The Han (221 B.C.–A.D. 206) and Tang (618–907) dynasties mark the two great eras of early imperial China. From the fall of the Han at the turn of the third century to reunification under the Sui in the seventh, the country experienced devastation from war and social upheaval. It was also, however, a period of creativity and cultural change. The political fragmentation that occurred between the dynasties and the massive migration of nomadic peoples into China resulted in contact with every part of Asia and the introduction of foreign ideas, religious, and art forms and motifs. An important aspect of the cultural exchange that took place at the time was the spread of Buddhism in China. By the Tang dynasty, thousands of foreigners were traveling to the capital, Chang'an, which flourished as a great cosmopolitan center of world commerce and culture
 The integration of foreign motifs and styles with the traditional arts of China is the focus of this catalogue and the landmark exhibition that it accompanies, "China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200–750 A.D.," held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibition comprises some three hundred objects, most of them excavated in recent years and many never before seen outside China. Each work is discussed in terms of its aesthetic qualities and art-historical significance and in the context of the philosophical and religious ideas that are reflected in iconography and style.
 In an introductory essay, James C. Y. Watt, Brooke Russell Astor Chairman, Department of Asian Art, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, discusses the art and history of the entire period. Essays by both Chinese and Western scholars explore important aspects of metalwork, glass, and textiles, as well as the development of Buddhist art in China. [This book was originally published in 2004 and has gone out of print. This edition is a print-on-demand version of the original book.]

China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200–750 A.D.

Arts & Photography

Watt, James C.Y.

Howard, Angela Falco

Bai, Su

Marshak, Boris I.

Feng Zhao

Jiayao, An

History & Criticism

Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this survey of more than forty illustrative murals excavated over the last 54 years in Panjikent, a 5th-8th century C.E. town in the Zerafshan Valley in Tajikistan, Boris Marshak discusses the rich repertory of legends, tales and myths of the Sogdians that have come to light and recreates the secular literature of Soghdia, one of the most important regions along the Silk Road. Prior to the Panjikent excavations only small fragments of Soghdian secular literature had been discovered in Soghdian colonies in Turfan and Dunhuang. Prof. Boris Marshak has been participating in this famous archaeological expedition since 1954; and has served as its leader since 1976. Soghdian merchants were the masters of the Silk Road and, therefore, their art and literature included many motifs of Greek, Persian and Indian origin. In Soghdia among the pictorial narrative cycles there were at least three epics: a local version of the Indian Mahabharata, the well-known Roman story of Romulus and Remus, and the Iranian legends of Rustam. The excavation teams have found on the walls of the houses of Panjikent dozens of pictorial representations of parables, fables, fairy tales and anecdotes. In several compositions the author has recognized scenes from Aesop's Fables, the Panchatantra and the Sindbad-nameh. He has compared these subjects with those of the fragmentary Soghdian texts. Marshak's book is an important one for anyone interested in the history of the Soghdia, in Iranian studies in general, in comparative studies in folklore and literature, in studies on the problem of narration in the visual arts, and the history of cultural exchange along the Silk Road.

Legends, Tales, and Fables in the Art of Sogdiana (Biennial Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series)

Livshits, V. A.

Bibliotheca Persica

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