Stretching across southern Ningxia, the Liupan Mountains lie between the Hetao Plain and the Guanzhong Plain, serving not only as a natural barrier for the Guanzhong region but also as an intersection for the agrarian and nomadic civilizations in ancient China. Nestled at the foothills of the mountains, Guyuan was a strategic stronghold of the Central Plains and a vital hub along the ancient Silk Roads. The sheer quantity and delicacy of artifacts unearthed in Guyuan reveal the profound cultural fusion between the Central Plains and the northern steppes, attesting to the convergence of Chinese and Western cultures in this Silk Road metropolis and providing clear evidence for the Chinese civilization's unity in diversity.

The oracle bones, bronzes, and jade objects excavated from the sites of Sunjiazhuang and Yaoheyuan in Guyuan bear witness to the establishment and evolution of the Central Plains ritual system in this region during the Western Zhou dynasty. Meanwhile, the animal-patterned ornaments unearthed from sites of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods reflect the dynamic influence of art from the northern steppes. During the Northern and Southern dynasties, Guyuan flourished as a key city in the network of the Silk Roads. The epitaphs, murals, and painted pottery figurines from the tomb of Li Xian, Great General as Pillar of the State of the Northern Zhou, document the burial customs of the Central Plains. Moreover, exotic treasures found in the tomb, such as the gilded silver ewer and the studded glass bowl, highlight the prosperity of commerce along the Silk Roads.

In the Sui and Tang, Sogdians migrated eastward from Central Asia in large numbers, actively engaging in the political and economic activities of the Central Plains and gradually becoming a part of the broader Chinese nation. The cemetery of the Shis, a family of Sogdian settlers in Guyuan, follows the burial traditions of the Central Plains, with memorial inscriptions written in Chinese affirming their strong sense of national identity. The murals in these tombs carry on the Central Plains traditions in terms of the rendering of clothing and the techniques of painting, while gold facial ornaments and gold coins placed in the mouths of the deceased preserve traces of their ancestral funerary customs. With the Central Plains to the east, the steppes to the north, and the Silk Roads to the west, Guyuan acted in ancient times as a melting pot of culture and embodied the rich essence of Chinese civilization. The over 300 artifacts on display here, though mere fragments of history, reflect—like a prism—the diverse aspects of Chinese civilization and thereby manifest its inclusiveness. As we gaze at these relics as travelers from far away and long ago, we witness not only cultural interactions in Guyuan but also the Chinese nation's gradual yet dynamic evolution into a unified community.

For information on the exhibition and ticketing, head to the Shanghai Museum website.

Tagged 26/07.