In the thousands of years of development and civilization history of the Chinese nation, in addition to the gradual change of different dynasties, it is also impossible to ignore the conflicts and integrations between the Central Plains Dynasty and different northern nomadic regimes in various dynasties and stages. These nomadic regimes are also the protagonists in the development of Chinese culture, and without the interaction between the protagonists, it is difficult to say whether Chinese civilization can have the present wonderful and brilliant. Among them, the Xiongnu can be described as famous. The Chronicle of the Huns records:
"The Xiongnu, the Miao descendants of their ancestor Xia Hou clan, also."
Map of the Xiongnu Sphere of Influence in the Western Han Dynasty Spring and Autumn Twelve Chapters Photographed
The Huns were an ancient people that straddled the steppes of Eurasia. According to historical records, it arose in the north and south of the desert (around Hetao and Daqingshan in Inner Mongolia) in the fifth to third centuries BC, and its relationship with the Central Plains can be traced back to the Yin Shang period. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu were unprecedentedly powerful, and there were many fierce conflicts with the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains, although they were annexed in the first century BC, but it was not until after the Southern and Northern Dynasties period that the Xiongnu finally withdrew from the stage of Chinese history. Part of it is integrated with the Han culture of the Central Plains, and some of it is unknown.
(Some scholars believe that after the Northern Huns moved west, they rose to Eastern Europe in the middle of the fourth century AD, were called "Huns" by Europeans, and established a powerful state centered on Hungary.) However, this statement has not yet been unanimously recognized in the academic community)
It has become an unsolved case in the history of world civilization. Here we do not emphasize much political and military, and still focus on clothing and jewelry. Through a set of jewelry, we appreciate the preferences and aesthetics of the Xiongnu aristocratic women.
Hun archaeology
Xiongnu archaeology was carried out relatively early abroad, and after Russian scholars discovered the Xiongnu tombs in 1898, many scholars organized Xiongnu archaeology one after another, mainly in Mongolia and Transbaikal regions. After the founding of New China, with the development of China's archaeological cause and the importance attached to Xiongnu archaeology, archaeologists excavated in Inner Mongolia and other regions, and successively obtained a number of important Xiongnu archaeological materials.
Warring States Eagle Crown Ornament The only complete golden crown of the Xiongnu king found in China so far The Spring and Autumn Twelve Chapters Of The Drawing
The Inner Mongolia region was once an important area for Xiongnu activities, with vast grasslands and rich and diverse landforms, and belonged to the eastern end of the northern Eurasian steppe. Judging from the current archaeological excavations, including the late Spring and Autumn Xiongnu tombs of The Peach Red Bara, the late Xiongnu tombs of the Aruchaiden Warring States, the tombs of the Xiongnu nobles in the late Yulong Tai warring states, the Xiongnu tombs in Maoqinggou, the Xiongnu tombs on the banks of Xigou, etc., the distribution area is mainly concentrated in the Yellow River "several" bends to the Yinshan Mountains, covering today's Inner Mongolia Ordos, Bayannaoer, Ulanchabu area, ancient known as "Xiongnu Homeland".
Schematic diagram of Xiongnu tombs in Inner Mongolia Picture taken from "Overview of Xiongnu Tombs Unearthed in Inner Mongolia"
In 1979, archaeologists found 9 tombs corresponding to the Han Dynasty period on the south side of the former Warring States Cemetery on the south side of the former Warring States Cemetery in Taohai Township, Zunger Banner, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, and judged them to be Xiongnu cemeteries according to the characteristics of the remains. Among them, Tomb No. 4 of Xigou Bank is a tomb of Xiongnu nobles in the early Western Han Dynasty, and a number of exquisite gold, gold jewelry, crystal and agate beads have been excavated. The gold-encrusted jade shell jewelry we are going to talk about today is among them.
Spring and Autumn Twelve Chapters Cartography
Gold-encrusted jade shell headdresses, earrings
This set of luxurious jewelry consists of two parts: headdresses and earrings.
The headdress part is composed of cloud-patterned gold ornaments, flower-shaped gold ornaments, gold mussel ornaments, etc., and there are several gold beads and crystal beads unearthed at fashion. Among them, the crown parts are hammered and engraved, which shows the exquisite workmanship.
The earrings are composed of plaques, charms, and jade pendants. The image of the running elk in the plaque is a typical grassland culture style, originally embedded with turquoise, and now peeled off. The inlaid shells, the white jade earrings are leaf-shaped, covered with gold edges, and the flattened carvings on them are carved with dragon patterns and hollowed out locally, which is evidence of the influence of Han culture on Xiongnu culture.
Jade ornaments from the Western Han Dynasty Spring and Autumn Twelve Chapters photographed
The hammering, engraving, inlaying and beading technology on the whole set of jewelry is skillfully used, and the decorative style of gold and silver jewelry in Central Asia and West Asia at that time was integrated. Because of the luxurious material, exquisite craftsmanship, and high grade, it has the reputation of "phoenix crown", which shows that its owner is either rich or expensive before his death, and should be a noblewoman of the Xiongnu tribe.
Bead process
In the outer contour of the whole set of jewelry inlaid mussels and white jade earrings, we can see the decorative contours of the fine gold beads uniformly arranged in a linear manner, and sometimes on other jewelry, we can also see that they are densely packed in the pattern of the surface of the utensils, which are called gold millet, fried beads, welding beads, etc. in the process.
Eastern Han Dynasty paisley striped gold ornament part Spring and Autumn Twelve Chapters Drawing
According to scholars, the bead welding process first appeared in the tomb of your in the Mesopotamian Sumerian culture around 2500 BC, and reached its peak in the Etruscan culture (Etruscan in present-day central Italy) from the 9th century BC to the 1st century BC, and has a very long history.
5th century BC Etruscan cultural jewelry collection of the Metropolitan Museum
There are several theories about the process of making welding beads, one of which I think is more reasonable, which is described in Dale Brown's book "The Etruscans: A Life-Loving People in Italy":
"The bead process... The gold wires are cut into small pieces, and then they are spread in the powdered earth charcoal of the clay crucible, and then the crucible is heated with charcoal, the gold will melt and form small gold beads under the action of tension when approaching the melting point, after cooling, the material in the crucible is poured out, the charcoal is washed, and the gold beads are screened according to the size, and the animal glue and copper powder are welded to fix the surface of the goldware. ”
Seljuq period gold beaded necklace in Turkey from the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum
The eastward transmission path of the welding bead process should not be limited to one, the Eurasian steppe road, the land and sea Silk Road are the main routes for its eastward transmission. From a geographical point of view, the cultural relics excavated from the early days of welding beads before the Tang Dynasty are mainly concentrated in the northwest frontier region dominated by Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Gansu, the central region dominated by Shaanxi, Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Jiangsu, and the southern coastal area dominated by Guangdong and Guangxi. This also coincides with the three eastward transmission routes we mentioned above, and also shows that this craft is not only loved by the nomadic Huns in the north, but also gradually becomes a major craft in the production of gold and silver jewelry in the Central Plains.
Eastern Han Dynasty crescent-shaped gold ornaments This piece is similar to the gold artifacts produced by the Tomb of Bactria in Afghanistan, and is rarely found in China, which is extremely precious
From the pre-Qin to western Han dynasties, the welding bead craft products began to take shape, and reached their peak in the Eastern Han and Tang Dynasties, until after the Ming and Qing dynasties, the welding bead process gradually declined.
Deer-shaped pattern
Animal pattern style decoration is a very common one among the peoples of the Eurasian steppe, and its origins seem to be traced back to the Scythian culture on the northern shore of the Black Sea, but the current mainstream view in the academic community is more inclined to the "theory of multiple origins", that is:
"The Scythians lived side by side with other pre-Asian cultures and borrowed from each other, which included the complex process of selecting certain near-artistic components that became the basis for the formation of high-quality Scythian art. Animal print art is pluralistic, and the commonality of their series of portrait motifs should be some kind of unity of ideology. ”
Whether it is a single origin or a pluralistic origin, the early animal pattern art of the northern nomads in China is certain to be influenced by the Scythian culture, and in the continuous exchange and integration of culture, it has formed its own unique aesthetic style.
Warring States Golden Monster Three-dimensional round carved pure gold ornaments, unique shape, like a giant horned deer but with an eagle's beak, is a Photograph of the Spring and Autumn Chapters of the Xiongnu Art Treasures
Animal pattern decoration in China, in the early days, mainly based on round carvings and semi-reliefs, ornate inlaid with turquoise, the shape is simple and thick. In the late Western Zhou Dynasty, small bronze plaques with various animal themes began to appear, and deer-shaped patterns were found during this period. After entering the Spring and Autumn Period, both the animal pattern theme on the plaque and its scope of application have been expanding, and common such as tigers, wolves, eagles, cattle, horses, deer, other birds and beasts have been found, and the scope of application is not limited to weapons, clothing, living utensils, etc.
Late Warring States Period Silver Deer Spring and Autumn Chapter 12 Photograph
Common patterns such as biting and fighting between tigers and beasts, mostly implying bravery and fierceness to defeat enemies and dominate the grassland. The meekness of the deer reflects the pursuit of a quiet and comfortable life of the northern nomads on the other hand, and the deer pattern has thus become a typical and unique shape decoration of the northern nomads.
Through this set of gold-encrusted jade shell head ornament earrings, we can not only feel the gorgeous and exquisite ornaments of the Xiongnu noble women at that time, but also see the traces of the integration of diverse cultures and aesthetics. We can notice that for thousands of years, people have been surprisingly consistent in their high identification with gold and jade jewelry in terms of aesthetics and values. It is not difficult to find that multiple dimensions, including clothing and clothing, continue to prove that while retaining their own characteristics, mutual reference and common development have always been the mainstream of human history and culture.
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【Reference】
1. Nanjing Museum, Golden China, Ancient Chinese GoldWare Exhibition, Yilin Publishing House
2. Tian Guangjin, "Xiongnu Archaeology in Inner Mongolia in Recent Years", Journal of Archaeology, No. 1, 1983
3. Zhang Tong, "Beauty on Horseback: An Overview of Gold and Silver Artifacts of The Peoples of Northern China in Ancient China"
4. Chen Hongbo, "Archaeological Research on Gold Bead Jewelry Excavated from the Maritime Silk Road in the Han Dynasty", Journal of Guangxi Normal University: Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition, No. 1, 2012
5. Li Sisi, "Welding Bead Process and A Brief Analysis of Early Chinese Welding Bead Products", Tiger Cultural Relics and Archaeology, No. 4, 2019
6. Chao Ye, "Animal Pattern Art and the Eurasian Steppe Road", Archaeology and Investigation: Silk Road, No. 22, 2009
7. Shen Aifeng, "Research on Several Patterns of Beast Styles in the Eurasian Steppe", Journal of Nanjing University of the Arts, 2009(06)