China National Silk Museum

Exhibition place：Galaxy Hall, Fashion Gallery, China National Silk Museum

Exhibition time：2020.6 - 2020.8

In ancient times, mountains, rivers, deserts, seas...Human beings are often confined to a relatively closed geographical environment, but it has never been able to block the deep desire of the human heart: communication.

Once there was a road that crossed mountains and deserts, broke through geographical constraints, and connected ancient China, neighboring countries and the West. Caravans of silk, porcelain, wool, and jade came and went with the sound of camel bells. Chasing dreams, monks, emissaries on the road. This road has become a major channel for commercial and cultural exchanges between the East and the West.

This route was once the most representative of China's exports of silk, known as the Silk Road. Despite its name, the Silk Road has not only exchanged silk and silk weaving skills, but also served as a major channel for cultural exchanges between the East and the West. In this way, we can exchange materials and commodities, and technology and culture. These commodities and technologies form the main content of mutual learning along the Silk Road.

The purpose of this exhibition is to tell the story of mutual learning along the Silk Road through cultural relics. The exhibits here are carefully selected from nearly 20 cultural and museological institutions in China. Each set of artifacts will be told by an expert. As the Sutra says, a flower makes a world, a leaf makes a bodhi.

Each piece will touch our hearts and bring us infinite affection and yearning for the Silk Road.

An exhibition at the China National Silk Museum displays exhibits on loan from 13 museums through August 23, including unearthed antiques featuring exotic cultural elements.

The first highlight is a gold plate carved with floral patterns and three Greek mythical figures — Dionysus, Hercules and Centaur — celebrating the Dionysia, a major festival in ancient Athens in honor of Dionysus.

1.The Saka Warriors

The Pazyryk culture was located in the Altai Mountains and was a very large early nomadic tribe alliance. Because Altai is rich in gold, the Pazyryk people should be the gold guardians in history. The nomadic people wore wool clothes, lived in log cabins, used golden ornaments. The decorations on the ornaments were abundant, however, the law of the jungle was the most popular motif. Their culture influence spread eastward through Yin and Yan Mountains to the entire northern part of China and even penetrated into the Central Plains and the south. Meanwhile, they were located on the key access path of the steppe, so there were many exchanges between the East and the West. The Pazyryk burials were concentrated to the third century BCE and may not belong to the highest-ranking elites. Wool fabrics dyed purple from the sea snails of the Mediterranean coast were unearthed. Besides that, silk products that first went abroad from China were also discovered. The so-called brocade and embroidery route headed to the Eurasian steppe started from this period.

2. The King of the Xiongnu

The Xiongnu was a powerful nomadic tribe in northern China during the Warring States period and the Han dynasty. However, under the attack of the Han dynasty since Emperor Wu, many Xiongnu tribes went south and sought peace with the Han empire. In the second half of the first century BCE, people on the Han-Xiongnu border started to live in peace. The two places had close contact through envoys and enjoyed flourished commerce. A cemetery of many high-ranking Xiongnu elites around the first century BCE was discovered in Noyon Uul Valley of Mongolia in 1912, which was the witness of the reconciliation between the Xiongnu and Han, and the smooth Silk Road in this period. The unique burial style imitated the tomb structures of the Western Han marquises, and the coffins were assembled with traditional mortises and tenon joints of the Han dynasty. The grave goods in the tombs also vividly depict the life of the Xiongnu elites: they were very fond of all kinds of jade, bronze and lacquer artifacts presented by the Han empire. One of the lacquered cups had the inscription “[Made in] the fifth year of the Jianping reign period of Emperor Ai during the Han dynasty [2 BCE]”. Jia Yi said “the senior in Xiongnu families wear embroideries, and the youth wear brocade,” which was evidenced by the large quantities of unearthed silk clothing. The cultural exchange, collision, and integration of the Xiongnu and the agricultural civilization of the Central Plains were important parts of the Steppe Silk Road.

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6. The General-in-Chief in Guyuan County

In the southern suburb of Guyuan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, there is a plateau. In the fall of 1983, archaeologists found a husband-and-wife joint tomb, thus the dust-laden history of Li Xian, who was a prominent general with illustrious family history and a loyal follower of the Yuwen family was brought vividly to life.

Li Xian, courtesy name Xianhe, was from Gaoping County, Yuanzhou Region. Li Xian’s ancestors were from Chengji County, Longxi Commandery (present-day Tianshui City, Gansu Province). Based on Li Xian’s epitaph, many scholars believe that Li Xian was from the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei, a pastoral people from China’s northern frontier. From his grandfather, who had been a guard of Gaoping County, three generations of the Li family worked as local officials in Yuanzhou Region. Li Xian followed the Xianbei general Yuwen Tai’s army and was appointed Supreme General of the Pacification Army, and Commander-in-chief. In the second year of the Datong reign period of the Western Wei dynasty (536 CE), Li Xian quashed Doululang’s rebellion in Yuanzhou, and was promoted to Regional Inspector of Yuanzhou, overseeing military and administrative affairs. After several years of hard work by Li Xian, Yuanzhou Region gradually became the base of the Yuwen family, who supported the Western Wei dynasty until they established the Northern Zhou. In the third month of the fourth year of the Tianhe reign period (569 CE), Li Xian died in Chang’an City, at the age of 66. His coffin was transported back to Yuanzhou, where he was jointly buried with his wife at Shengou Village, Xijiao Township, Guyuan County.