The University Museum and Art Gallery of The University of Hong Kong and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Museum are pleased to present the exhibition "The Silk Road in Inner Mongolia". Eighty extraordinary artefacts dating from the Tang to the Yuan dynasties, including gold and silver wares in the Turkic period, the Liao sancai porcelain in the Qidan period and harnesses and Nestorian Christian items in the Yuan dynasty, will be on view.
"The Silk Road is the name given to the passages linking northern China with the West. The southern route in Xinjiang is known as the 'Oases Road', while the northern route in the Inner Mongolia is known as the 'Steppe Road'. In every era in history, in every section of the Silk Road, different peoples had their times of glory," said Mr. Yeung Chun-tong, Director of the University Museum and Art Gallery of HKU.
"During the development of the ancient steppe regions in northern China, its inhabitants did not only follow the silk routes to liaise with the West, but also developed frequent contacts with the central plains of China. As a result, the civilizations of the West, of the central plains and the nomadic civilization of the steppe became so closely intertwined that they eventually formed a unique cultural entity," said Mr. Liu Zhaohe, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Director of the Bureau of Cultural Relics, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The Steppe Silk Road is generally used to mean the road crossing the Eurasian steppes which began in Central Asia and eastern Europe in the west, reaching Mongolia and Siberia in the north to the central plains of China in the south. Around the first century, the northern Xiongnu migrated to the west and this marked the beginning of the Steppe Silk Road.
In the early sixth century, the Turks established the Turkic empire and opened up a trade route to Rome. Tight contacts were established between the Turks and Persia, Sogdia and Byzantia. Exhibits include gold and silver Persian wares, a gold "diexie" belt and a gold Roman coin excavated from Inner Mongolia.
During the Tang dynasty (618-907), Nestorian Christianity was introduced to China in 635 and it experienced a revival during the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). A Nestorian Christian porcelain plaque included in the exhibition, dating to the Mongolian Khanate period, is the only Nestorian plaque made of porcelain known. A gold cross-shaped ornament is also showed in the exhibition.
Towards the end of the Tang dynasty, the Qidan grew in power. The production of ceramics flourished during the Liao dynasty (916-1125) and representative wares such as cockscomb flasks, phoenix-head ewers and Liao sancai can be viewed.
Among the eighty artefacts, some of them are on show in Hong Kong for the first time.
Details of the exhibition:
Exhibition Date:
February 15, 2007 to May 13, 2007
Time:
Monday to Saturday 9:30 am to 6:00 pm
Sundays 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Closed on March 16, and public holidays
Venue:
The University Museum and Art Gallery of The University of Hong Kong
94 Bonham Road, Hong Kong
Captions:
Picture 1. Buckle of a Gold "Diexie" Belt, Tang dynasty
Picture 2. Phoenix-head ewer with incised decoration, Liao dynasty
Picture 3. Gold cross-shaped ornament, Yuan dynasty
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