Studies in Silk Road Archaeology

This book is a collection of Nai Xia's quintessential works on Silk Road studies. A key resource in the field of Silk Road Archaeology, it features in-depth content, a broad range of material, careful textual research, and meticulous analysis. With thorough investigations of foreign coinage, silk textiles, and artifacts with foreign styles excavated in different parts of China, it explores the exchange between ancient China and Central Asia, Western Asia, and Europe. In particular, this book provides detailed descriptions of the economic and cultural ties between ancient China, Pre-Islamic Arabia, the Sasanian Empire, and the Byzantine Empire. The research propounds innovative theories on the history and evolution of East-West transportation routes, i.e., the overland Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road. Based on the study of ancient relics and excavated artifacts, it points out that cultural exchange along the Silk Road was never unilateral, but instead, mutual influence and cooperation were obvious. Since ancient times, countries along the Silk Road have had a tradition of amicable foreign relations and the promotion of common interests. The book is intended for academics, scholars and researchers.

A pioneering work on the Silk Road, with extensive material, rigorous textual research, and solid theories. Detailed descriptions of economic and cultural ties between ancient China and the countries along the Silk Road. A vivid picture of early mutual exchange between China and the West.

Auteur

Nai Xia (1910 1985), courtesy name Zuoming, was a respected archaeologist born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. After 1949, he worked at the Department of Anthropology of Zhejiang University, and later served at the Archaeological Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as Vice Director, Director, and Honorary Director. He was Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chairman of the Chinese Archaeological Society, as well as Chairman of the State Cultural Relics Commission. He was elected as a member of the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1962. He was also awarded honorary academic titles by the Royal Society of the United Kingdom, the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Literature, History and Antiquities.
Nai Xia studied both in China and abroad. His research covered a wide range of fields, including the theory and methodology of archaeology, prehistoric archaeology, the origins of Chinese civilization, the history of Sino-Western relations, and the history of Chinese science and technology. His major publications include: Ancient Egyptian Beads, The Origins of Chinese Civilization, Dunhuang Archaeology, and The Collected Works of Nai Xia. As a twentieth-century scholar, Nai Xia was a key figure in archaeological studies in the People's Republic of China, and one of the founders of modern Chinese archaeology.

Texte du rabat

This book is a collection of Nai Xiäs quintessential works on Silk Road studies. A key resource in the field of Silk Road Archaeology, it features in-depth content, a broad range of material, careful textual research, and meticulous analysis. With thorough investigations of foreign coinage, silk textiles, and artifacts with foreign styles excavated in different parts of China, it explores the exchange between ancient China and Central Asia, Western Asia, and Europe. In particular, this book provides detailed descriptions of the economic and cultural ties between ancient China, Pre-Islamic Arabia, the Sasanian Empire, and the Byzantine Empire. The research propounds innovative theories on the history and evolution of East-West transportation routes, i.e., the overland Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road. Based on the study of ancient relics and excavated artifacts, it points out that cultural exchange along the Silk Road was never unilateral, but instead, mutual influence and cooperation were obvious. Since ancient times, countries along the Silk Road have had a tradition of amicable foreign relations and the promotion of common interests. The book is intended for academics, scholars and researchers.

Contenu

1. Preface.- 2. Newly Discovered Persian Sasanian Silver Coins in China.- 3. Persian Sasanian Silver Coins Unearthed in Xining, Qinghai.- 4. Persian Sasanian Silver Coins Recently Unearthed in Turfan, Xinjiang.- 5. Persian Sasanian Silver Coins in the Casket of Stupa Base in Ding County, Hebei Province.- 6. Overview of Persian Sasanian Silver Coins Unearthed in China.- 7. Research on the Sassanian Silver Plate Unearthed from the Tomb of Feng Hetu in the Northern Wei Dynasty.- 8. Sasanian Cultural Relics Unearthed in China in Recent Years.- 9. Eastern Roman Gold Coins Unearthed from the Sui Tomb at Dizhangwan, Xianyang.- 10. The Byzantine Gold Coin Unearthed from the Tang Tomb in Tumen Village, Xi'an.- 11. The Byzantine Gold Coins Unearthed from the Tomb of Li Xizong in Zanhuang.- 12. The Relationship between China and the Byzantine Empire in the Middle Ages.- 13. Arabian gold coins unearthed from Tang tombs in Xi'an.- 14. Epitaph of Su Liang's Wife, Née Ma in the Tang Dynasty.- 15. Two Types of Script Combined on a Nestorian Tombstone from Quanzhou.- 16. Latin Tombstones in Yangzhou and Venetian Silver Coins in Canton* .- 17. Porcelain Evidence of Early Sino-African Exchange.- 18. Chinese Export Porcelain Collections in Sweden.- 19. History of Chinese-Swedish Relations.- 20. History of Chinese-Pakistani Relations.- 21. King of Anxi's Mansion Site in the Yuan, and Arabic Magic Squares.- 22. Supplementary Study of First Introduction of Western Smallpox Vaccination into China.- 23. A Brief Discussion of Sweet Potatoes and Dioscorea.- 24. Carnelian beads with etched patterns that were excavated in China.- 25. The Study of Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions and Zodiacal Signs from the Star Map of the Liao Tomb in Xuanhua.- 26. Newly Discovered Ancient Silk Fabrics in XinjiangQi, Jin and Xiu.- 27. History of Ancient Chinese Sericulture: Mulberry Trees, Silkworms, Silk Fibers and Textiles.- 28. Newly Discovered Silk Textiles in Turfan.- 29. The Silk Road and Silk from theHan to the Tang.- 30. Bibliography