The Historical Significance of Cultural Exchanges of Qara Khitai (1124-1218) Interpreted Through Chinese-style Bronze Mirrors Excavated from Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

Chinese-style bronze mirrors in the style of the Liao and Jin Dynasties excavated in Novopokrovka, Kyrgyzstan, display similarities to those found in southeastern Kazakhstan and northern Kyrgyzstan. As Chinese-style bronze mirrors of Central Asia rarely date later than the period of the Five Dynasties, the Novopokrovka mirrors are remarkable as being from the medieval period. They were mostly excavated in the Chuy Valley, the border area between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In the early twelfth century, the Khitans lost the central China to the Jurchens and migrated to the west to establish the Qara Khitai (Western Liao). The new dynasty was centered around the Chuy Valley, including the capital city of Balasaghun. The Novopokrovka mirrors are mostly in the style of the Liao and Jin Dynasties from the late eleventh to the early thirteenth century, and closely resemble the Jin-style mirrors, mainly found in the three northeastern provinces of China—Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjian—, and Koryŏ sites in Korea, implying the production and distribution of the Jin-style mirrors as an international style in the large areas of Eurasia. There are fewer examples of Chinese bronze mirrors made after the early thirteenth century, when the Western Liao collapsed . After the Mongolian invasion, the cities in the oasis region met sudden decline by no later than the thirteenth century and did not recover for a considerable amount of time. Furthermore, the preference for various types of Islamic-style mirrors, brought on by the expansion of Islamic influence may have also contributed to the decline of the Chinese-style mirrors.