Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) — The Fergana-Shanxi Archaeological Center and the Laboratory for the Protection and Restoration of Cultural Monuments were officially opened in Uzbekistan earlier this month. They were founded by the Archaeological Institute of North China’s Shanxi Province, the Shanxi Provincial Museum and Fergana State University.
The parties agreed to conduct joint archaeological research in the Fergana Valley, train specialists, etc.
The interest of experts on both sides in establishing cooperation is probably quite justified, given the fact that close contacts between the ancestors of the inhabitants of today’s Shanxi Province and Fergana Region were established in ancient times. In a sense, bilateral cooperation was prescribed more than a thousand years ago.
From the middle of the 1st millennium BC, the Sogdians inhabited Sogdiana, a historical region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers in the territory of modern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. As historical records and archaeological research show, they actively participated in trade on the Great Silk Road.
Among the Sogdians who established contacts with the Celestial Empire, Yu Hong is one of the most well-studied. The discovery of his tomb in 1999 in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, was a sensation in scientific circles.
Archaeologists were extremely surprised when, during the excavation of a single-chamber brick tomb, a giant sarcophagus made of white marble appeared before them. The monumental coffin with elegant paintings and bas-reliefs has dimensions of 2.17 m, 2.95 m and 2.20 m and weighs more than 10 tons. In shape, it resembles a traditional Chinese wooden building with a “floating” roof.
According to ancient Chinese rules, sarcophagi made of ordinary stone slabs were available only to members of imperial families. A sarcophagus made of high-quality snow-white marble in a burial has never been found in China before!
Researchers soon clarified the identity of the deceased based on the epitaph. It turned out that a native of Central Asia was buried there, who bore a Chinese surname and the name Yu Hong.
Yu Hong’s biography is legendary. He was born in 533 in Sogdiana. Starting from the age of 13, he held high positions in the Rouran Khaganate. Then he was sent on a mission to Persia, Tuyuhun and other states. As a diplomatic representative, Yu Hong visited the state of Northern Qi /550-577/, which included some of today’s northern regions of China, and for one reason or another remained in China until his death at the age of 60.
Yu Hong held many positions in China, from the commander of the troops, the head of the Liangzhou district to the general. He was also assigned to oversee the affairs of foreign immigrants, said Ji Meijun, deputy director of the Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage of Taiyuan City.
In the 5th and 6th centuries, a large number of people from the “Western Region” visited Taiyuan and other cities in northern China. Traveling east along the Great Silk Road, they were either engaged in trade or cultural and artistic activities in the Celestial Empire. The numerous material sources they left behind formed brilliant pictures of the exchanges between the East and the West, experts believe.
Rector of Fergana State University Bakhodirjon Shermukhammadov noted the ancient history of contacts between Central Asia and China at the opening ceremony of the Fergana-Shanxi Archaeological Center.
The interaction between the two sides clearly demonstrates the modern significance of the Great Silk Road. Fergana State University is trying to serve as an example of Uzbek-Chinese cultural exchanges and cooperation, he added. -0-