Description
Book SynopsisThis first and only English translation of Rong Xinjiang’s The Silk Road and Cultural Exchanges Between East and West is a collection of 28 papers on the history of the Silk Road and the interactions among the peoples and cultures of East and Central Asia, including the so-called Western Regions in modern-day Xinjiang. Each paper is a masterly study that combines information obtained from historical records with excavated materials, such as manuscripts, inscriptions and artefacts. The new materials primarily come from north-western China, including sites in the regions of Dunhuang, Turfan, Kucha, and Khotan. The book contains a wealth of original insights into nearly every aspect of the complex history of this region.
Table of ContentsContents Preface Acknowledgements List of Figures, Maps and Tables Translators part 1: The Silk Road 1 The Silk Road and Ancient Xinjiang Translated by Sally K. Church 2 The Anxi Protectorate and the Silk Road in the Tang Period, with a Focus on the Documents Excavated at Turfan Translated by Sally K. Church 3 Beiting on the Silk Road (7th–10th Centuries) Translated by Li Huawei 李華偉 4 The City of Tongwan and the History of Sino-Western Communications in the Medieval Period Translated by Sally K. Church 5 Gaochang in the Second Half of the 5th Century and its Relations with the Rouran Qaghanate and the Kingdoms of the Western Regions Translated by Sally K. Church part 2: Cultural Exchange and Interaction 6 Persian and Chinese: The Integration of Two Cultures in the Tang Dynasty Translated by Li Huawei 李華偉 and Zheng Chunhua 鄭春華 7 New Evidence on the History of Contacts between the Tang Dynasty and the Abbasid Caliphate: Yang Liangyao’s Embassy Translated by Sally K. Church 8 Cultural Contacts between China and India from the Late Tang to the Early Song in Light of the Dunhuang Manuscripts Translated by Zhou Liqun 周利群 and Zhu Chenfeng 朱陳鋒 9 Historical Evidence for Cultural Exchanges between the Tang and Silla: The Inscription for the Meditation Cloister at the Dayun Monastery in Haizhou Translated by Li Huawei 李華偉 10 Diplomatic Relations in East Asia in the 8th Century and Japanese Embassies to Tang China Translated by June Manjun Zhang 張嫚雋 11 The Official Reception of Japanese Envoys during the Tang Dynasty as Seen from the Epitaph of I no Manari Translated by June Manjun Zhang 張嫚雋 part 3: The Westward Spread of Chinese Culture 12 The Network of Chinese Buddhist Monasteries in the Western Regions under Tang Control Translated by June M. Zhang 張嫚雋 13 The Circulation of Chinese Texts in the Region of Kucha in the Tang Dynasty: The German Turfan Collection Translated by Sally K. Church 14 The Transmission of Chan Buddhism to the Western Regions in the Tang Dynasty Translated by Mia Ye Ma 馬也 15 The “Lanting xu” in the Western Regions Translated by James Kunling He 何坤靈 16 The Transmission of Wang Xizhi’s “Shang xiang Huang Qi tie” in the Western Regions Translated by James Kunling He 何坤靈 17 Reception and Rejection: The Transmission of Chinese Texts into the Western Regions during the Tang Dynasty Translated by Sally K. Church part 4: Contributions to China of Foreign Material Culture 18 Sogdian Merchants and Sogdian Culture on the Silk Road Translated by Flavia Xi Fang 方希 19 Currency on the Silk Road and the Sogdian Merchants Translated by Sally K. Church 20 The Life of a Sogdian Leader on the Silk Road – A Rough Summary of the Images on Shi Jun’s Sarcophagus Translated by Tong Yangyang 同楊陽 21 Khotanese Felt and Sogdian Silver: Foreign Gifts to Buddhist Monasteries in 9th and 10th Century Dunhuang Translated by Sarah Fraser 22 The Exchange of Silk Textiles between Dunhuang and Khotan during the 10th Century Translated by Sally K. Church part 5: The Transmission of the Three Foreign Religions 23 The Colophon of the Manuscript of the Golden Light Sutra Excavated in Turfan and the Transmission of Zoroastrianism to Gaochang Translated by Li Huawei 李華偉 24 Buddhist Images or Zoroastrian Deities? Religious Syncretism on the Silk Road as Seen from Khotan Translated by Flavia Xi Fang 方希 25 Further Discussion of the Mixing of Religions on the Silk Road: A New View of the Buddhist Murals in Khotan Translated by Mia Ye Ma 馬也 26 Jingjiao Christians as Heretics in the Eyes of Buddhists and Daoists of the Tang Dynasty Translated by Flavia Xi Fang 方希 27 The Authenticity of Some Jingjiao Texts from Dunhuang Translated by Sun Jicheng 孫繼成 28 The Western Regions: The Last Paradise of Manichaeism Translated by Sally K. Church Epilogue Translated by Sally K. Church Appendix: Introduction to Converting Chinese Dates into Western Dates
