The Silk Road leads the communication between China and the surrounding nomadic peoples.

Author: Aitku hammett

The Silk Road is a route system that runs through ancient and medieval trade, and it connects the eastern and western countries. The research on the Silk Road focuses on its origin, function and characteristics of goods transported in different periods, and emphasizes the importance of regional centers in trade. In fact, the Silk Road is a special form of communication between the East and the West. Of course, it is the inevitable product of historical development, the road of exchange of various achievements of world civilization, and occupies an important position in the lives of people in ancient Eurasia. This route is a bridge between eastern and western civilizations. According to the information of the Central National Museum of Kazakhstan, we can explore the cultural, economic and political relations between nomadic peoples in the Eurasian steppe along the Silk Road.

Hammett, Aitkul (hammett, Aitkul)

1990, has been working in the Kazakhstan Ministry of culture and education system. Since 2007, he has been the director of the Archaeological Center of the Central National Museum of Kazakhstan, and is currently studying issues related to the history of nomadic peoples in Kazakhstan. Photo courtesy of the author

The ancient Silk Road played an important role in the development of civilization.

The heyday of the Silk Road, a historical transportation network, began at the end of the 2nd century BC, when China's envoys went to Central Asia, and it was not until the14th century that the Mongols crossed the Eurasian steppe and established the road to the north. Businessmen along the way sell all kinds of goods: horses, precious stones, glass, ivory, cotton, wool, flax, spices, incense and tea. By the19th century, this route was called the "Silk Road".

There is a raised knob in the center of the bronze mirror, surrounded by eight artistic petals, which is a replica of the bronze mirror widely used in Liao Dynasty in China. Photo courtesy of the author

By the year 2000 BC, the sericulture industry in China had developed quite maturely and eventually formed a worldwide monopoly. Members of China's family, especially women, skillfully take care of mulberry trees, feed silkworms with tender mulberry leaves, and strictly abide by the silk-making skills. This may be why the Greeks and Romans did not know how to make silk. Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder even wrote around 70 AD that raw silk used to make silk grows from leaves. The Roman Empire spent a lot of real money on silk, and Pliny estimated that the cost was as high as 654.38 billion Ceste per year, which was amazing. In BC 1 century, silk was so expensive and rare that even rich Romans could only afford a small piece and sew it on linen or wool clothes as a precious chest ornament. In 1 century, except land, the sea route between China and the west was opened, and the quantity of silk sold in China began to increase. Surprisingly, even so, China still maintains a monopoly on silk, and western countries did not discover the secret of silk production until the 6th century.

During the two thousand years after 500 BC, Eurasia formed four major centers of civilization: China, India, West Asia and Europe. For two thousand years, the Silk Road has been the main channel of knowledge and material exchange between Asia and Europe. It combines the material culture and spiritual culture of various regions and nationalities, and greatly promotes the unity of the nation and the country. It can be said that the Silk Road has played a decisive role in the development of human civilization.

The mirror found in the site of Aktilek is disc-shaped, with a flat handle and a raised edge. It is decorated with two winged ichthyosaurs. One is flying on the water, and the other is in the clouds. Made of bronze, using casting and deep relief technology. Photo courtesy of the author

1-2 century, for the first time in history, a macroscopic political system appeared, which included the whole civilized area of the old continent. Four empires, namely, Roman Empire, Rest Empire, Guishuang Empire (including most of Central Asia, Afghan and Indian) and China, were gradually formed, and they had complicated political, economic and cultural exchanges with each other, which affected the development of intercontinental transportation. From the cultural relics in the Central National Museum of Kazakhstan, we can see the role of the Silk Road in all aspects of human social life.

The most abundant collection of the National Museum of the Central Republic of Kazakhstan is decorations and practical handicrafts, which show the interaction between Central Asian cultures. Archaeological data enable us to focus on the most important stage of cultural exchange in Europe, Asia and China. When analyzing cultural relics, we may find similar cultural relics, which may be related to a certain cultural expression of a known nation in history.

The round mirror was accidentally discovered in East Kazakhstan, and the edge of the mirror has a raised thin edge. Between two concentric stripes composed of twill and broken lines, there are two swimming fish connected head to tail. Fish gills and scales are represented by relief lines. Bronze is made by casting and stamping. Size: 9cm in diameter and 0.2cm in thickness. The era is the 8th-9th century. Photo courtesy of the author

Craftsmen in Central Asia successfully transplanted China's craft features and decorative patterns into the production of clothes (especially silk), silver plates, bowls, pots and other items of nobles or ruling elites, which reflected China's influence on western culture. Gillensward made a deep study on the silverware decoration in China and its development in the 8th-9th century. B.I. Marshak absorbed his research results and archaeological discoveries of ancient sites in Central Asia and South Siberia, and collected important evidence that western metal reliefs borrowed from China.

A large number of articles imported from China through the Silk Road were found in ancient sites in Central Asia, South Siberia, Mongolia and China, which confirmed the historical influence of China on the West, the North and some independent countries. Scientific research achievements at home and abroad enable us to find out the level of interaction with Chinese civilization in the history of Central Asia.

This bronze mirror with floral patterns and Arabic numerals was found in Salechika (western Kazakhstan). Year:13 ——14th century, bronze material, adopting casting technology. Size: 9cm in diameter. Photo courtesy of the author

On the exchange of civilizations and mutual learning from the decoration of bronze mirrors

The ancient and medieval mirrors marked different historical periods and national cultures, and showed the characteristics of traditional and primitive alloy production processes. The pattern on the mirror is also an important research material. The repeated imitation of mirrors promotes the absorption and development of decorative patterns and meanings, and enriches local art.

The bronze mirrors found in Kazakhstan show that Central Asia maintains quite close trade and diplomatic relations with China. One of them is a contract concluded by fragments of the same mirror: the authenticity of the contract is guaranteed by splicing the fragments into a complete mirror. This kind of contract is obviously supported by oral and written treaties, but the fragment of a mirror represents the qualification to participate in a transaction. A large number of mirrors have been found all over Kazakhstan, including whole faces and fragments. These mirrors are imported or produced by local workshops based on imported samples.

Semi-circular bronze mirror fragments with a diameter of 1 1. 1 cm were found in Gaelic site in Raoul Coutard. The back is flat and decorated with vine-like flower patterns with leaves. Photo courtesy of the author

Mirrors with fish images have quite a few ways of composition. Perhaps the meaning of this image has been known to the manufacturers and consumers of this mirror. For example, a replica of China's mirror was found in the remains of nomadic people, which vividly depicts the fish in the stream. However, in the cultural relics of nomadic people, the patterns decorated with hairtail are generally made by local primitive techniques. The image of two fish (carp) on China's mirror appeared in the Han Dynasty, symbolizing the hope of going to school on the next floor. Fish are depicted as symbols of yin and yang, and they seem to be chasing each other-the head of one fish is connected with the tail of another.

The decorative patterns on the mirror are not only images of fish and waves. In the eyes of ancient China people, the origin of life is the unity of two opposing forces of heaven and earth. Rain is a concrete manifestation of the combination of heaven and earth. Waves, clouds and spirals are symbols of lightning, and dragons floating in waves or clouds and flames are symbols of the rain god. As a natural phenomenon, clouds change rapidly, symbolizing some kind of omen. Moire was very popular in Han Dynasty and became the most important decorative pattern. In the Tang Dynasty, a floating cloud pattern was widely circulated, which came from an ancient ornament with images of dragons and birds. There is also a pattern of "clouds", which is highlighted by cloud-like flowers (leaves). The meaning of this pattern is taken from the homonym of "cloud" and "luck". Therefore, the cloud has become a symbol of happiness and good luck. Later, more complex and diverse moire patterns appeared, such as "flowing clouds", "disk clouds" and "mass clouds", which reflected the rich diversity of clouds in nature. The pattern of water is also very popular in China art. Water is the source of life, and the lines of water mean holiness and purity. According to its state, there are also different types of water ripples. Water may splash, flood and calm, or it may run endlessly, so the waterline will also change and have various meanings.

There is also a bronze mirror engraved with the image of a bird with four Chinese inscriptions: "Jia Fu". Birds are drawn in pairs between hieroglyphs, and adjacent birds face in opposite directions, that is, their heads face hieroglyphics. Similar mirrors are widely distributed in southern Siberia (Minsk basin), and nine such mirrors have been found so far. The bronze mirror painted with birds and hieroglyphs in the Middle Ages is an early imitation of the bronze mirror of the Western Han Dynasty in China. This imitation technology was developed in China in the late Tang Dynasty and lasted until 10 to15th century. Tosic mirror refers to the mirror made by Mincinsk casting process, which can be traced back to13-15th century at the earliest. The Moscow National Museum of History and the Finnish National Museum also have similar bronze mirrors.

There is another interesting thing about the bronze mirror, which was discovered by accident. The specific unearthed place is unknown. There are eight Chinese characters around the central circular button, and there are eight small spherical protrusions between Chinese characters. Patterns shaped like Latin letters "TLV" are symmetrically distributed in the outer ring. The inscriptions on this bronze mirror are usually quite uniform and have the same meaning; The cardinal numbers are basically the same, but the details are slightly different. The bronze mirror inscription appeared in the early Han Dynasty and was widely circulated in the late Western Han Dynasty. It is generally believed that these words show the magical properties of bronze mirrors and can help their owners drive away evil spirits and ghosts. Researcher S.Kamann confirmed that the pattern shaped like Latin letters "T, L, V" was related to China's ancient world view, symbolizing countries, four borders and the ends of the earth all over the world. This kind of bronze mirror is called "positive mirror" in China's literary works. The pattern of the "V" shape is a "gauge", that is, a compass; L-shaped lines are square, that is, drawing tools, which can be used to draw geometric figures symbolizing heaven and earth: circles and squares. The "T" pattern symbolizes a high mountain, which is a part of the earth. Four semicircular protrusions and a central knob symbolize five directions (east, west, south, north and middle). Each direction is related to a specific time of year and some sacred animals. Animals in China's mythology all imply good luck and happiness.

There are also three replicas of bronze mirrors decorated with floral patterns in the exhibits of the Central National Museum of Kazakhstan. The bronze mirror is round, with a raised knob in the center and eight artistic petals around it. There are spiral patterns, artistic petals and peony patterns in the decorative area. The edge of the bronze mirror has an arched pattern, which is higher than other parts. During the Yuan Dynasty in China, this bronze mirror was introduced from northern China. Although the production of bronze mirrors in China declined in the13-14th century, the imitations of these bronze mirrors are still widely used in China, Central Asia, Siberia and other places, which shows the cultural traditions and knowledge of Mongolian residents and Central Plains residents during the Golden Horde. The location and source of this bronze mirror is not clear, but referring to a similar bronze mirror, it should also be found in the eastern part of Kazakhstan or in the valley.

The round bronze mirror with round buttons on the back has become the main form of China bronze mirror. The appearance of this popular trend can be explained by China's ancient world view. Ancient people in China thought that the mirror was the epitome of the sky, because the sky was round and the mirror was round. The mirror buckle symbolizes the "axis" of the world and represents the intersection of heaven and earth. The number "8" stands for eight directions: south, north, east, west, northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest. Flowers are arranged in these eight directions.

Regarding the symbolic meaning of decorative patterns, I must say that in oriental art, flowers symbolize wealth and perfection. Plant pattern decoration on furniture can ward off evil spirits. Since ancient times, every flower has its sacred meaning. The bronze mirrors engraved with peony flowers in museums are generally works of the Yuan Dynasty and the Golden Tent Khanate period, and are often engraved with plants such as lotus flowers, carnations, tulips, lilies and chrysanthemums. Chinese scholars believe that people's love for peony flowers began in the Han Dynasty more than 2,200 years ago. Peony flower has the advantages of rich colors, strong cold resistance and can be used as medicine. Its history can be traced back to myths, legends and works of art in Greece, China, Japan and other countries. Donggan people believe that peony symbolizes Excellence and wealth. Obviously, this bronze mirror is also a thing to ward off evil spirits and has rich implications.

Bronze mirror decoration is just a small example of civilized exchange and mutual learning. In the vast history, there are countless similar examples. Long-term stable and diversified contacts have promoted the development of all ethnic groups in the transcontinental cultural exchange network. These ties mainly refer to diplomatic ties and trade relations. Undoubtedly, many countries in the western region, especially in Central Asia, have gained benefits by becoming military and political allies with China. The trade with China, Roman Empire and Byzantium brought great economic benefits to the countries in the Central Asian Oasis, and also enhanced China's reputation in the West. Even the protracted war has led to the migration of individuals and the whole nation, which has promoted the spread of foreign cultural elements. This is especially reflected in the historical events related to nomadic people. Kazakhstan is located in the center of Asia-Europe continent, where many civilizations meet and learn from many cultures and worldviews, which naturally becomes a bridge to promote friendship and cooperation among countries along the Silk Road.

Guangming Daily (201May 91June 3 12 edition)