wenwu 2005-3

Main contents:

The Institute of Archaeology of Xi'an
     Excavation of Shi's Tomb of the Northern Zhou Dynasty at Sabao near Xi'an
     ………………………………………………………（4）
Rong Xinjiang
     Studies on the sogdian Caravan as Seen in the Relief of the Shi's Tomb of t
he Northern Zhou
    ……………………………………………………（47）
Luo Feng
     Some Remarks on an Imitation of the Byzantine Gold Coins from Shi's Tomb of
 the Northern Zhou
    ……………………………………………………（57）
Zhong Souhua
     The Transit Star and the Old Star-Distance in The Bamboo Book Tian Guan Shu
 of Qin State
     ………………………………………………………（91）

Abstract:

The Institute of Archaeology of Xi'an, “Excavation of Shi's Tomb of the Northern Zhou Dynasty at Sabao near Xi'an”
Deted back to the first year of the Daxiang reign period of the Northern Zhou(579),the tomb was located at Jingshang Village, Weiyang Desitrict, Xi'an, at a distance of 6.6 km to the site of Chang'an of the Han dynasty in the west, 1.6 km from the site of Daming Palace in the south, and 2.5 km from An Jia's tomb of the Northern Zhou excavated in 2000. The excavation was carried out by the Institute of Archaeology of Xi'an. The stone coffin chamber, self?named as ‘stone hall,’ bears an inscription in Sogdian and Chinese languages, and was covered with relief in gold. The relief shows scenes on Zoroastrian theme. Funerary objects include gold ring and earring and gold coin. The excavation marks an important discovery in archaeology of the Northern Dynasties, and sheds much light on the history of interflow between China and the West as well as history of art.

Rong Xinjiang, “Studies on the Sogdian Caravan as Seen in the Relief of the Shi's Tomb of the Northern Zhou”
Following that of Yu Hong and An Jia's tomb, excavation of the Shi's tomb of the northern Zhou Provides rich visual materials for studies of the Sogdian migrants in China. The present essay focuses on the trade caravan in the relief on the stone coffein chamber unearthed from the tomb, and by consulting literature and other visual materials, inquires into the problems such as the size, ethnicity, animals employed as transport tools and business manner of the caravan.