Suchergebnisse

The project aims at a detailed review of the published Chinese studies of rock art. The petroglyphs are extremely instructive; however, they remain largely unknown outside of China. These data are of particular relevance to Russian archaeologists as the petroglyphs of Northern, Northwestern, and Northeastern China share many similarities with the rock art of the neighboring territories of Southern Siberia, Mongolia, and the Far East.
The paper briefly presents the key stages of the field study of Chinese rock art and the main findings. The authors also list the unimplemented developments, which may serve as a basis for future expeditions.

We communicate our archaeological findings made in several burial complexes along the ancient Silk Road along with the analysis of the recent discoveries of other teams. Our research proves the special role of the Silk Road in Eurasian economic and political mutual influence, communication and transmission since Western Han dynasty. Sogdian and Middle East influence on Chinese culture was substantial and its importance cannot be underestimated. But even more importantly, during Tang dynasty, Europeans and Northern Eurasian representatives also influenced Chinese society and culture strongly, with some of them serving at the Chinese imperial court. Our findings are even more important in the context of the New Silk Road initiative announced recently by Xi Jinping ("One Belt, One Road").

From the end of 2019 to the present day, the world lives in a constant confrontation with the epidemic caused by coronavirus infection. The first country to experience COVID-19 attack was China. The data on the number of cases and deaths from this disease are tens, and sometimes hundreds of times less than in most developed countries, especially if we take into account the huge population of the PRC. During 2021, mortality caused by coronavirus remains practically zero, and the number of cases per day varies from a few persons to two dozen, and they always came from abroad. To achieve this, it required mobilization of all medical and administrative resources on the part of the authorities, as well as the observance of discipline and complete loyalty to the activities carried out on the part of the population. Many observers – journalists and then scientists – suggested that moral values articulated within the framework of Confucian ideology should be singled out among the factors that contributed to the establishment of control over the epidemic. Not all specialists agree with this approach. But it seems to us quite justified, since a similar picture can be observed in those countries of East and Southeast Asia, whose civilization was formed under the strong influence of Confucianism. Among the socio-cultural factors contributing to the successful fight against COVID-19 and its consequences, one can also name the active use of the methods of traditional Chinese medicine, especially Qigong and Taijiquan complexes. We suppose the Chinese experience in this sphere could be useful for other nations.

The article addresses materials found in two burials of representatives of the ruling clans of the early medieval states in China. The first one is the tomb of the Rouran princess Yujiului Chidilian (550) — the granddaughter of the Rouran Khagan Anagui and the wife of Gao Dan (a member of the aristocratic family of the Northern and Eastern Wei period, whose representatives founded their own Northern Qi dynasty). The second is the tomb of Li Jingxun (608) — the granddaughter of the penultimate emperor of Northern Zhou and the great-granddaughter of the first emperor of Sui. The authors provide characteristics of the design features and accompanying grave goods of the burial complexes. Despite the cultural and chronological proximity of two complexes, the commonality of age and gender characteristics and the social status of the buried, there are more differences than similarities in the burial rite of the complexes under consideration: during the 2nd half of 6th — early 7th centuries the material and spiritual culture of the northern regions of China underwent significant transformation, which is reflected in the materials of these tombs.

The article presents materials of An Jia tomb, one of the early medieval Sogdian burials in China. A description of the burial complex is offered, descriptions of the painted reliefs of the stone burial couch and a stone panel above the tomb door, as well as the complete commented translation of the epitaph of the deceased are provided. Two versions of interpretation of stone reliefs' semantics are proposed: an idealized report on the earthly life to higher powers or ideas about the afterlife. The identification of specific features of the funerary rite, the stylistic and semantic analysis of images on reliefs in comparison with epigraphic data confirm the thesis about the syncretic nature of the studied complex, which combined elements of the Zoroastrian, Confucian, and Buddhist religious and worldview traditions.