Historical Studies of Ancient and Medieval China

The article presents a comparative analysis of fortification art monuments in such East countries from Ancient Egypt to medieval China. An attempt is made to identify the main stages of the fortification development from a stand-alone fortress (citadel, fort) to the most complex systems of urban and border fortifications, including moats, walls and gates, battle towers. It is shown that the nature of these architectural structures is determined by the status of the city or settlement, its natural landscape, building structures and materials, the development of military and engineering art. The materials from poliorceticon (Greek: poliorketikon, poliorketika), illustrate the main types of siege machines and mechanisms. The advantages and disadvantages of boundary shafts and long walls (limes). The most striking examples are the defensive systems of Assyria, New Babylon, Judea and Ancient China.

Download Full-text

On the Ritual Use of Ch'an Portraiture in Medieval China

Cahiers d Extrême-Asie ◽

10.3406/asie.1993.1064 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 149-219 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

T. Griffith Foulk ◽

Robert H. Sharf

Keyword(s):

Medieval China

Download Full-text

War Captives, Left-Behind Wives, and Buddhist Nuns: Female Migrants in Early Medieval China (4th–6th Century CE)

Journal of Chinese History ◽

10.1017/jch.2021.1 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

Wen-Yi Huang

Keyword(s):

Fourth Century ◽

Early Medieval ◽

Long Distance ◽

Textual Representations ◽

Medieval China ◽

Gender And Migration ◽

Early Medieval China ◽

And Migration ◽

Northern Wei ◽

Distance Travel

Abstract Using received texts and excavated funerary epitaphs, this article examines the intricacies of gender and migration in early medieval China by exploring women's long-distance mobility from the fourth century to the sixth century, when what is now known as China was divided by the Northern Wei and a succession of four southern states—the Eastern Jin, Liu-Song, Southern Qi, and Liang. I focus on three types of migration in which women participated during this period: war-induced migration, family reunification, and religious journeys. Based on this analysis, I propose answers to two important questions: the connection between migration and the state, and textual representations of migrants. Though the texts under consideration are usually written in an anecdotal manner, the references to women, I argue, both reveals nuances in perceptions of womanhood at the time and elucidates the contexts within—and through—which long-distance travel became possible for women.

Download Full-text