Talking About Art: Ancient Chinese Tomb Objects of Travelers

This is a procession of tomb figures from Tang Dynasty China, so about early 8th century. And what these are, the Chinese have always believed that when you pass away, you can take it with you, and you really need to try. And so when you pass away, your family and friends put tomb offerings, tomb figures, in your tomb to serve you in the afterlife. And this is a very large set, we think it's probably complete, and it shows a procession coming into China from Central Asia. Modern day Xi'an was called Chang'an back in the 8th century, and it was the largest city in the world at that point. It had a population of over a million people. And it was the center of the Chinese Empire, and every year tribute caravans would arrive from all over Central Asia, bringing goods as gifts and trade items to the Emperor of China. And that's what we have here. They're arriving in town, and you read poetry and records from this time of the people of Chang'an, Xi'an, gathering in the streets to see what's coming in from Central Asia. Central Asia had a great influence on Tang Dynasty culture with music, fashion, food, sports activities, all of that's represented in this procession. So we see a group of female musicians. They're the hip-hop girls, the K-pop girls of the mid-8th, early 8th century, and they're playing the latest tunes that were all the rage in Central Asia. And they've got their costumes, and they're just setting the stage for a great party. Behind them you see a guardian figure. He was just one of the guards to make sure the girls arrived in good shape. And he does not look Chinese at all. In fact, most of the men in here do not look Chinese. They're from Persia, they're Sogdians. And they were used as warriors. They were merchants. They traveled all over Asia during their time. And so behind the one guardian here, we see two figures that do look Chinese. And they probably are because of their gilded hats that they wear. Behind them you see two camels loaded with goods that are being brought as tribute, and behind them two more guardian figures. I love the one who's turning around on his horse and who has the cat on the back of his horse. There are stories of these warriors having trained cats who would jump down off the horse and go chase rabbits and things like that. And they were good friends. But this one doesn't look like they're having a good time. Somebody's unhappy with the other one. The two figures in the front are playing polo. Polo was all the rage in Tang Dynasty China. And it's a game that's still played today as we know. And it came across Central Asia into China. And it's interesting that it was a really popular sport with women in Tang Dynasty China.