Discussion on the Painting in Cave 254 of Mogao Grottoes

Cave 254 of the Mogao Grottoes is one of the most representative grottoes from the Northern Wei Dynasty. The painting of “Laying Down Oneself to Feed the Tiger” on the south wall of the grotto has high artistic value. With changing dynasties and the development of time, the original appearance of the painting has changed. In particular, the color of the whole cave has undergone a subversive change, resulting in many misunderstandings. In this article, the composition, colors, and lines of the painting, “Laying Down Oneself to Feed the Tiger,” are discussed in view of the current situation of the cave, and the work is approached from the perspective of painting. The concept of different times of the same painting, its precise and unique layout, as well as development peak of “Laying Down Oneself to Feed the Tiger” are expounded. In this article, the unique artistic level of this mural in the Northern Dynasty is demonstrated along with its importance for present paintings.

A Revisionist Reading of the Transition of Buddhist Cave-Making from Yungang to Longmen

This study reexamines images and textual materials that can be related to the dating and iconography of caves at Yungang and Longmen and the historical transition between them. The transition is associated with the move of the Northern Wei capital from Pingcheng to Luoyang, and the beginnings of the Longmen caves is widely believed to coincide with the establishment of the capital at Luoyang in 495. Inscriptions in the Guyang Cave have been interpreted to support the widely held belief that it was created at the time of the move of the capital. Visual evidence of sculptural practice and transitions in sculptural art that can be observed broadly between caves and cave site can also be seen in micro-environments within a single cave or a single niche that offer new insights. Through comparative analysis of the caves' images and artworks found in other contexts, and their consideration in conjunction with textual materials, the author proposes a revisionist reconstruction of the early work in the Guyang Cave.

THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN EARTHEN LANDSCAPE HERITAGE AND SOCIO-POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY: A VIEW FROM ARCHAEOLOGY

In the past two decades, landscape archaeology has undergone a paradigm shift from traditional theoretical methods to being practically oriented, with the advent of the widespread application of philosophical theories (such as phenomenology, hermeneutics, and others) and the emerging new technologies in social sciences. Nevertheless, landscape archaeology has not been able to garner the attention it requires from Chinese archaeology, which fails to understand its significance behind the systematic regional survey methods. Rather, for a long time, the study of the man-land relationship has been considered to be a part of environmental archaeology. Besides, the landscape elements in archaeological excavations were often considered as mechanical interactions between people and the environment, resulting in a lack of holistic and systematic research on a selection of archaeological sites. The focus however has remained restricted to the earthen remains and relics in the archaeological process. The Northern Wei Dynasty was the first nomadic regime to control the Central Plains in the Chinese history and moved its capital three times for the purpose of sinicization. The recent archaeological excavations of the ancient city of Shengle, imperial palaces, tombs, sacrificial sites, gardens, Yinshan palaces, and the border defense facilities during the Shengle period of the Northern Wei Dynasty have revealed several phenomena and evidence of the cultural integration of the various ethnic groups. As mentioned earlier, the limitations in the research horizon have led to the in-depth analysis and research of archaeological relics and archaeological data during this period seeking the desired attention. This study considers landscape archaeology, anthropology, sociology, and history as the primary research methods pertinent to the above situation. It considers archaeological relics and archaeological data from the prosperous period as the research object and thoroughly analyses the relationship between the people and the earthen landscape relics, to reveal the social culture, the religious beliefs, the politics, and the military behind the integration of the multi-ethnic culture, along with the cognition of the natural environments, the social structures, and the religious spaces. Simultaneously, the analysis results would also endeavor to integrate the artifacts, the relics (space, structure, layout, and locational relationship), road grids, surrounding environment, and several other surface space elements to restore and reproduce the prosperous social and cultural situations scenes of the bygone period. The final outcome shall become a typical research case. By comparing and combing the archaeological discoveries of the Northern and the Southern Dynasties of China and the pertinent archaeological data, we could further understand and explain the multi-ethnic cultural development and evolution while providing an essential theoretical basis for the present social and cultural research on the Northern Wei Dynasty in China.

Exotic ceramics in Óc Eo culture through archaeological documents of Go Thap Relic Site (Dong Thap province, Vietnam)

Oc Eo culture is the material civilization of Funan – an ancient state in Southeast Asian history, lasting from the 1st century to the 7th century A.D. and was centered on the lower Mekong Delta. The results of research on currencies, commodities, bronze statues, and seals, etc. of the kingdom such as gold coins in the time of Antonius Pius (138-161) and Marcus Aurelius (161-180) from Roma, bronze mirror dated from the later Han dynasty, bronze Buddha statue from the Northern Wei period, seals influenced by the culture of India, etc. show that Oc Eo is a culture with wide relations and exchanges with East Asia, South Asia to Western Asia and Rome in ancient times. However, there have not been many studies on exotic ceramics. Based on the new findings from the excavations at the Go Thap relic site (in Dong Thap, Vietnam) carried out by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City from 2010 to present, and based on the results of comparative research, this article presents some relics including Chinese pottery from the Eastern Han dynasty to the Southern Song dynasty, Indian pottery and pottery influenced by the culture of India found in Go Thap relic site; thereby, contributing to the demonstration that the international exchange development of Phu Nam not only took place in the western region of Hau river having the seaport but also developed in Oc Eo culture inland – the central region of Dong Thap Muoi. Go Thap relic site is an urban area, a cultural religious political economic and foreign trade center which plays an important role in the development of Oc Eo culture – Funan kingdom

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

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.