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The T’ang Dynasty was an era of unrivalled
wealth and luxury. The country was successfully
reunified and the borders were expanded,
pushing Chinese influence into new lands.
Confucianism became a semi-religious
instrument of the state; yet Buddhism continued
to flourish, spreading into Korea and Japan. The
arts reached new levels of sophistication. Poetry
and literature flourished under the enlightened
rulers. The Silk Road brought fortunes into
China. Precious treasures were imported on the
backs of camels from far away lands and
bartered for Chinese silk, medicinal herbs, and
pungent spices. T’ang China was a multicultural
empire where foreign merchants from across
Central Asia and the Middle East settled in the
urban centers, foremost among them the
thriving capital of Chang’an (modern X’ian), a
bustling cosmopolitan center of over two million
inhabitants. Foreign traders lived next to native
artisans and both thrived. New ideas and exotic
artistic forms followed alongside. The T’ang
Dynasty was a cultural renaissance where many
of the forms and objects we now associate with
China were first created. Moreover, this period
represents one of the greatest cultural
outpourings in human history.
This general type of Chinese burial art is known
as mingqi. Mingqi were any of a variety of
objects specifically created for interment in the
tombs of elite individuals in order to provide for
the afterlife. Many of these works reflect Chinese
contact with a variety of foreigners including
Jewish merchants, Persian traders, and various
tribes from Central Asia who were essential for
their supply of fine steeds. The great influence
of the horse throughout the history of China
cannot be underestimated. In fact, the ancient
expansion of the Chinese Empire was due in
large part to the horse. The rapid mobility of
horses allowed for quick communication between
far away provinces. Likewise, the military role of
horses aided in the defense of the borders from
nomadic invaders as well as the conquest and
submission of distant lands. The need to import
stronger, faster steeds from Central Asia (as
opposed to the local Mongol pony) led to the
creation of the Silk Road.
The importance of the horse in the history and
culture of China can be viewed, in part, through
the artistic legacy of this great civilization. In
sculpture, painting, and literature, horses were
glorified and revered. Furthermore, horses were
believed to be relatives of the mythological
dragon, reflecting their sacred status within
society. This sculpture depicts a fat foreigner,
his swollen belly popping out of his open tunic,
riding horseback. His large, hooked nose and
beard reveal his foreign status and he was
probably a Jewish merchant from Central Asia
working the Silk Road. The early dating of this
work is reflective of the stylization of the horses
head and legs that were characteristic of the
preceding Sui Dynasty. Overall, this sculpture is
a testament to the revered status of the horse in
Chinese culture, a love that reached new heights
of expression during the T’ang Dynasty.
- (H.687)
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