Site of State of Jingjue from the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) to
the Jin Dynasty (265-420)
Location: Minfeng County, Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region
Period: 2nd century BC-5th century
AD
Excavated from 1959 to the
present
Significance: It has supplied precious
materials to the study of the relationships between the empire located in the
Central Plains and ancient kingdoms in the Western Regions, which covers the
area of the present-day Xinjiang and parts of Central
Asia. It is also of great importance to the study of the
cultural exchanges between the East and the West, as well as the Silk Road.
Introduction
|
Brocade arm-band with 8 characters, meaning "five stars
rising in the East and good for the central kingdom": clothing (up, width
12.5 cm); Pottery pot with a spout and inscribed with character "Íõ"
(king): water vessel (bottom, height 32.4 cm) |
The
remains of the lost ancient city of Niya are believed to the ancient Jingjue Kingdom during the Han and Jin period. The
ancient Jingjue Kingdom was at the south end of the
Silk Road, sprawling over an
area 25 km long from south to north and 5-7 km wide from east to west.
In the Site, the ruins of foundation of
houses, courtyards, tombs, stupas, temples, fields, orchards, channels, kilns,
and smelting workshops, etc., have been excavated, together with a large
quantity of cultural relics, including wood ware, bronze, pottery, stone ware,
woolen articles, coins, etc.
History
In 1959, a wool pile carpet fragment was
unearthed at the site of Niya,
China, on the southern edge of
the Taklamakan Desert found along the Silk Road. The fabrication of the fragment
discovered has been dated back to about 100 BC. The Niya Site is one of the most
important archaeological sites in Tarim Basin and is
actually the site of Jingjue
Kingdom in the Han Dynasty and
during the Wei and Jin period.
No one can believe that there was a rich and
varied community that once thrived deep in today's Taklamakan Desert some 1,600 years ago. Just like other
places in China, it was then
under the control of several officials appointed by the central government.
There lived more than families with a population of more than 3,000 people.
Sprawling over an area 20 km in circumference around what is now the dried bed
of Niya River, however, the city eventually became
buried in the desert sand and slipped in oblivion. The extinction of Niya has
left archaeologists and scientists many questions to answer. It has also given
the ruins of the ancient holy city a feeling of mystery.
The Niya River winds through
the southern Taklamakan
Desert for about 210 km and its
head waters are fed by melted snow from the towering the Kunlun Mount, known was
Nanshan Mountain in ancient times. The river
gradually dries up near a small Uygur village.
The city's ruins were lost until the early
of the 20th century, when the British explorer Sir Aurel Stein discovered the
ruins and archaeologists have continued their exploration of the area ever
since.
Cultural Heritage
Eight tombs have been discovered at the
northern part of the ruins. Some of them were already exposed when they were
laid out in hollowed out logs or wooden trunks with an outer coffin. Dried out
by the deserts heat and virtually undisturbed, the bodies, clothes and burial
articles are in excellent condition.
The details of the brocade show exceptional
care. The edge of the silk hasn't been unraveled and the fabric still has its
original luster. Even the green and yellow, colors which easily fade, are
preserved. Pieces of brocade, much less in quantity and variety, were found in
Niya in 1959, with three motifs: animal patterns, geo-metric designs and
auspicious tokens, all of which have never been encountered before.
Among the burial articles is a place of food
with mutton, pears, and grapes. This variety serves as evidence of oasis
agriculture and livestock raising.