• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.60 no.7
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• pp.117-130
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• 2010

The four walls of mural paintings in Afrasiab, Samarkand, have discovered: the indian-concept east wall, the west with the paintings of envoys from a number of countries bringing in King's letters or gifts, the south describing traditional ceremony celebrating the new year, the north with a picture of a Chinese princess on board beside hunting scenes. Overall, Sogdians in Afrasiab mural paintings of 7th century had following costume codes: a very short haircut or the Turkic queue, a rather-narrow-sleeved caftan with round-neck, a belt and boots. The west wall showed various costume style of a set of envoys from countries. First, a Turkic envoy had 3-6 rows of long plaits, wearing a caftan with two lapels and a belt - interestingly, Sogdian and Turkic nobles didn't wear pochettes. Second, a Chaganiyan had a hairband on his short hair, and his colorful round-neck caftan is decorated with animal-patterned medallions and a golden belt. Third, a Chach wore a jewelled hairband, putting gaiters on his pants. Forth, a Chinese was in putou with a round-neck caftan, and with a belt and sword around his waist. Lastly, also appeared a Koguryo envoy in white putou with a double-bird-feathered crown on top, wearing a long-sleeved yellow v-neck top, a belt, narrow-cuffed pants and boots. Identical to the Sogdian statues excavated in various regions of China are the appearance of big eyes and nose -similar to the warrior stone in Korea- a hairband, and a pochette down from the waist line. During this period, white and red were considered as prevailing colors for clothing: red and yellow among Turks. The costumes of characters in Afrasiab mural paintings were preferably made with the animal-patterned, sophiscated samite Zandanachi of Sogdiana.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.21-36
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• 2021

This paper discusses textile motifs depicted in the hunting panels inside the late Sasanian larger grotto at Taq-i Bustan. Scholars of Iranian art have referred to these rock reliefs in order to trace the origin of Sasanian textile decorations and their exportation in the whole medieval Eurasian continent. This however does not seem to be the case. In fact, the textile motifs reproduced at Taq-i Bustan could be a good term of comparison only for late Sasanian textile production. Moreover, nothing like this has appeared in previous Sasanian rock reliefs. For this reason, the present paper argues that some of those motifs could actually be importations from Central Asia where reproductions of textiles embellished with those motifs were very popular. Islamic written sources on Taq-i Bustan rock reliefs could be very useful to support some ideas expressed in this paper.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.119-128
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• 2019

This paper attempts to reveal little-known pages from the history of relations between the peoples of Central Asia and Korea based on materials derived from written sources and modern scientific literature, as well as from medieval wall paintings from the early medieval Afrasiab Palace of Varhuman, the ruler of Samarkand, and from stone sculptures of Sogdian figures contained in Silla royal tombs. Korea's interest in the western lands led to its contact with Buddhism, which spread and later flourished in all three Korean kingdoms (Koguryo, Paekche and Silla). The spread of Buddhism in turn motivated a number of Korean monks to undertake pilgrimages to India via Central Asia. Hyecho, a young Silla pilgrim, left evidence of his journey via the South China Sea to India in 723 AD. Paul Pelliot discovered a report from Hyecho's journey entitled Notes on Pilgrimage to Five Regions in India (Wang Wu Tianzhuguo zhuan) in the Dunhuang caves in 1908. Hyecho's contributions are worthy of attention, substantially complementing knowledge available for this little-studied period in the history of South and Central Asia. The information contained in Hyecho's manuscript is, in fact, considered the most significant work of the first half of the 8th century. Research regarding the relationship between Central Asia and Korea remains underdeveloped. Existing historical evidence, however, including the above mentioned Samarkand wall paintings, depicts the visits of two Korean ambassadors to Samarkand, and evidence from Silla tombs suggests the presence of diplomatic relations in addition to trade between the two regions. Overall, the history of the relationship between Central Asia and Korea yields new insights into how and why these distant countries sustained trade and diplomatic and cultural exchange during this early period. Taking into account Korea's growing interest in Uzbekistan, especially in its history and culture, this article can act as a catalyst for studying the history of the two country's relations.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.37-60
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• 2021

Before the tenth century, the dress of elite women in and around China often reflected "Han" Chinese fashions and preferences. In funerary paintings and relief sculptures of Sogdian and Xianbei couples from the sixth century, for example, women wear "Han" Chinese-style clothing. Even in the Tang dynasty (ca. 618-907), when exchange with Central Asia via overland Silk Road trade impacted the styles and patterning of elite dress and men incorporated clear Central Asian attributes into their dress, elite women in the Tang sphere wore recognizably Tang fashions. Chinese-style dress in these centuries clearly conveyed cultural import and, likely, political power, especially after the founding of the Tang dynasty. However, the straightforward borrowing of Tang women's dress shifted in the Khitan Liao dynasty (ca. 907-1125). The Liao, in contrast to other states that shared a border with China in previous centuries, saw themselves as political equals to the Song dynasty (ca. 960-1278) court in the south. The Liao court was interested in Song customs and culture and incorporated artistic motifs and practices from the Song court. However, the Liao courtly idiom was never fully subsumed into the greater world of the Song - rather, the Liao used facets of Song courtly culture for their own ends. One way this is manifested is through the dual administrative system, a bureaucratic organization that, among other things, regulated and distinguished between who was permitted to wear Khitan and non-Khitan dress. In this paper, I will examine the material evidence from funerary contexts for how the dress of elite Liao women both engaged with the dress of the Song, while also maintaining a certain amount of cultural autonomy. Through their dress, elite Liao women signaled clear messages about their status, identity, and difference to their Song counterparts.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.98
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• pp.226-241
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• 2020

Located on the right side of the third floor of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the "Art of Central Asia" exhibition boasts the world's finest collection of artworks and artifacts from the Silk Road. Every item in the collection has been classified by region, and many of them were collected in the early twentieth century through archaeological surveys led by Russia's Pyotr Kozlov, Mikhail Berezovsky, and Sergey Oldenburg. Some of these artifacts have been presented around the world through special exhibitions held in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Korea, Japan, and elsewhere. The fruits of Russia's Silk Road expeditions were also on full display in the 2008 exhibition The Caves of One Thousand Buddhas - Russian Expeditions on the Silk Route on the Occasion of 190 Years of the Asiatic Museum, held at the Hermitage Museum. Published in 2018 by the Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House in collaboration with the Hermitage Museum, Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia introduces the Hermitage's collection of artifacts from the Kuche (or Kucha) region. While the book focuses exclusively on artifacts excavated from the Kuche area, it also includes valuable on-site photos and sketches from the Russian expeditions, thus helping to enhance readers' overall understanding of the characteristics of Kuche art within the Buddhist art of Central Asia. The book was compiled by Dr. Kira Samosyuk, senior curator of the Oriental Department of the Hermitage Museum, who also wrote the main article and the artifact descriptions. Dr. Samosyuk is an internationally renowned scholar of Central Asian Buddhist art, with a particular expertise in the art of Khara-Khoto and Xi-yu. In her article "The Art of the Kuche Buddhist Temples," Dr. Samosyuk provides an overview of Russia's Silk Road expeditions, before introducing the historical development of Kuche in the Buddhist era and the aspects of Buddhism transmitted to Kuche. She describes the murals and clay sculptures in the Buddhist grottoes, giving important details on their themes and issues with estimating their dates, and also explains how the temples operated as places of worship. In conclusion, Dr. Samosyuk argues that the Kuche region, while continuously engaging with various peoples in China and the nomadic world, developed its own independent Buddhist culture incorporating elements of Gandara, Hellenistic, Persian, and Chinese art and culture. Finally, she states that the culture of the Kuche region had a profound influence not only on the Tarim Basin, but also on the Buddhist grottoes of Dunhuang and the central region of China. A considerable portion of Dr. Samosyuk's article addresses efforts to estimate the date of the grottoes in the Kuche region. After citing various scholars' views on the dates of the murals, she argues that the Kizil grottoes likely began prior to the fifth century, which is at least 100 years earlier than most current estimates. This conclusion is reached by comparing the iconography of the armor depicted in the murals with related materials excavated from the surrounding area (such as items of Sogdian art). However, efforts to date the Buddhist grottoes of Kuche must take many factors into consideration, such as the geological characteristics of the caves, the themes and styles of the Buddhist paintings, the types of pigments used, and the clothing, hairstyles, and ornamentation of the depicted figures. Moreover, such interdisciplinary data must be studied within the context of Kuche's relations with nearby cultures. Scientific methods such as radiocarbon dating could also be applied for supplementary materials. The preface of Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia reveals that the catalog is the first volume covering the Hermitage Museum's collection of Kuche art, and that the next volume in the series will cover a large collection of mural fragments that were taken from Berlin during World War II. For many years, the whereabouts of these mural fragments were unknown to both the public and academia, but after restoration, the fragments were recently re-introduced to the public as part of the museum's permanent exhibition. We look forward to the next publication that focuses on these mural fragments, and also to future catalogs introducing the artifacts of Turpan and Khotan. Currently, fragments of the murals from the Kuche grottoes are scattered among various countries, including Russia, Germany, and Korea. With the publication of this catalog, it seems like an opportune time to publish a comprehensive catalog on the murals of the Kuche region, which represent a compelling mixture of East-West culture that reflects the overall characteristics of the region. A catalog that includes both the remaining murals of the Kizil grottoes and the fragments from different parts of the world could greatly enhance our understanding of the murals' original state. Such a book would hopefully include a more detailed and interdisciplinary discussion of the artifacts and murals, including scientific analyses of the pigments and other materials from the perspective of conservation science. With the ongoing rapid development in western China, the grotto murals are facing a serious crisis related to climate change and overcrowding in the oasis city of Xinjiang. To overcome this challenge, the cultural communities of China and other countries that possess advanced technology for conservation and restoration must begin working together to protect and restore the murals of the Silk Road grottoes. Moreover, centers for conservation science should be established to foster human resources and collect information. Compiling the data of Russian expeditions related to the grottoes of Kuche (among the results of Western archaeological surveys of the Silk Road in the early twentieth century), Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia represents an important contribution to research on Kuche's Buddhist art and the Silk Road, which will only be enhanced by a future volume introducing the mural fragments from Germany. As the new authoritative source for academic research on the artworks and artifacts of the Kuche region, the book also lays the groundwork for new directions for future studies on the Silk Road. Finally, the book is also quite significant for employing a new editing system that improves its academic clarity and convenience. In conclusion, Dr. Kira Samosyuk, who planned the publication, deserves tremendous praise for taking the research of Silk Road art to new heights.