The Impact of Chinese Seals on the Structure, Design, and Usage of the Īl-Khānids Seals and Coins

2021 ◽  
pp. 6530-6555
Author(s):  
Mahnaz Shayestehfar, Erfan Khazaie

Il-Khanid seals and coins are a type of seal featuring figurative patterns typically characterized by the Rectangular style of Kufic script, the absence of figures, extensive use of calligraphy, geometric, and abstract patterns. Although it is based on the Persian seal-carving tradition, the Īl-Khānids seals and coins exhibit various elements from the Chinese seals (印章), and also similar in their style to the Mongolian writing systems. While the Silk Road, the central path for trade and economic purposes, brought together China and Persia, the two nations had strong influences regarding culture, tradition, and religion, and Persian art has applied many Chinese artistic elements, particularly in the art of seal making. Indeed, the historical evidence suggests that the Mongolian Empire employed the Chinese seals (印章) throughout their territory, stretching from China to Persia. The intercultural influences through the Silk Road seem to be well-rooted in Central Asia, and for the first time, Chinese culture is seen abundantly in the Īl-Khānids seal history, as well as the Rectangular style of Kufic script on the seals and coins, influenced by the Uighur script. This paper uses an interdisciplinary approach to analyse the Chinese and the Īl-Khānids seals and coins to survey transmission of the Chinese tradition through Silk Road cultural exchanges. The results show that there exists a strong possibility that the manner in which the writing of Arabic characters in the Rectangular Kufic writing system was inserted at the top to the bottom unexpectedly followed the style of Mongolian words.

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Kai Zhang

The Silk Road is a product of the mutual exchange of material culture and spiritual culture among ancient China and other countries, regions, and nations. It is the result of the contact and collision between Eastern and Western civilizations. Historically, the Silk Road served as a bridge of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, closely linking ancient Chinese culture with the cultures of Central Asia, West Asia, and even ancient Siberian. In various areas along the Silk Road, all kinds of painted pottery art were integrated and developed.


Humanities ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Chen

Song Yuan Huaya (the Huaya of the Song and Yuan Dynasties) is a type of seal featuring figurative patterns and sometimes decorated with ciphered or ethnic characters. Their origins are the Song and Yuan Dynasties, although their influence extends to the Ming (1368–1644 CE) and Qing (1644–1912 CE) Dynasties. Although it is based on the Chinese Han seal tradition, Song Yuan Huaya exhibits various elements from the influence of the Silk Road. This is thought to be the first time in Han seal history that the Steppe culture can be seen so abundantly on private seals. This paper takes an interdisciplinary approach to analyse, probably for the first time in the field, some cases of Song Yuan Huaya, in which a dialogue between the Han seal tradition and Silk Road culture occurs. The findings will hopefully advance the understanding of the complicated nature of the art history, society, peoples, and ethnic relationships in question, and will serve as the starting point for further studies of intercultural communication during specific historical periods.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (13) ◽  
pp. 1587-1592
Author(s):  
Maribel Rodríguez ◽  
Samalgul Nassanbekova ◽  
Leonor M. Pérez ◽  
Nazym Uruzbayeva

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 845-864
Author(s):  
Stanislav E. Martynenko ◽  
Nickolay P. Parkhitko

This article examines Russo-Chinese investment cooperation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (originally the Silk Road Economic Belt). At the same time, it also studies bilateral agreements, as well as investment and mechanisms. Another focus is the impact of the BRI in Central Asian countries on Russian interests in the region. Research is based on an analysis of the history of joint Russian and Chinese initiatives for economic development to determine the feasibility of cooperation in the BRI. Meanwhile, the authors discuss the BRI’s impact on the economic and foreign policy of the two partners, as well as the risks and opportunities for Russia. The article is based on content and statistical analysis combined with a historical approach. It concludes that Russia and China are actively developing investment cooperation in the framework of the BRI, including the Silk Road Fund. The principal elements of the partnership involve the economy and processing and transporting energy resources. Its objective is to attain both regional economic stability as well as maximizing economic and political independence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 434
Author(s):  
Min Shen

The Silk Road written and edited by Professor Liu Yingsheng introduces the origin, rise and decline of the Silk Road and its unique status in world history. Through describing the evolution of the Silk Road and history and geography of countries along the route, this work reproduces the prosperity of the Silk Road at a time dated back to thousands of years ago. The chapter “Maritime Silk Road of the Indian Ocean” excerpted from the book describes intense cultural exchanges between ancient China and India, presenting hard evidence of strong ties between these two civilizations. This paper starts with brief introductions to source text analysis and translation preparations including pre-translation, while-translation and post-translation proofreading are then exemplified. Translation difficulties such as translation of proper names, specifically names of places and nations and of books and translation of classical Chinese are analyzed with examples and solutions proposed for reference.


Author(s):  
Valerie Hansen

The Silk Road refers to all the overland routes connecting the major oasis kingdoms of Central Asia including Dunhuang, Turfan, Khotan, and Samarkand to their neighbors: the Chinese landmass, the Mongolian grasslands, the Iranian plateau, and the Indian subcontinent. The best-known routes ran east-west, but the north-south routes to the nomadic states of the Asian grasslands were also important. In the popular view of the Silk Road, extensive camel caravans carried goods over long distances, but this was rarely the case. Usually peddlers carried mostly local goods short distances. Government shipments to provision armies profoundly affected the region’s economy, because they involved much larger quantities than in the peddler trade. Rulers regularly exchanged envoys who carried gifts, exchanges that continued even when private trade fell off. Whatever the reason for an individual’s trip, almost everyone—whether envoy, missionary, artist, craftsman, or refugee—bought and sold goods to pay for travel along the Silk Road. Silk was not the primary commodity traded on these routes. Goods traveling east included ammonium chloride, paper, silver, gold, glassware, and aromatics such as spices, incense, and fragrant woods. Goods traveling west out of China included bronze mirrors, other metal goods, and paper, in addition to silk. Between 300 and 1000 ce, the most important function of silk was as a currency, not as a trade good, although it remained an important export throughout the period. A vibrant series of cultural exchanges occurred alongside these commercial exchanges. Technologies, medicine, plants, music, and fashion all moved in both directions across Central Asia. Multiple religions also entered China during this time. The term Silk Road may not be the most accurate term for these commercial and cultural exchanges, but, despite its flaws, the term has secured a firm place in both scholarly works and the popular mind.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-21
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Waugh

The impact of Mongol conquests across Eurasia is still controversial: did they destroy everything in their path or rather create a “Mongol peace” under which the Silk Road exchanges flourished? Too often medieval authors are cited merely for their negative reaction to the Mongols. Yet both the written sources and evidence from archeology show a picture of some complexity that requires critical analysis. The emphasis here is on archeology, often ignored or slighted by historians of the Mongols, and on evidence from Central Asia and Eastern Europe, primarily as reported in Russian-language scholarship. The impact of the Mongols varied depending on the location and the priorities of the new conquerors.


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