Exploration of Historical Sites of Art and Culture Exchange on the Silk Road of Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties

1 The Silk Road’s Long History and Cultural Lineage

Tracing back the artistic and cultural composition context of the Silk Road in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties can reveal the historical style of the great exchange of art and culture between China and the west from the beginning of the Silk Road to its flourishing. It can even be a historical reflection of the deepening of China’s foreign exchanges. In addition, from the literatures and archaeological excavations have been further confirmed, it was the bridge between the East and the West of art and culture and civilization. It was a key period that strongly promotes the integration of politics, economy, art and culture between the East and the West, and a deep interpretation of the background of the prosperity of the whole society from the pre-Qin to the Han and even the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

In terms of the historical situation, the reason why this east-west trade channel was known as the “Silk Road Ferdinand von Richthofen, 2018”^[2] was that after the opening of this trade channel, China’s silk fabrics had been exported in a steady stream. This superb weaving technology, and porcelain technology had been sought after by people in countries and regions along the way, especially the royals and nobles. So that many countries and regions had access to China’s silk weaving process, which was why China’s silk can be empowered in this period of artistic and cultural dissemination. And, as the Silk Road increasingly integrated, a large number of trade exchanges were no longer just a single species of silk. Caravans from various countries and regions along the Silk Road promoted the export of their various special commodities, which formed a relatively complete industrial chain integrating production and marketing at that time. After the Han Dynasty, the number of nationalities in the Western regions came to the Central Plains Dynasty was also increasing, and the camel transport team led by the Hu people frequent exchanges, becoming the most distinctive symbol of civilization in that era. In the subsequent history, the most interesting was the connection between Emperor Yang and the Silk Road. He personally visited the west and led the crowd for half a year to Zhangye, met with the monarchs or ambassadors of the twenty-seven countries of the Western Regions, which was a grand scene. Later on, the chiefs of all the provinces gathered in Luoyang to trade, “more than thirty countries came together to pay tribute”. Emperor Yang ordered to decorate the shop and the curtains, display the precious goods, arrange a grand banquet, play the music, and receive guests from the West. The grand party, which lasted for a whole month Sima, 2021; Wei, 1935.^[3] This should be China’s unprecedented economic, cultural and trade initiative, can be described as a “world exposition”. Therefore, in terms of historical contribution, the pre-Qin and Han Silk Road not only played a role in trade and civilisation mutual understanding, but also had a far-reaching impact on the overall development of Chinese society in later times, and had an important significance in opening up the economic, artistic and cultural exchanges and development between East and West.

For example, the concept of the Silk Road is now being extended and upgraded, constituting a broadening of the scope of The Belt and Road Initiative and a broadening of the areas of cooperation. It has not only brought tangible cooperation dividends to all parties involved, but has also contributed wisdom and strength to the world in addressing challenges, creating opportunities and strengthening confidence. In particular, the Belt and Road Initiative has created new international mechanisms such as the Asian Investment Bank (AIIB), the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Silk Road Fund (SRF) to address the realities of development in various countries, and has constructed a platform for exchanges and co-operation in multiple forms and through multiple channels. This has not only alleviated the plight of today’s global governance mechanisms, whose representativeness, effectiveness and timeliness are difficult to adapt to the realities of today’s needs, but has also, to a certain extent, reversed the insufficient supply of public goods and boosted the morale and confidence of the international community in participating in global governance.

Therefore, to explore and study various historical facts of the historical process of the Silk Road, and to continuously verify the ancient and modern development and prosperity of this passage between Europe and Asia and Africa, whether it is for the significance of art and culture research, or the development of wealth resources integrated with culture and tourism, and the reconstruction of historical civilization brought by the Silk Road, it has extremely realistic significance and role.

2 Channels of Multi-ethnic Artistic Exchange Constituted by the Silk Road

More than 2,000 years ago, the Silk Road was opened by order of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, opening up a thoroughfare that crossed East and West, connecting Europe and Asia for trade. Moreover, this road is also an important channel for multi-ethnic artistic and cultural exchanges, pushing the arts of the East and the West to the world stage, such as Chang’an and Luoyang in the Central Plains Cultural Circle, Athens in the cradle of Western civilisation, the “Crescent Belt” culture in the Asia-Pacific Economic Circle, and the prosperous culture in the European Economic Circle, etc., which have been exchanged and disseminated through this road for mutual benefit. Especially after the precipitation of history, the entire Silk Road region has always remained economically active, and even prosperity brought the development of the dividends of the people. So far, the Silk Road is the pride of China’s civilisation, carrying various countries and regions in trade and commerce, and demonstrating China’s superiority as a great power since ancient times. However, in the exploration of history, we will find that in the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Silk Road was not initially created for the prosperity of the economy, nor was it the initiative of the imperial court, but more passive, with a military and political purpose, that is, to the Western Regions and other areas of the implementation of the demand for stability.

It is well documented that in 139 B.C. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang, Qian on a mission to the Western Regions, an important expedition in Chinese history that covered a vast area in the west. Zhang, Qian’s arduous journey to the West was directly due to his alliance with the Dayuezhi to attack the Xiongnu, but the unexpected reward was to facilitate the opening of the Eurasian land route. Thereafter, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty continued to send out huge missions with gifts of cattle, sheep, gold and silk, and no longer exclusively for political and military purposes, changing the way of interacting with the Western countries, which in turn led to the arrival of emissaries from many of the Western countries to China for trade and commerce.

By 119 BC, Wei, Qing, Huo, Qubing, Wang, Fangyi, Su, Dingfang and other generals continued the legend of the Silk Road and attacked the Hexi, achieving a major victory in the Battle of Hexi, creating a typical example of ancient cavalry combat. Since then, there have been frequent and large-scale commercial exchanges on this Silk Road. Since the 19th century, in the process of continuous in-depth investigation and archaeological excavations on the Silk Road, as well as comparison with documents, a large number of artworks left over from Sino-foreign trade transactions, or overseas objects brought by merchants and caravans, have been obtained, reflecting the highly valuable economic and cultural social features of the Silk Road. The Silk Road not only made the trade road between the Central Plains and the Western regions more prosperous than pre-Qin, but also left us a lot of wealth of craft culture.

In terms of historical staging, the most important traces of the collision of Chinese and Western cultures in the early days of the Silk Road are the footprints left by the two great migrations of the Indo-European people, which triggered the exchanges and fusion of cultures and craftsmanship among the Eurasian continent. Archaeological excavations have shown that the first great migration of Indo-European began in the 18th century B.C., which was the Xia Dynasty in China, when Indo-European communities entered the Chinese civilisation. In the Altai region of Xinjiang and the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, there is archaeological evidence of the arrival of Indo-European groups. For example, Chinese archaeologists unearthed a dried female corpse at the Xiaohe Site in Lop Nor in 2003, which was named the “Xiaohe Princess”. It was well preserved and its facial features were clearly visible despite the fact that it had been inhabited for more than 4,000 years.

The key point is that the most typical representative of civilisation was also excavated in the Xiaohe site, which was the bronze left behind by the first great migration of Indo-European group. It shows the traces of the spread of its smelting technology. Other excavations have shown that horse-drawn carts, wheat and bred sheep also began to enter China. Correspondingly, the Sintashta Culture (ca. 22nd-16th centuries BC) wagons unearthed in Kazakhstan were very similar in shape to Chinese wagons, and it was judged that the original source of Chinese wagons may have been here. There were many other related archaeological excavations, such as the bronze spears of the Seyma-Turbino culture (20th-18th centuries B.C.) unearthed at the Shenna site in Qinghai, which can also confirm that there were signs of interaction between Chinese bronzes and them.

In this regard, we should go back to the close relationship between Zhang, Qian and the Silk Road. Zhang, Qian made two missions to the Western Regions in the second year of the Western Han Dynasty (139 B.C.) and the fourth year of the Yuanhao era (119 B.C.). Although the two missions did not achieve the purpose of the so-called political aspirations, they objectively opened up the channels of communication between the East and the West and facilitated the cultural exchanges between the East and the West. Especially Zhang, Qian’s second mission to the Western Regions, sent deputy envoys went to Dawan, Kangju, Dayuezhi, Daxia, Anshi (i.e., the Parthian Empire, now the Khorasan region of Iran), Juandu (now the Indus River area), etc., that is, the so-called Zhang, Qian “chiseling”. According to the Records of the Historian, the opening of communications between the Central Plains and the Western regions laid a solid foundation for all-round exchanges between China and the West in later generations. After Zhang, Qian, there were many others who travelled to the West. Gan, Ying of the Eastern Han Dynasty was an official of Ban, Chao and accompanied him in the Western Regions.

In 97 A.D., Ban, Chao sent Gan Ying on a mission to Roman Empire, and he started from Qiuci, travelled west through Shule, crossed the Congling, and passed through Dawan and Dayuezhi to Anshi. This long-distance expedition can be called the Chinese “geographic discovery”. After Gan, Ying arrived at Syria, if they continued along the Euphrates River upstream, they would enter the territory of Rome, and then cross Syria, sail from the Anjouk, and finally go straight to Italy. However, the Parthian guide made a small detour, and instead of taking Gan, Ying and his underling to the Mediterranean Sea, he took them to the Persian Gulf, which Gan, Ying recorded as “the Xihai at the western boundary of the Sabbath”. Gan, Ying then asked to take a boat from the Persian Gulf to Rome, but the Parthian sailor said to him: the sea is boundless, the traveller will be able to get there in three months when there is a following wind, but if against the wind, it must spend one or two years, so all the people who enter the sea are given three years of food. Although this story is a legend, like the Greek myth of the Odyssey and the Sirens. But the Book of the Later Han Dynasty Fan, 2005 contains: “their king had always wanted to send emissaries to the Han Dynasty, but the Anshi wanted to trade with them in silk from China, so the Anshi blocked their emissaries from reaching the Han Dynasty directly.”

In addition, Buddhism was introduced to China from India at the time of the two Han dynasties, after which it took root in China, and after a long period of nurturing, spreading and development, formed a Buddhism with Chinese characteristics. In order to explore scriptures, Buddhist monks often travelled to the Western Regions without fear of difficulties and obstacles. The most famous were Faxian, 1955 of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty. The story of Fa Xian’s westward journey was recorded in the Biography of Fa Xian, while the journey of Xuanzang were mainly recorded in the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. The most typical Buddhist art is the Dunhuang murals with a thousand years of history, known as the “Silk Road on the portrayal of the Oriental charm”. Dunhuang flying apsaras originated from a unique idea on the murals of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and are undoubtedly the symbols and emblems of Dunhuang murals. However, the “flying apsaras” image does not only belong to Dunhuang. In India, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Japan and other places in the Buddhist temple, it is also extremely fascinating. It can be said that wherever there is Buddhism and Buddhist art, and naturally there is also the appearance of the “flying apsaras” image.

It should be said that the “flying apsaras” is not only an artistic image of Buddhist culture, but also a composite of Western and Chinese culture. It had various images in different periods of history. The development and change process of apsaras can reveal the influence of politics, economy and culture in each historical period. This process not only imitates and inherits their predecessors, but also innovates and changes, among which there are ups and downs, which is a spiral sublimation of artistic creation, but also a model of the integration of Chinese and Western regions art.

3 Cultural Exchange and Dissemination of Crafts on the Silk Road

From historical records, the Qin and Han periods were important stages in the history of China to promote unification. Especially the Han Dynasty, which reached its peak and became known as one of the four great empires of Eurasia, along with Rome, Anshi (an ancient country on the Iranian plateau), and Kushan (a vast empire in the West Asian region). At this time, China’s interaction with the Western countries began to be close and prosperous. Taking clothing as an example, the clothing of the early Western Han Dynasty had many similarities with that of the previous dynasty, such as the curving-front robe inherited from the Warring States period. The reason why the early Western Han Dynasty inherited the Shenyi of the Warring States period was that during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, it was stipulated that officials of the third rank and above should wear green robes and Shenyi, which led to the passing down of the form of Shenyi. The emergence of trousers was largely influenced by the clothing of the Xiongnu in the north. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, it was a crotchless pants, called “Jingyi”, similar to today’s overpants, which were worn under the robe. Later, crotchless trousers developed into trousers with crotch, also known as crotch shorts and loincloth. With the crotch trousers widely worn, the original dress form which need wrap had been redundant, and Shenyi was replaced by Zhiju robe during the East Han, which can be proved in the Han tomb murals and portrait bricks.

Another example, textile technology, especially silk, linen, wool, cotton weaving technology in the Qin and Han dynasties have made great improvements, making silk fabrics from spinning, weaving, dyeing, embroidery to pattern processing and other processes have an unprecedented improvement and development. Zhang, Qian opened up the “Silk Road” to sell a large number of colourful silk embroidery to Central Asia, West Asia and even the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. These silk fabrics, which were exported overseas, naturally had new requirements for pattern design. For example, a brocade shoulder pad from the Han and Jin dynasties unearthed at the Niya site in Minfeng, Xinjiang, in 1995 was woven with images of peacocks, cranes, evil spirits, tigers, dragons, and other animals, as well as the text “five stars rise in the east, benefit China,” which was clearly imprinted with the theology of the Han dynasty and obviously bears the myths of The Biography of the Mutianzi and the Classic of Mountains and Rivers, both of which were passed on to the western regions during the Shang dynasty. These images are clearly influenced by the legend of King Mu of Zhou’s exploration of the Western Regions in the pre-Qin period, and they are also the confirmation of the “jade trade Road” before the Silk Road, leaving us with more thoughts about the meaning of culture.

In addition to this brocade shoulder pad during the Han and Jin dynasties witnessed ethnic exchanges, a large number of ethnic minority figures with bead monster pattern from ancient Persia, grape pattern commonly used in the Western regions and curly hair and prominent nose also recorded the achievement of ethnic exchanges at that time. With regard to the improvement of weaving technology, the Mawangdui No. 1 Han Tomb in Changsha unearthed a great variety of silk fabrics, including most varieties of silk fabrics in the Han Dynasty, such as lenos with dark brown, red and black patterns, and elegant and beautiful plain jacquard lenos. Among them, a square hole plain yarn CH, 128 cm long, weight only 49 g, can be described as “thin as cicada wings”, “light as a feather”. The Robe made use of the different twist direction when weaving, so that the surface produced a feeling similar to today’s Georgette crepe. Both the toughness of the and the weaving technique reflect the high level of silk techniques and equipment during this period.

In addition to the Plain Silk Robe, there is also a type of stereoscopic brocade, which also reflects the advanced weaving technique. Besides the jacquard device, two warp beams with different tensions and piling needles are required to weave this type of looped brocade. The total number of warp beams is about 8,800–1,1200, which makes the organisational structure complicated, and makes the weaving process difficult and the skills of the weavers very sophisticated. Influenced by the Silk Road trade, more than two thousand years ago, China’s jacquard machine had reached the world’s advanced level of textile production at that time. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, lacquer craft technology also spread eastward to the Korean Peninsula, Japan and the Ryukyu Islands, as well as Southeast Asia, making a great contribution to the development of lacquer craft in the world. From the investigation, China had a long history of lacquerware production, and it had been found in the early Hemudu ruins about 7,000 years ago. The successive development of lacquer technology from the Warring States period to the Qin and Han periods reached a peak in the history of the development of ancient lacquer technology in China, which was epoch-making in terms of the types and quantities of lacquerware, as well as in terms of the body, modelling, and lacquering.

From the documentary records and archaeological excavations, the lacquer ware craft of the Qin and Han Dynasties had a new improvement and development on the basis of the Warring States period, and reached the flourishing level of the early period, which was mainly manifested in the following ways:

Firstly, the production of lacquer ware was managed by specialised government agencies. For example, the central government of the Qin Dynasty had a department to manage the lacquer ware workshops of handicrafts, such as “Xian Shi”, “Xian Ting”, “Xu Shi”, etc., and the Han Dynasty had a post of officials to manage the production of lacquer ware from the central government to the counties. The Han dynasty from the central to the county had managed the production of lacquer ware workshop officials, and the most famous varieties were gold and silver ornamental lacquer produced under the jurisdiction of Shu County and Guanghan County. Yang Xiong, a writer of the Western Han Dynasty, said in Shu Du Fu, “The production of carved and inlaid ornaments used a variety of exquisite skills and techniques, and after repeated processing and treatment, these objects decorated with gold and silver patterns, each is very beautiful.” It can be seen that in this period, the lacquerware process management was orderly, and the production scale and technological level were amazing.

Secondly, the production technology of lacquerware developed greatly during the Qin and Han Dynasties, and reached its peak in the Han Dynasty, when the craftsmen implemented the division of labour management. For the rigorous production organization of lacquer ware in Han Dynasty, the inscriptions of lacquer ware unearthed in Han Dynasty have recorded the names of the detailed division of labour, including: Zaogong (workshop owner), Gonggong (supplying materials, etc.), Qigong (specializing in making lacquer), Sugong (making grey base of lacquer tyre), Xiugong (applying lacquer to the lacquer tyre), Huagong (painting on lacquer ware), Shanggong (applying lacquer to the lacquer ware), brass buckle Huangtugong (gilding on the brass buckle of lacquer ware), and copper button Huangtugong (gilding on the brass buckle of lacquer ware) and Qinggong (equivalent to the present-day inspection work, which is the final finishing work), and so on.

Today, more than two thousand years later, whenever we stare at the rich and varied handicraft of “Silk Road”, all arouse the beautiful reveries of the past. When we look forward to the “New Silk Road”, based on the new starting point of the “Belt and Road”, there will be redundant wealth of craft culture waiting for us to develop.

4 Conclusions

It is of great significance to explore the exchanges of art that took place along the Silk Road from the pre-Qin to the Han Dynasty. This exploration is the key to the overall examination of the art remains and historical background of the Silk Road that has existed for more than 2,000 years, and it is also the in-depth excavation and collation of the historical facts of the interactions between the East and the West, especially between China and Western Regions in the fields of traditional politics, trade, economy, culture and art, etc. The political, economic, cultural and artistic exchanges in the countries and nations along the Silk Road were inevitable motives for the promotion of the shared development of the civilisation. Thus, the topic of this paper is a tribute to the Silk Road, a distant civilisation that has left a good legacy today. Of course, this exploration is also another purposeful search for the roots of the Silk Road, which has been described as an “adventurous journey” and “a journey of intercommunication” from the pre-Qin Dynasty to the two Han Dynasties.

Certainly, related to the topic of this paper there are still many spaces worthy of exploration and discussion. For example, the study of the Silk Road now has more reference to archaeological evidence. The exquisite silk embroidery, cocoon silk, lacquer ware, and bronze vessels with “mountain” pattern unearthed in the tombs of Bazarek, Altai Province, Russia, in the 5th to 4th century BC, can show that ancient Chinese silk was circulated here around the 5th century BC, and was spread to West Asia and Europe. For another example, according to the embroidery techniques and patterns of phoenix birds in Tomb No. 28 of Aragou on the western edge of Turpan Depression, there was a large-scale silk trade between the northwestern departments of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Central Plains, which provides a strong evidence for Zhang, Qian’s “exploration of the Western regions” in the Western Han Dynasty.

As for the relevant historical documents, there is still a need for further excavation. For example, dating back to ancient and medieval times, especially the historical materials of land routes from China to various regions of the Western regions, such as Chinese ancient documents, The Classic of the Mountain and the Rivers, Zuo Zhuan, Lv’s Spring and Autumn Annals, Huainan Zi, Yi Zhou Shu, Biography of King Mu, Faxian’s Pilgrimage to India, Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, Travel to the Western Regions and Records of the Western Countries, Western Region Travels, Yili Inspection Records and other studies, it can be seen that as early as in the pre-Qin Dynasty, the Central Plains has a close economic and cultural relationship with the Western Region. There are more detailed historical materials from Sui and Tang Dynasties.

The documents related to the Western Regions include the French explorer and Sinologist Pelliot, who excavated and acquired a large number of cultural relics during his scientific exploration in Xinjiang, especially in the economically rich and culturally brilliant Kuqa area, as well as the ancient Qiuci civilization from 1906 to 1908. They personally wrote down the documentary report, Diary of the Exploration of the Western Regions. After the publication of this document, which has been kept secret for a hundred years, it is of inestimable value for the study of the history, geography, ethnicity, culture, monuments, products, population, religion and art of the Western Regions. In addition, the Silk Road Western Regions Literature and Historical Materials Series, published by Xinjiang Culture Publishing House in 2016, totaling 260 vol, collects and arranges domestic and foreign literature and historical materials about the Western Regions in the first half of the 20th century. Its content includes descriptions and records of the ancient Western Regions’ successive affiliations, establishment and history, customs and products, etc., involving politics, economy, military, border defense, ethnicity, religion, culture, customs, products, foreign affairs, geography, landforms and many other aspects. There is also the Department of Rare Archives and Historical Materials, with a total of 58 vol, which is compiled by collecting and arranging precious archival materials about the Silk Road from archives, museums, libraries and other collections, including archaeological, historical, cultural, economic and other aspects of historical information. The historical significance of the Silk Road is reflected in a more comprehensive manner in this way.

In summary, around the research objectives, both archaeological and documentary, can be said to be “looking at each other in the road” to form a mutual support, constituting a transcontinental Europe, Asia and Africa Silk Road exchanges for the historical facts. Just like the name of the “Silk Road”, along this road of more than 7,000 km, silk and porcelain became a symbol of the strong civilization of China and even East Asia at that time. Silk is not only an important luxury on the Silk Road, but also an effective trade resource for the Chinese government. When Chinese friendly envoys sent to the Western regions and even to more distant countries or regions, they often used silk as an effective means to express kindness and generosity. Moreover, the spread of silk also changed the western countries’ impression of China, making many westerners believe that China and even East Asia was a rich and productive region. This paper explores the artistic and cultural exchanges around the Silk Road from the pre-Qin to the Han Dynasty, which is an important chapter of this rich civilisation.