such as the “Beauty Beneath the Tree,” “Dancing Woman,” and “Two Children” paintings. The subjects and scenes of these silk paintings display the lifestyles of different classes of people and also show the fashions of women in the Western Territory.
【Section II】
The Elegantly Dressed Amid Willows in the Wind
- Art of the Silk Road
China’s silk and Chinese civilization were transmitted to the West, and foreign products, foods, and enchanting dance and music entered China, enriching the lives of the people. There has been an abundance of material discovered in the ancient graves and ruins of Xinjiang that is related to the culture of food and drink. Different types of meat, primitive soft millet cakes, exquisite naan bread, and all types of noodles show the dining customs of the ancient residents and reflect the richness of their lifestyles. Also, the song and dance of the Western Territory saw a golden age during the Tang Dynasty. The famous “Ni Shang Yu Yi Qu” (Rainbow-colored Plume Costume Song) came from Xiliang. The “Hu Xuan Wu” (Spiral Dance of the Northern Nomads) was created in Kang Guo (known today as Samarkand). The musical instruments of the Western Territory, such as the upright wooden harp and the pentachord transmitted from the central plain of China, show that the pioneers of the Silk Road were cheerful people who excelled in song and dance.
【Section III】
The Elegantly Dressed Amid Willows in the Wind
- Art of the Silk Road
The ideologies and funeral customs of the societies of different regions all collected in Xinjiang as part of cultural exchange, and the funeral customs of the East and West are shown in the different burial styles. For example, the “Xiaohe Cemetery” used a large amount of poplar wood, with graves stacked at various levels, one casket per grave, with caskets shaped like a bottomless canoe. Different wooden symbols stand in front of the caskets of men and women to symbolize the harmony of yin and yang. Most of the graves in Gumugou’s “Taiyang Cemetery” are occupied by males, and its landmark is a circle of vertical wooden stakes that spread out like the radiating rays of the sun. It is closely related to the ritualistic structures of stone circles found in the northern grasslands of Central Asia, and may be related to the sun-worship of primitive shamanism. In addition, graves from the time of the Han and Jin Dynasties, the graves all have wooden stake markings, and include trough-shaped or boat-shaped caskets and four-footed box-shaped wooden caskets, with burial objects that show the characteristics of both Eastern and Western cultures.
【Section IV】
The Elegantly Dressed Amid Willows in the Wind
- Art of the Silk Road
Divided by the Tianshan Mountains, ancient Xinjiang generally developed into two interdependent regions in the north and south that were distinct cultural regions. The southern part of Xinjiang had many oases and its people subsisted mostly on agriculture. It was made up of many small independent kingdoms, and the Han Shu called it the “Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Territory” because there were more than thirty small kingdoms. The northern part of Xinjiang was full of grasslands, and was mostly made up of tribes of nomadic herders or states based on ethnic groups. This exhibit is made up of written materials such as wooden tablets and documents, as well as wooden figurines and coins, displaying the blend of multiple cultures among the ancient kingdoms of Xinjiang.
【Section V】
The Elegantly Dressed Amid Willows in the Wind
- Art of the Silk Road
The ancient Western Territory contained many kinds of beliefs and religions. The traveling merchants, ambassadors, monks and nuns, and travelers from the East and West who crossed the Silk Road prayed for blessings from all types of deities throughout their long journeys. Buddhism saw important developments in the Western Territory and was the dominant religion in the Xinjiang region. Various religions of the ancient Western world, such as Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Keikyo, and Christianity, all saw development in the Western Territory in different historical eras. The bronze ritual implements of Zoroastrianism, the wall paintings of Manichaeism, and the gravestones of Keikyo followers discovered in Xinjiang have all become symbols of the convergence of different religious cultures in the Western Territory.
