scholarly journals Textual Research on Henna Art Introduced into Ancient China Through the Silk Road

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Xue Yang ◽  
Yu Liu
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Ancient Egypt ◽  
Silk Road ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Chinese Traditional Culture ◽  
Jin Dynasty ◽  
Mixed Use ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
Textual Research ◽  
The Silk Road

Since ancient Egypt, henna has been widely used as dyes for women’s henna body art. Through the Silk Road, China assimilated cultures of its Western Regions, India, and Persia, such as the henna art. In Ancient China the "garden balsam" is always called "henna". Nevertheless, they belong to two different kinds of flowers. Folks’ mixed use of these two kinds of flower names reflects the profound impact of the henna art on Chinese traditional culture of decorative nails. This textual research results revealed that in ancient China the customs of dye red nails are affected by foreign henna art and there were three development stages: the introduction period (from the Western Jin Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty), the development period (in the Song-Yuan Dynasty) and the popularity period (in the Ming-Qing Dynasty).

The Demise of Silk on the Silk Road: Textiles as Money at Dunhuang from the Late Eighth Century to the Thirteenth Century

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
ERIC TROMBERT
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Eighth Century ◽  
Silk Road ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Monetary System ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
Accounting Report ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Silk Road

The extensive documentary evidence collected and analysed in the previous studies in this issue suggest a preliminary conclusion that can be summarised as follows: from the collapse of the Han dynasty to the glorious days of the Tang dynasty, the peoples living in the Western Regions along the Silk Road used multiple co-existing forms of money – grain, cloth and coins – with one of these three items becoming predominant according to changes in political and/or economic circumstances. However, this multicurrency system did not outlive the political, economic and fiscal upheavals that shook the Tang empire from the mid-eighth century onwards. As far as the materials from Turfan and Dunhuang are concerned, the latest evidence for this monetary system is provided by a manuscript found at Dunhuang (P 3348 V°), already quoted in Arakawa Masaharu's article, which permits us to see how such a complex monetary system worked in real life once the silk shipped by the Tang government arrived in the Western Regions. In particular, a subsidiary account (P 3348 V°2 B) inscribed in this accounting report reveals how a local official called Li Jingyu 李景玉, who was vice-commissioner in the army stationed in that region, received his salary for the first semester of the year 745 ce.

scholarly journals Introduction

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-163
Author(s):  
VALERIE HANSEN ◽  
HELEN WANG
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Financial System ◽  
Credit Cards ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Silk Road ◽  
Modern World ◽  
The World ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Silk Road

Most economists and historians today conceive of money in narrow terms – probably because they have grown up in the modern world and are used to our system of coins, paper notes, cheques and credit cards. Although economic historians are generally aware that some earlier societies (in Africa, Scandinavia and elsewhere) used other items as money, they do not usually pay much attention to these examples. Few realise that the government of China, governing an empire of some 60 million people during the Tang dynasty (618–907), implemented a complex financial system that recognised grain, coins and textiles as money. The government received taxes in coin and in kind, produced to specific standards (specific widths and lengths of textiles) that would then be redistributed, being used for official salaries and military expenses among other expenditures. Although some of the surviving evidence comes from the Silk Road sites of Turfan, Dunhuang and Khotan in northwest China (where the dry climate has preserved many documents and some actual examples of tax textiles), this multicurrency system was in use throughout the entire empire during the seventh to tenth centuries. At the time, Tang China was possibly the largest economy in the world, rivalled only by the Abbasid Empire (751–1258).

Study on the Relation between the Linked-Pearl Pattern and Weaving Technology in Ancient China

2011 ◽  
Vol 332-334 ◽  
pp. 2093-2098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Li ◽  
Qiang Li
Keyword(s):  
Silk Road ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Pattern Design ◽  
Historical Materials ◽  
Textile Technology ◽  
Weaving Technology ◽  
The Silk Road

The linked-pearl pattern on fabric is a key to study on the transformation of the technique from weaving warp-faced patterns to weft-faced patterns in ancient China. However, the previous studies on the linked-pearl pattern on fabric were not very clear, and led to much misunderstanding. Some researchers believed that Chinese weavers did not master the technique of weft-faced patterns until Persian merchants introduced the brocades with a pattern featuring stringed ball into China along the Silk Road. Based on the studies on historical materials and archeological discoveries of the linked-pearl pattern on fabric, we hold that there are positive connections among the linked-pearl pattern, the technique of weaving weft-faced patterns and the draw loom. The dissemination of the linked-pearl pattern prompted the development of pattern design and the wide application of weft-faced pattern on fabric, even the invention of the draw loom which accelerated the development of textile technology in ancient China.

scholarly journals The Spread and Integration of Painted pottery Art along the Silk Road

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Kai Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Silk Road ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Mutual Exchange ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
Cultural Exchanges ◽  
Painted Pottery ◽  
The Silk Road

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.

Exploration on the Origin of Architectures Murals — Analysis on Geographical Features of Song, Liao and Jin Dynasty in Shanxi

2013 ◽  
Vol 838-841 ◽  
pp. 2870-2874
Author(s):  
Tian Tian Li
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Culture ◽  
Historic Buildings ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Traditional Architecture ◽  
Painting Technique ◽  
Artistic Value ◽  
Chinese Traditional Culture ◽  
Jin Dynasty ◽  
Historical Origin ◽  
Mural Art

Abundant historic buildings still exist in Shanxi, of which architectures built in Song, Liao and Jin Dynasty are in the majority, especially the number and area of murals in this period ranking first in the nationwide, which embody the essence of Chinese traditional culture with great artistic value. The constant abundance and development of culture and art in ancient China are represented on murals of this period, and valuable materials have been provided for our understanding towards the painting technique of ancient murals in Shanxi, which is beneficial for our study on the historical origin of traditional architecture and mural art meanwhile. This paper focuses on the discussion and analysis comprehensively of 6 existing murals including murals of Shousheng Temple of Ruicehng, Shanxi, murals of the Great Hall of Mahavira in Kaihua Temple, Gaoping, murals of Sheli Tower in Jueshan Temple of Lingqiu, murals of Sakyamuni Pagoda in Fogong Temple of Ying County, murals of Amitabha Hall in Chongfu Temple of ShuoZhou and murals of Wenshu Hall in Yanshan Temple of Fanshi.

Ancient China: Chinese Civilization from Its Origins to the Tang Dynasty

2003 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 851
Author(s):  
Antonino Forte ◽  
Maurizio Scarpari
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
The Tang Dynasty

scholarly journals Interpreters and the Writing of History in China

2009 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Lung
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Historical Texts ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
Liang Dynasty ◽  
Historical Accounts ◽  
Made In

Abstract This article argues that interpreters are crucial figures in the recording of history. Evidence taken from historical texts in ancient China is used to verify the claim that interpreters’ notes might have been used as a reference in composing historical records. By documenting the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907) policy to have interpreters interview foreign envoys and submit the relevant accounts to the Bureau of Historiography, this article provides background for the link between interpreters’ interview notes and history compilation in China. Evidence is further drawn from the history of the Sui dynasty (AD 581-618), whereby an interpreter’s mediated account of the emperor’s conversation with a Japanese envoy was directly adapted. Most interestingly, pictorial and written documents of foreign peoples made in the mid-6th century during the Liang dynasty (AD 502-557) were found to be very similar to the written accounts about these foreign peoples in Liangshu, the history of the Liang dynasty, completed in the early 7th century. Apparently, there is a solid link between the interview accounts and historical accounts about foreign peoples in China. Thus, there is a strong possibility that interpreters’ notes, in the form of reports, provide important, if not primary, sources for history compilation in China.

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