• Acta Via Serica
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.129-140
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• 2019

Nana was an important patron deity in the Kušan Empire and the most important deity worshipped by Emperor Kaniška (c. 127-150 CE). She was the head of the royal dynastic pantheon at this time. The cult of Nana may already have existed in Central Asia prior to the arrival of Indo-Iranians in the region, since she appears on a BMAC seal dating to the early second millennium BCE. Similarly, her cult in Bactria may pre-date her appearance in the Kušan pantheon by over two millennia. The spread of Nana's cult over such vast distances vividly illustrates the cultural connections (presumably stemming mostly from trade) that existed from prehistoric times linking the Mediterranean world to that of Central Asia and beyond, with the Iranian plateau at its center. The prevalence of Sogdian coins bearing Nana's name suggests that she was also the principal deity of Sogdiana. In Bactria, the goddess Ardoxšo (Avestan Aši vaŋ^vhī) was also worshipped by Kušāns and appeared on their coins. Nana, who was associated with war, fertility, wisdom, and water, was also equated with the Iranian goddesses Anāhitā, Aši, and Ārmaiti. The cult of Nana-Ārmaiti was widespread throughout eastern Iran.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.61-90
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• 2021

Recent excavations in Qinghai Province, China, have disclosed textiles and artworks from Tuyuhun-Tubo (Tibetan) tombs, dated to the 7^th-9^th centuries, that suggest artistic and cultural exchanges along an external southern branch of the main Silk Road, between Gansu and Sichuan Provinces, across the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau toward the Himalayas. Many similar textiles, possibly from this area, have appeared lately on the art market and ended in private collections. Although these textiles, dated to the early Tibetan period, follow a popular prototype established in Central Asia in the 6^th century, the technical features, colors, and other indigenous elements suggest that they were woven in workshops different from those established between Sogdiana and Gansu. The exhibition "Cultural Exchange Along the Silk Road - Masterpieces of the Tubo Period," organized by the Dunhuang Research Academy and the Pritzker Collaborative Art between July and October 2019 in Dunhuang, Gansu, was a groundbreaking event that gathered scholarly attention on early Tibetan material culture, but a relevant publication is still forthcoming. In my previous work, I briefly discussed a group of silk textiles, possibly from Qinghai or Sichuan, that I analyzed in 2014 in the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. In light of the recent material excavated, published online, or displayed in Dunhuang, in this article, I reevaluate the data previously collected, and discuss in detail the technical and iconographic features of one of the fragments held in Hangzhou. Eventually, the piece was recognized as the ending part of a large panel, which is now in the Abegg Stiftung in Riggisberg, Switzerland.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.133-152
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• 2022

Both in popular perception and specialized literature, the Achaemenid Empire, for over two centuries the most important player from the Aegean to the Indus, is rarely evoked in correlation with the complex of socio-cultural dynamics which shaped the spaces of what has become known as the Silk Road(s). Building on the case study of the Pazyryk carpet on the one hand (King 2021, 353-361, Linduff and Rubinson 2021, 88-97), and of the spread of an artistic motive such as the quatrefoil on the other (Kim 2021), this paper explores the rich and complex nature of the commercial networks that flourished across Central Asia under the aegis of Achaemenid Great Kings. Both archaeological and literary evidence shall be discussed (especially the Aramaic Documents from Ancient Bactria: Naveh and Shaked 2012, and now King 2021, 315-320). If taken together and read against the grain, such material is significant for the following reasons. First, it suggests the existence - and the scale - of commercial activities directly fostered or indirectly promoted by the imperial administration in Central Asia, an area of crucial importance within the Achaemenid domains, but for which our evidence is rather scanty and difficult to assess. Second, it shows how the Achaemenid "Imperial Paradigm" (Henkelman 2017) affected the social and economic landscape of Central Asia even after the demise of the Empire itself, thus considerably shaping the world of the Silk Road(s) a century before the Ancient Sogdian Letters (de la Vaissière 2005, 43-70) or Zhāng Quiān's famous report.

• 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.

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.32
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• pp.427-463
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• 2016

This article deals with five main theories about the origin of Yeonwahdae(蓮花臺), a Korean court dance(jeongjae; 呈才) and its transmission process through the age from Chinese Dang(唐) and Song(宋) to Goryo(高麗) and Joseon(朝鮮) in Korea. As a result, it was found that there was a significant difference between Chinese Chaj-u(?枝舞) dance and Korean Yeonwahdae, and furthermore there was an enormous change as it came to Joseon period in the number of performer, costume and music. Therefore, it is seriously necessary to select, restore the main version of Yeonwahdae in each period, and to make an effort to create new version of Yeonwahdae that reflects the spirit and taste of our time. Besides, it is important to inherit the inner spirit of Yeonwahdae as well as its outer appearance. Shortly, the main purpose of Yeonwahdae performance at present should be to reflect the most important, urgent issues of our time thereby to pray the welfare and prosperity of our country.

• Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia Services Convergent with Art, Humanities, and Sociology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.481-491
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• 2019

The wall paintings of the Afrasiab Palace in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, located at the center of the Silk Road where the culture of the East and the West crossed from ancient times to the Middle Ages, have been unearthed in 1960s and attracted attention from academia. In particular, two characters wearing a Korean ancient hat (Jougwan), who were considered to be ancient Korean, were found in the western wall. The wall depicted the Coronation of King Barfuman of Sogdiana Kingdom in 7th century. It is being used as an important feed for studying the international situation and cultural characteristics at that time. This mural, which is now in the Historical Museum of Afrasiab, contain four different paintings at each side, and has its own cultural characteristics and elements. Nevertheless, there has been no development of storytelling and cultural contents using it. The purpose of this study is to find out how to develop and utilize cultural contents and characters based on the paintings of west wall of Afrasiab palace. To this end, we visited the museum and investigated the mural as well as surveyed many academic materials.