Sinkiang: A Profound Inspiration to Chinese Artists

Abstract

The province of Sinkiang and parts of Central Asia were called Xiyu (which means the Western Region) during the Han Dynasty (207 BC-220 AD) and the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). In 138 BC the Emperor Wu Di sent the envoy Zhang Qian to these regions. The latter learned that there were many wealthy and prosperous countries in the distant West. Later, Western Han troops smashed the rule of the Xiong Nu tribes north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and converted the various petty states of the Western Regions into vassal states of Western Han. From that time on, traders from China and Central Asia sent Chinese merchandise, particularly silks, westward to Da Yuan, Kang Ju, Da Xia, Persia and Da Qin (believed to be the Roman Empire). From these countries they brought back products such as grapes, pomegranates, peppers, horses and camels. Also the cultures of those countries were introduced to China through the world-famous Silk Road. Many Buddhist missionaries from India reached Sinkiang and translated a great many Buddhist texts into the indigenous languages of that region. Music, dance and art, too, were imported from the West into China along this road. All these material and cultural exchanges had a strong impact on Chinese culture. Ancient Sinkiang, a part of the Western Region, was playing a leading role in the diffusion of various forms of intellectual and artistic expression and it linked the East with the West culturally for many centuries. We are told that in Central Asia, crossed by the great caravan routes that linked the Mediterranean west with China, different religions co-existed: Buddhists, Christians, Zoroastrians, Manicheans and Saivites frequently had their places of worship side by side This peaceful coexistence, which was due to the fact that there was no official state religion, frequently led to forms of ... [1]. This syncretism can be seen in the remains of wall paintings in monastery temples or caves scattered in various areas of Sinkiang. In the ruins of a monastery at Miran were found the fragments of a mural painting depicting seven figures with wings. Are these angels from the Bible? No evidence has been given by archaeologists. But we can say that the figures might have been influenced by Christian art. Although many Buddhist temples were destroyed by Islamic invaders in the past centuries, there are still precious survivals of Buddhist art in the region, which attracted a lot of adventurers and archaeologists from both the West and the East to seek treasures buried in the sands of Sinkiang.