Download PDF | Nai Xia - Studies in Silk Road Archaeology-Springer (2024).
350 Pages
Foreword
Xia Nai (1910–1985), courtesy name Zuoming, was a renowned archaeologist born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. He attended Wenzhou Primary School and Wenzhou Middle School, later graduating from Shanghai’s Guanghua High School. In 1931, he was accepted into the Department of Sociology at Yanjing University, and then transferred to the Department of History at Tsinghua University. After graduation, he studied in the School of Archaeology at University College London under a Chinese government scholarship. He majored in Egyptian archaeology and received a Ph.D. degree. Returning to China in 1941, Xia Nai served as a special commissioner at the Preparatory Office of the Central Museum and a researcher for the Institute of History and Philology at the Academia Sinica. After 1949, he worked in the Department of Anthropology at Zhejiang University.
In 1950, he was appointed by the State Council as Vice Director for the Archaeological Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences when it was established that year. Subsequently he served as Director, and Honorary Director in the Archaeological Institute. In addition, he was Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chairman of the Chinese Archaeological Society, as well as Chairman of the State Cultural Relics Commission. Xia Nai was elected as a member of the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences in the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1962. He was also awarded honorary academic titles by the UK’s Royal Society, the US National Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Literature, History and Antiquities. His major publications include Ancient Egyptian Beads, The Origins of Chinese Civilization, Dunhuang Archaeology, and The Collected Works of Xia Nai. As a twentieth-century scholar, Xia Nai was a key figure in archaeological studies in the People’s Republic of China, and one of the pioneers of modern Chinese archaeology during his 35 years of presiding over the National Archaeological Institute.
Xia Nai received his education both in China and abroad, which made him a learned man with rigorous scholarship. His research covered a wide range of fields, including the theory and methodology of archaeology, prehistoric archaeology, the origins of Chinese civilization, the history of Sino-Western relations, and the history of Chinese science and technology. He engaged in archaeological research in Xi’an, the eastern end of the Silk Road. He also led an archaeological expedition from Lanzhou to the Han Dynasty Yumen Pass site in the desert surrounding Dunhuang, conducting surveys and initial excavations across the Hexi Corridor. For his archaeological work, Xia Nai also travelled to Urumqi and Turpan in Xinjiang. In addition, he visited the western area of the Silk Road, including Bagdad in Iraq and several ancient cities in Iran. Some of his most notable archaeological experiences involved archaeological surveys and excavations in Egypt and Palestine at the westernmost end of the Silk Road. He travelled widely to museums and historic sites in Greece and Rome as well. These experiences inextricably linked Xia Nai with the Silk Road for the rest of his life, from which he not only personally came to realize the hardships of opening the Silk Road, but also had a deeper understanding of the important role these routes played in the cultural exchange between China and the West.
In response to the invitation by the Department of History at Zhejiang University, we have collected more than 30 papers on the Silk Road written by Xia Nai. These works are the main achievements of his decades of research of ancient relics and unearthed cultural relics along the Silk Road, and reflect the outstanding contributions made by this Zhejiang archaeologist in the study of cultural exchange between China and the West.
China’s First Ph.D. in Egyptian Archaeology
The Silk Road, a network of ancient commercial trade routes, stretched from Chang’an (present-day Xi’an) in China to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. With Chang’an as the easternmost point, it stretched across the Hexi Corridor and the Tarim Basin to the west, over the Pamir Plateau, through Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey along Central Asia, and finally to Egypt and Greece at the westernmost point. Since the Han Dynasty, these roads had been the key route for trade and cultural exchange between China and other countries in Eurasia. Ancient Egypt and China, two of the major ancient civilizations, one in the Nile River basin in East Africa and the other in the Yellow River-Yangtze River basin in East Asia, were separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, but they were linked by the Silk Road through Eurasia. Through the Silk Road, these two civilizations were able to have mutual exchange and better understanding, which contributed to the formation and development of world civilization. During his twenties (1935–1939), Xia Nai lived in Britain, studying for a doctorate in Egyptology. During this period, he participated in archaeological excavations in Egypt and Palestine for over a year, making it possible to conduct an in-depth study of ancient Egyptian civilization. As the first person from China to receive a doctorate in Egyptology, Xia Nai’s doctoral thesis, Ancient Egyptian Beads, which took eight years to complete during the Chinese Civil War, was widely praised by archaeologists both in China and other countries. This dissertation was republished by Springer Publishing in Germany 70 years later. During his period overseas, in addition to involvement in archaeological research and excavations, Xia Nai also studied artefacts in museums in Britain, France, Rome, Greece, Egypt, Palestine, and other countries. Before returning to China, he worked at the Cairo Museum for a year. By observing and studying the large collections of the museum, he gained an extensive and in-depth understanding of ancient Greek civilization, ancient Roman civilization, ancient Egyptian civilization, Mesopotamian civilization, and Indus civilization. Amongst the local unearthed cultural relics on display in museums all over the world, ancient Chinese vessels could occasionally be seen, such as Chinese-style lions unearthed in Nubia, and sacrificial horses similar to those buried at Yinxu in present-day Anyang, Henan Province. In the ancient city of Cairo, he saw a large number of unearthed Song Dynasty celadon wares, and in Karachi he also saw painted pottery similar to those of the Banshan-Machang cultures in Gansu and Qinghai provinces. Possibly it was these ancient artefacts from China that sparked Xia Nai’s interest and attention to the cultural exchange between China and the West, as he devoted himself to archaeological research of the Silk Road in the Hexi Corridor immediately after he returned to China. From that point on, he included the study of cultural exchange between China and the West as an important part of his archaeological career.
Archaeological Research in Northwest China
The second year after he returned back to China, Xia Nai, under the direction of his mentor Li Ji, organized the Northwestern Scientific Archaeology Delegation of the Historical Archaeology Work Team. He went to Northwest China to conduct a twoyear survey, along with Xiang Da and Yan Wenru, two other archaeologists. From March 1944 to February 1946, they investigated prehistoric sites in Gansu Province, including Lanzhou, Yongdeng, Wuwei, Yongchang, Zhangye, Jinta, and Jiuquan, as well as the beacon tower ruins of the Han Dynasty. In addition, archaeological excavations were carried out in the cemeteries of Dunhuang’s Foye Temple and Laoye Temple which dated from the Tang Dynasty, and also the Xiaofangpan site from the Han Dynasty. During the return trip, archaeological excavations were carried out in the Taohe River Basin and Ganliang area near Lanzhou. These archaeological surveys and excavations throughout Northwest China yielded considerable archaeological evidence for the study of the historical evolution and cultural connotations of the Silk Road. As a result of his work, he published the following academic papers: New discovery of a Qijia culture cemetery, New discovery of a Qijia culture cemetery and textual research of their era, Newly acquired Han bamboo slips from Dunhuang, Textual research of the location of Yumen Pass before 103 B.C., Excavations of Lintao Temple in Washan Mountain, Prehistoric sites near Lanzhou, and Epitaph of Tuyuhun in Wuwei from the Tang Dynasty. He also published the monograph Archaeological Research in Gansu. As a result, Xia Nai’s contributions signalled the end of Western dominance in archaeological excavation and research in Northwest China. In the first paper published after the expedition in Northwest China, New discovery of a Qijia culture cemetery and textual research of their era, Xia Nai reached the conclusion that Yangshao culture was actually earlier than Qijia culture based on ample evidence obtained in his excavations, which corrected the erroneous view held by Johan Gunnar Anderson, who reversed these two periods. Therefore, Xia’s paper provides reliable archaeological evidence for the establishment of a series of Neolithic cultures in the Gansu area. In papers such as Excavations of Lintao Temple in Washan Mountain and Prehistoric sites Near Lanzhou, in addition to introducing the characteristics of Neolithic culture in Gansu and Qinghai, the cultural exchange at the time between interior China and the ethnic groups in Northwest China are also discussed in depth. Papers such as Newly acquired Han Bamboo slips from Dunhuang and Textual research of the Location of Yumen Pass Before 103 B.C. provide detailed textual research on the specific location of the Yumen Pass, an important frontier post on the Silk Road, based on Han bamboo slips discovered in Dunhuang. This research corrected some of the previous misconceptions about the location of Yumen Pass. Even more important is the book Archaeological Research in Gansu, which describes in detail the whole process of the archaeological expedition in the northwest between 1944 and 1945. This book is regarded as a quintessential work in archaeology for the public since it is both scientific and highly interesting, relevant and highly readable, presenting a vivid picture of archaeological discoveries, history, customs, and stories of notable people along the Silk Road to a general readership. These writings are of great significance for the public in understanding the prehistoric cultures of Gansu and Qinghai, the history of the Silk Road, and the cultural exchange between China and the West.
An Archaeological Study of Exchange Between China and the West
After 1949, Xia Nai was occupied with administrative work, although he still devoted time to the archaeological study of Sino-Western exchange, with a focus on the ancient Silk Road in particular. During the period from 1950 to 1970, he had published papers of great significance, including Sasanian coins discovered in China, Sasanian coins excavated in Xining, Qinghai, Byzantine gold coin excavated from a Sui Dynasty tomb in Dizhangwan, Xianyang, King of Anxi’s Mansion Site and magic squares with Arabic numerals, The Silk Road and silk from the Han to the Tang, Silk textiles discovered in Xinjiang: damask, brocade, and embroidery, Star chart in the mural tomb of the Western Han Dynasty in Luoyang, Silk textiles discovered in Turfan. Based on evidence from silk textiles, foreign coinage, and other foreign relics excavated from every region of China, Xia Nai analysed the economic and cultural ties between China, Western Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, particularly its relations with Persia and the Byzantine Empire during the Han and Tang Dynasties. In addition, he also put forward significant theories on the routes of transportation between the East and the West.
Based on research of silk textiles from the Han and Tang Dynasties unearthed in Northwest China, Xia Nai believed that such silk goods were the main commodity transported to the West along the Northern Silk Road opened by Emperor Wu (156 B.C.–87 B.C.) of the Han Dynasty. After careful study of Sasanian coins and Byzantine gold coins excavated in various parts of China, he found that in addition to the Hexi Corridor, the area of Xining in Qinghai Province was also an important route. At the same time, he also believed that the silk trade had reached Persia and the Roman Empire and that it played an important role in the exchange between China and the West at that time, contributing to the development of the world’s material culture. In 1877, the renowned German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen coined the term “Silk Road” to refer to this trade route, which was more than 7000 kms long, extending westward from Chang’an, the capital city of the Han Dynasty, to Antioch on the eastern Mediterranean. It reinforces the idea that the opening of this route was primarily for the transport of Chinese silk to another great civilization at that time, the Roman Empire. In addition to the overland Silk Road, another important route of cultural exchange between China and the West was the Maritime Silk Road. Chinese porcelain has enjoyed a high reputation since ancient times and had the same status as silk in foreign trade. Since naval routes were mainly used for the ceramics trade, it is also known as the “Maritime Porcelain Road” (haishang ciqi zhi lu) in Chinese. While making a thorough study of the Silk Road routes on land, Xia Nai also devoted archaeological research to the Maritime Silk Road. In the paper Porcelain Evidence of Early Chinese-African Exchange, Xia Nai listed various kinds of exquisite porcelain from different dynasties in China since the Tang and Song Dynasties found in northern, eastern, and western Africa, proving that as early as the Tang and Song Dynasties, China and Africa had established cultural and commercial exchanges by sea. He also pointed out that Pakistan is located in the middle of the China-Arabian naval route and that the trade between China and Pakistan was done mainly by sea, as evidenced by ninth-century Chinese porcelain unearthed from the Indus River Delta sites of Brahmanabad (Mansura) and Banbhore in present-day Pakistan. Based on textual research of the Latin-engraved tombstone in Yangzhou and Venice silver coins excavated in Canton, he discussed the religious, cultural, and economic exchanges between China, Italy, and Venice by maritime routes during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. A book titled The Customs of Cambodia, written by the envoy Zhou Daguan in the Yuan Dynasty, is an important historical document for the study of the exchange between China during the Yuan Dynasty and Chenla (the Chinese name for the Khmer Empire in Cambodia). The author of the book vividly recorded all aspects of Cambodian life in Angkor during the thirteenth century, including mutual exchange via the sea route between Cambodia and China, together with detailed geographical descriptions along the way. In 1981, Xia Nai published The Customs of Cambodia with Notes, with detailed collations and annotations based on careful study of several editions and interpretations. This book, in which Xia Nai made comments and corrections, has been praised by scholars as the best book of collations and annotations for The Customs of Cambodia at present, and was included in the Series of Historical Books on Chinese and Foreign Exchange by Zhonghua Book Company. In the study of Sino-Western cultural exchange, Xia Nai always believed that cultural and trade exchanges are not unilateral. While exporting products such as silk and porcelain to other countries via the Silk Road, China, in turn, also learned from abroad. For the silk textile study in the Han and Tang Dynasties, he pointed out that due to the influence of the West through the Silk Road, great changes had taken place in weaving technologies and silk patterns in the Tang Dynasty as compared with the Han. Silk textiles from the Tang Dynasty are more resplendent and colourful than those of the Han, because Tang silk technology borrowed weaving skills from abroad, such as the traditional twill weave patterns from the West, dispersion of fulllength isolated pattern elements, Western-style floral patterns, and the wax dyeing process from India. Similar to silk-making, Chinese porcelain began to use on-glaze polychrome enamels with Western painting techniques in the eighteenth century, and craftsmanship was greatly improved. At the same time, owing to the overland Silk Road as well as the Maritime Silk Road, Western fruits, woolen goods, spices, precious stones, gold and silver coins, gold utensils and silverware, Arabic numerals, the zodiac, Indian Buddhism, and Buddhist art were also introduced into China. These imports definitely had a far-reaching impact on Chinese culture and art. Xia Nai has now been gone for over 30 years. With the development in recent years of archaeological work along the Silk Road in the field of Sino-Western cultural exchange and research, to which he devoted his whole life, new discoveries continue to emerge and the research continues to deepen. The original picture of the overland Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road is gradually emerging. The Belt and Road Initiative put forward by China will no doubt contribute to the rejuvenation of these ancient trade routes. It is believed that in the near future, along these two roads, a prosperous scene of international business will be seen and peoples of different countries will be benefited. Once again, these two roads will become the communication arteries connecting the Asian, European, and African continents, promoting trade and cultural exchanges between China and the West, and bringing economic and social development to both landlocked and coastal nations along the way. Wenzhou, China Zhengkai Xia
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