32 research outputs found
La Chine et les routes de la soie
No full textI. Une carte de la route de la Soie du XVIe siècle découverte récemment au Japon En 2002, un musée japonais a vendu une peinture de ses réserves à peu près inconnue des spécialistes. Ce rouleau horizontal, large de 59 cm et long de 30,12 m, est peint sur soie. Endommagé partiellement à l’endroit où se trouvent habituellement un titre et des colophons, il avait été identifié par les conservateurs du musée comme une peinture de paysage des Qing (1644-1911). Pourtant, une étiquette était collée ..
The origins of metallurgy in China
No full textArchaeologists worldwide have shown much interest in the origins of metallurgy in China (e.g. Mei 2005; Hanks et al. 2007; Parzinger 2011; Fan et al. 2012). Around 2200-1700 BC, the Seima-Turbino Culture originated in the Altai Mountains of Central Asia and spread across the Eurasian steppes (Chernykh 2004, 2008). The most iconic artefact of this culture is the socketed spearhead with single side hook; these have been found across the Eurasian steppes (Figure 1: 1-2). Two new observations of these spearheads suggest that Seima-Turbino metal-casting technology was responsible for the development of metallurgy in China.A&HCISSCIARTICLE3599
Xixia funerary vestiges and their interpretation : art, rituals and afterlife beliefs in the Tangut kingdom
No full textSédentarisés dans le nord-ouest de la Chine actuelle pendant la dynastie Tang, les Tangoutes créèrent sous les Song l’empire Xixia (en 1038), que les armées de Genghis Khan détruisirent en 1227. La présente thèse porte sur la culture funéraire des Xixia. Elle se fonde sur une étude exhaustive des tombes fouillées à partir des années 1970. Leur nombre est limité, mais leur variété permet de dresser un tableau relativement complet dans la mesure où ces sépultures appartiennent à des classes sociales différentes, de la population ordinaire jusqu’aux souverains, en passant par des aristocrates et des moines. L’analyse des sources écrites vient étoffer celle des vestiges archéologiques. Elles sont également peu nombreuses, mais présentent l’avantage d’avoir plusieurs origines : ce sont principalement des sources chinoises (annales historiques, témoignages de lettrés ou fonctionnaires) et des textes administratifs Xixia. Elles permettent en particulier de confirmer la diversité des pratiques funéraires (la crémation et l’ensevelissement constituant deux modes récurrents) et leur spécificité en fonction de la classe sociale, ou même de l’âge du défunt. La comparaison des vestiges funéraires Xixia avec ceux des Chinois et des autres peuples périphériques permet, au contraire de l’opinion générale véhiculée dans la littérature universitaire chinoise, de faire apparaître l’originalité et la créativité de ce peuple. Celle-ci semble même se manifester jusqu’au plan individuel, en particulier dans l’individuation des tombes ou l’élaboration de motifs décoratifs spécifiques aux tombes impériales. Ce constat conduit à suggérer que les sépultures Xixia constituaient de véritables tombes-portraits.After settling in the North-Western part of present China during the Tang dynasty, the Tangut established the Xixia empire under the Song (in 1038). It lasted until 1227, when the dynasty was defeated by the armies of Genghis Khan. This thesis is focused on Xixia funerary culture. It is based on a comprehensive survey of the tombs which have been excavated since the 1970s. They are not numerous, but varied enough to draw a global picture since the tombs belong to members of different social status, from ordinary people to rulers, from aristocrats to monks. Analysis of written documents allows to expand the study of archaeological findings. They are in limited number too, though advantageously from multiple origins, mainly Chinese sources (historical annals, records from scholars and civil servants) and Xixia administrative documents. They notably confirm the diversity of funerary practices (cremation and burying being two recurring modes) and their specificities according to the deceased’s social class, or even his age. A comparison between Xixia funerary remains and those from Chinese or other peripheral peoples leads, conversely to the general view conveyed by Chinese academic literature, to stress the originality and creativity of the Tangut people. As a matter of fact, it seems to show down to the personal level, particularly through tombs architectural individualisation as well as through the production of specific decorative patterns in imperial tombs. These observations suggest that Xixia graves represented real portrait-tombs
Zheng He's voyages to Hormuz: the archaeological evidence
No full textThe imperially sponsored maritime expeditions led by Zheng He in the early fifteenth century AD projected Ming Chinese power as far as Java, Sri Lanka and the East African coast. The Indian Ocean voyages are well documented in Chinese and Islamic historical accounts and by the nautical charts of Zheng He's journeys. Less clear has been the exact location of ancient Hormuz, the destination of Zheng He's voyages in the Persian Gulf. Recent re-analysis of ceramics from coastal southern Iran provides a solution. Archaeological evidence for Ming ceramics on present-day Hormuz Island and jewellery and gemstones of Iranian origin in southern China suggest that ancient Hormuz and Hormuz Island are one and the same
A Chinese Porcelain Jar Associated with Marco Polo: A Discussion from an Archaeological Perspective
No full textAs the first European to claim that he travelled to China and back, Marco Polo is a celebrated traveller who described the multicultural society of Eurasia in the thirteenth to fourteenth centuriesad. However, his famed account, theTravels of Marco Polo, contains many unsolved mysteries which have generated discussion among historians, while an archaeological approach has been even less convincing because the material that may link to Marco Polo is very rare. A recent re-analysis of Chinese ceramics from a wide geographical area ranging from southern China to the Indian Ocean provides some archaeological support: it suggests that a Chinese porcelain jar housed in the Treasury of San Marco in Venice dates to the era of Marco Polo and is associated with his journey to China.</jats:p
