ОБ ОБЛИКЕ ЛЮДЕЙ ИЗ СОГДИЙСКОЙ ДИАСПОРЫ В КИТАЕ

Abstract

The reliable identification of Sogdians in the art of China of the early Tang dynasty is the big methodological problem. The difficulty of identification is compound by the fact that many of their images were found during the non-official excavations. The cultural assimilation of the Sogdians, which was going quite quickly, also makes it difficult. The cultural assimilation of the Sogdians, which was going quite quickly, also makes it difficult. This problem studied by the author in recent years on the basis of a comprehensive study of the costume of Sogdians and their neighbors, and their recognized social roles. There is a significant difference in the social status of most of the personages depicted in the art of Sogdia and in the Diaspora. Chinese clay burial figures “mingqi”, produced between 660 and 755 yy. CE, are sometimes portraits of Sogdians, depicted with high accuracy in ethnographic details. However, the meaning of placing them in the graves of Chinese officials is not entirely clear. A list of 15 costume elements that were the peculiar signs of Sogdian cultural identity for the Chinese was revealed. Occasionally, among “mingqi” there are such exotic-looking characters as a Sogdian aristocrat-official or a merchant of expensive wine.