Han and Hu：China in Contact with Foreign Civilizations

by Ge Chengyong

TERRACOTTA FIGURES

The Eyes of the Western Regions People：Art History in Poems and Earthenware Figures of Tang Dynasty

The cross-disciplinary study of Tang Dynasty poetry and sculpture is an extension of the cutting edge scholarly practice of“interplay of history and poetry”and“knowing history through imagery”． The abundant depictions of the eyes of the Western Regions people（huren胡人） seen in Tang poems and earthenware fgures are the most prominent sign of the mixture of exotic and Han cultures，representing the artistic tastes of contemporary literati and craftsmen as well as the vivid embodiment of the integration of history and pottery during medieval China． Reading history and poetry with images of ancient objects is a novel practice that breaks the limitations of words and leads to a greater world of art expression．

Evidence from Art，Archaeology and Antiquarian Studies on the“Annual Presentation of Grape Wine by the Huren （Sogdians）”

For a long period of time，archaeologists and collectors have designated a number of fgurines as Hu fgures although no explanation has been forthcoming． The author，from the Cultural Relics Publishing House，takes up the issue of the textual history of the introduction of grape wine to China in ancient time and for the frst time highlights the art works depicting the social phenomenon，celebrated by High Tang poets，of the“annual presentation of grape wine by Hu people”． He argues that these fgurines show grape wine being brought to China in skin containers by Sogdians and being carried by palace ladies from bird-shaped wine vessels． This is what the Tang poets referred to as the“annual presentation of grape wine by Hu people”．

A Study on the Tang Dynasty Figurines of the Hu Merchants

The backpacked Hu Merchant fgurines widely collected in Chinese and foreign museums were generally referred to as“Itinerant Hu Merchant （行旅胡商）”，“Persian Hu merchant（波斯胡商）”，or“Arabian Hu Merchant（大食胡商）”． This paper studies the images of these backpacked Hu merchants，and argues that these merchants are actually street vendors，who tramped around cities and villages，and strived for a living by selling merchandise in their backpacks． They are similar in nature to the peddler（hanghuolang行货郎） in later records． There are both connections and diferences between these backpacked Hu merchants and Chinese itinerant merchants（行商），or intermediate merchants（估客）． This paper concludes that these backpacked Hu merchants are not Hu merchants engaging in long distance trade but low-level peddlers active in Chinese society．

Discrimination of“Qiong Lu”And“Zhan Zhang”Loaded By Camels of Trade Caravans on the Silk Road

The“Qiong Lu”and“Zhan Zhang”loaded by camels on pottery fgurines from Northern Dynasty to Tang Dynasty have been considered as the saddle plate． But the author considers it as basic necessities of trade caravans in wild accommodation on the Silk Road by researching on a wealth of cultural relics． Furthermore，the folded tent frame and saddle plate are not the same thing． This article attempts to correct the long-standing misconception among the scholars who are studying the relics and museology．

A Research on the Belly Exposed Pottery Figurines of Hu People of Tang Dynasty

The images of belly exposed pottery fgurines of Hu people excavated in recent years are strange，distinctive，monstrous，rough and confusing． The author argues that this kind of pottery fgurine is not the image of the groom but the foreign magician whose symbolic belly and chest are exposed on purpose． Being put together with dancers，musicians and hunting fgurines，the Hu people had many special skills，and their special characters were shown with many kinds of magic．

A Research of the Painted Figurines of the Hu Chasseurs of Tang Dynasty

Among the fgurines of the Hu chasseurs of the Tang dynasty are many who have strong physique and thick beard． They used to wait upon their masters as the“professional chasseurs”with special competence at hunting and taming the raptorial beasts and birds． They were called“Gong Ren”who came from the foreign countries along with the tribute animals，or“Fan Kou”who immigrated into China for a living． Diferent from the Han hunters，they attached themselves to bigwigs to serve as their waiters in hunting activities with their skills． Their appearance made the rise of hunting in the Tang dynasty．

The Realistic Feature of Bullock-Cart And Hu Driver Figurines from Northern Dynasty to Tang Dynasty

It is a description of reality aiming to distinguish between high and low that there were many Hu driver fgurines excavated． And the author holds that the image of Hu driver fgurines is helpful to understand the habitude of Hu people and their lower position．

The Hu People of House Music in Wall Paintings and Figures of Tang Dynasty

The Hu musicians played an important role in prospering the house music of Tang dynasty，and they participated in the cultural communication of Tang’s art． Holding the banquets enhanced the upper-class entertainment and promoted the fusion of Hu’s style． This article explains why there were Hu musicians in House Music and banquets of high ofcials in Tang Dynasty，and besides，what are the neglected efects．

The Peacock Hat and Foreign Art Pattern in Tang Dynasty

The horse-riding and drum-playing female fgure，excavated from a tomb of Tang Dynasty located in Xi’an，who wears a peacock pattern hat，has become an art symbol of women in Tang Dynasty frequently shown in exhibitions at national-level． The meaning of the legendary hat，though，has been vague． This paper proves that the pattern of peacock implies“rising to dance upon the sound of singing”． The fgure of peacock originated from India，and was introduced into China via the Western Regions． The design of peacocks standing on feather-hat and the color of gold-green have the function of appealing，which should be the specifc sign wore by music performers． The use of peacock hat refects the adoption of foreign art pattern．

Similarities Between Sculptures and Murals，Mutual Refections of Paintings and fgures：An Artistic Review of Hu Han Ma Qiu Tu

In recent years，with the research on the Silk Road and the China-West relationship getting more and more attention，the Hu fgures in“polo game paintings”come into our focus． This article centers on two murals，the Polo Playing（马球图） in Prince Zhanghuai’s Tomb in Qian Mausoleum，and the Polo Competition between Hu and Han （胡汉争打马球图） in Liyong’s Tomb in Xian Mausoleum of Tang Dynasty，with comparison of rare polo playing terracotta fgures and Tang poems about the polo． The author analyzes the following aspects：

Firstly，the transfer of polo from the Western Regions could be further dated back． As early as 4th century AD，the Fulin （refers to Byzantine in Ancient China，拂菻） polo had been already popular among Byzantine royal families and nobles． There exists an underestimation of the impact of the West towards the East by the academia nowadays．

Secondly，the rare and precious images of Hu and Han people appearing in the polo playing paintings，such as those from Prince Zhanghuai’s Tomb and Liyong’s Tomb，are very important historical materials． The images of the Hu and the Han people playing together represent those Hu people’s appearance and the vogue of exotic culture during the Tang dynasty．

Thirdly，both images are highly artistic． As recorded in the literature，The Record of What Mr． Feng Sees and Hears封氏闻见记，Liyong had excellent polo skills and was famous at that time． The polo painting in his tomb coincided with his life story． The depiction of the Hu people is vigorous and graceful，as if real people are standing in full–size on the tomb wall，though the details are not so perfect．

Finally，Tang’s poetic record of polo deserves careful consideration． Although there are many descriptions of polo，those of Hu players are rare． Similarly，there are many descriptions of female polo players in poetry and porcelain fgurines，yet female images have not been found in Tang mural paintings． In this area more archaeological evidences need to be investigated．

After the Tang Dynasty，this kind of art images with Hu and Han people playing polo together no longer existed，the reasons of which are many and complicated． However，the exotic style refected in them has left precious heritage for our generations to admire and cherish．

Artistic Features of Figurines of Hu People of Tang Dynasty in Hunan Province

A large number of fgurines of Hu people have been unearthed in Hunan from Han and Tang dynasties． And these fgurines are in a unique artistic style and belong to a unique system． While the Maritime Silk Road had become a new route connecting the world，the fgurines of Hu people are a physical manifestation of multicultural integration．

Research on the images of the Hu People in Mongol-Yuan Period

In Mongol-Yuan period，the Hu people were Semu people and were usually referred to as the people from Persia，Arab，and other ethnic groups． They were both benefciaries of ethnic politics and victims of national conficts． In recent years，the research results of the Hu people in Mongol-Yuan have been increasing，but most of them are in the historical documents and traditional literature，lacking the confrmation from unearthed cultural relics． Through the study of the fgurines of the Hu people in Mongol-Yuan period，this paper provides indispensable evidence for the academic circle with the mutual evidence between image and history．

On the Origin of the Facial Image of the Japanese Masks：Comment on the New Academic Achievement on Kucha Music and Dance

This paper holds that the article investigating the term Botou by Ge Xiaoyin and Tokura Hidemi is a new academic achievement on Kucha music and dance． To deepen the discussion，this paper further introduces the“mask with the exaggerated facial image of the drunk foreign King”preserved in Shosoin of Japan，and the dramatic“pictures of eight masked dancers on the box of Buddhist bone relics”unearthed in Kuqa of Xinjiang，China． It reveals that the facial image of the Japanese masks certainly originated from the music and dance culture of Kucha during the glorious Tang Dynasty．

The Silk Road and Ceramic Figurines of Foreigners in Tang Dynasty

Exotic Flavor of the Foreigners on the Silk Road is an exhibition of the ceramic fgurines themed on the foreigners who with deep eyes，high-bridged noses and full beards in Sui and Tang dynasties． The purpose of this exhibition is to uncover the introduction of foreign civilization and explore the history of foreigners in ancient China through the fgurines． As an artistic heritage，the various ceramic fgurines found in ancient tombs are not only the witness of the Silk Road and foreigners in history，but also an important reminder of the history between Europe and Asia．