Editor's note:
The beauty of the national treasure, through ancient and modern times, is used to carry the Tao, and it is magnificent.
Behind each rare cultural relic is the ingenuity and wisdom of the ancients, engraved with the cultural genes of the Chinese nation, and witnessing the exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations.
Starting from January 11, 2023, China News Agency "East and West Questions" launched a series of plans for "Treasures of Town Halls" (1), using experts to explore the meaning of cultural relics and the stories behind them.
China News Agency, Urumqi, January 11, title: What kind of cultural identity does the word "China" that first appeared in Xinjiang imply?
——Interview with Yu Zhiyong, member of the party group and vice president of the Xinjiang Cultural and Museum Institute, and curator of the Xinjiang Museum
Author Gou Jipeng
In 1995, a brocade armguard of the Han Dynasty was unearthed at the Niya site in Minfeng County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang. It was woven with eight Chinese characters in seal script: "Five stars come out of the east and benefit China". This is the earliest word "China" unearthed in Xinjiang.
"Five Stars Out of the East to Benefit China" Han Dynasty Brocade Armguard (also known as "Five Star Brocade") is a national first-class cultural relic and is known as one of the greatest discoveries of Chinese archaeology in the 20th century. It is now in the collection of the Xinjiang Museum. One of the treasures of the town hall.
When was this tapestry woven and what was it used for?
What is the meaning of "five stars from the east benefit China"?
What kind of cultural identity does it contain?
Recently, Yu Zhiyong, one of the witnesses of the "Five Star Brocade" archaeological excavation, member of the party group, vice president of the Xinjiang Cultural and Museum Institute, and director of the Xinjiang Museum, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West".
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Agency reporter: Where did the word "China" first appear in Xinjiang come from? How was it discovered?
Yu Zhiyong:
In October 1995, a major archaeological discovery was made at the Niya site in Minfeng County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang.
During the archaeological excavation of an important cemetery at the site, the China-Japan Niya site academic investigation team discovered the Han Dynasty brocade armguard of "five stars from the east to benefit China".
This is also the earliest word "China" found in Xinjiang so far. It was born in the Han Dynasty, more than 2,000 years ago.
The Niya site is located at the traffic hub of the South Road of the Silk Road, and it is a place where ancient Eastern and Western cultures exchanged and merged.
"Five Star Brocade" was found in a tomb where two people were buried together, and it was put together with bows and arrows, arrow reels, and short scabbards as funerary objects.
At that time, the on-site staff saw a little colorful brocade exposed in the fabric on the right side of the male burial in the tomb, which was particularly eye-catching under the cover of sand.
As the brocade was opened bit by bit, not only the bright blue, white, red, yellow, and green patterns gradually revealed, but also Chinese characters such as "country", "Oriental" and "five-star" gradually appeared.
Finally, seeing the complete text read "Five Stars Out of the East to Benefit China", everyone present was shocked.
"Five Star Brocade" was unearthed.
Photo courtesy of Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
China News Agency reporter: What kind of cultural relic is the "Five Star Brocade"? Why is it called one of the greatest discoveries of Chinese archeology in the 20th century?
Yu Zhiyong:
"Five Star Brocade" is rectangular in shape with rounded corners, 18.5 cm long and 12.5 cm wide. The 1.5 cm wide white silk belt (three of which are broken) is woven with eight Chinese characters in seal script: "Five stars come out of the east and benefit China".
According to the analysis and identification of textile archaeologists, "Five Star Brocade" is a five-fold plain weave brocade woven with five sets of warp threads and one set of weft threads, with a warp density of 220 threads/cm and a weft density of 48 threads/cm. It is more complicated and extremely rare in Han brocade; its patterns and themes are very unique, including auspicious animals such as phoenix, phoenix, unicorn, and white tiger, as well as auspicious clouds and auspicious grasses, and the words "five stars come out of the east and benefit China" are cleverly placed in it, It means praying for auspiciousness.
"Five-Star Brocade" is exquisite in production, exquisite in craftsmanship, gorgeous in color and unparalleled in exquisiteness. It is the highest representative of brocade weaving skills in the Han Dynasty.
Brocades of this style and theme are extremely rare in unearthed cultural relics, and are rare art treasures.
It is a national first-class cultural relic, one of the first batch of 64 cultural relics prohibited from being exhibited abroad, and it is also the "treasure of the town hall" of the Xinjiang Museum. It is known as one of the greatest discoveries of Chinese archaeology in the 20th century. one.
The "Five-Star Brocade" on display.
Photo by Liu Xin
Reporter from China News Agency: What does the text on the brocade "five stars come out of the east benefit China" mean? What kind of Chinese culture does it contain? Why is it said that this brocade of the Han Dynasty reflects the recognition of Chinese culture in the Western Regions?
Yu Zhiyong:
According to textual research, "five stars come out of the east and benefit China" is an ancient Chinese astrological expression.
The five stars refer to the five planets of water, fire, wood, gold, and earth; "East" is a specific position in the sky in ancient Chinese astrology.
"China" in the pre-Qin period refers to the Luoyi area where Zhou Tianzi lived, and in the Qin and Han dynasties it was the area under the jurisdiction of the central government.
In ancient astronomical terminology, there were concepts of geography and politics. With the formation and development of a unified multi-ethnic country, the concept of cultural politics with Confucian culture as the core gradually formed.
"Five stars out of the east" means that five planets appear in the eastern sky at the same time within a period of time, that is, the phenomenon of "five stars in a row" or "five stars gathering"; China is in favor.
"Five-Star Brocade" ingeniously integrates astronomy, historical facts, and ancient people's concepts of yin and yang and five elements, and it appears in the Niya site far away from the Central Plains. The economic and cultural prosperity of the Silk Road after the Western Regions shows that the Western Regions recognized and yearned for the Central Plains culture at that time, and proved the influence of the Central Plains culture. It vividly demonstrates the rich connotation and special charm of Chinese civilization.
The "Five-Star Brocade" was exhibited at the "Niya · Archeology · Stories - China-Japan Niya Archeology 30th Anniversary Exhibition" held by the Xinjiang Museum.
Photo by Liu Xin
China News Agency reporter: Historically, how did the central government of the Han Dynasty achieve effective jurisdiction and governance over the Western Regions? Why did the brocade of "five stars out of the east benefit China" in the Han Dynasty appear in today's Minfeng County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang? What kind of ethnic integration and cultural exchange is behind it?
Yu Zhiyong:
In order to manage the unified Western Regions, the central government of the Han Dynasty established the Protectorate of the Western Regions in Wulei City (in today’s Luntai County, Xinjiang), officially established officials, stationed troops, and implemented administrative orders in the Western Regions, and began to exercise national sovereignty.
The Niya site where the "Five Star Brocade" was unearthed was the site of the Jingjue Kingdom in the Western Han Dynasty.
Some scholars deduce based on historical data that the "Five Star Brocade" should have been awarded to Jingjue Kingdom when the Protectorate of the Western Regions was established (the second year of Shenjue), which witnessed the history of the Protectorate of the Western Regions.
After Zhang Qian "emptied out" the Western Regions, the central government of the Han Dynasty and the countries in the Western Regions "traveled with life and travel for a long time; merchants and merchants, Japanese money under the plug", opened the glory of the "Silk Road" course.
On the one hand, promoting the westward spread of Chinese civilization, the central government of the Han Dynasty had more direct economic and cultural exchanges with countries in the Western Regions.
On the other hand, the culture of the Western Regions was gradually introduced into the Central Plains.
After the unification of the Western Regions by the Han Dynasty, all ethnic groups communicated and blended together to open up a vast territory, create a long history of China, write a splendid Chinese culture, and cultivate a great national spirit.
The Niya ruins where the "Five Star Brocade" was unearthed.
Photo courtesy of Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
Reporter from China News Agency: What kind of vision did people have a thousand years ago in the phrase "five stars from the east benefit China"? How should it be viewed today?
Yu Zhiyong:
"Five stars come out of the east to benefit China" is a phrase to pray for auspiciousness and prosperity, expressing good hopes and wishes.
At the same time as the "Five Star Brocade", a fragment of the brocade "Discussing the Southern Qiang" was unearthed.
After comparison, it is a part cut from the same brocade material as "Five Star Brocade".
According to the study of specific historical facts and the analysis of the combination of patterns, Zhiwen can be continuously read as "five stars come out of the east, benefit China and fight against the southern Qiang...".
This brocade text is undoubtedly the Han Dynasty's wish for the political and military success of the Qiang campaign.
The dance drama "Five Stars Out of the East" with the theme of "Five Star Brocade" was performed at the Xinjiang Museum.
Photo by Gou Jipeng
With the continuous deepening of historical research, people's cognition and understanding of the history and culture of "Five Star Brocade" will also be deeper and more comprehensive.
For example, the dance drama "Five Stars Out of the East" with the theme of "Five-Star Brocade" artistically interprets the historical story of the ancient Silk Road in the oasis of the Western Regions, tells the long history and profoundness of Chinese culture, and interprets the people of all ethnic groups "hugging tightly like pomegranate seeds". Together" constitutes the theme of the Chinese nation community.
The play has been performed for more than a year, and it has launched more than 30 tours in many places across the country, and the response has been enthusiastic. In September 2022, it won the Wenhua Award of the 17th Chinese Culture and Art Government Award.
(Finish)
Respondent profile:
Yu Zhiyong, member of the party group and vice president of the Xinjiang Cultural and Museum Institute, and director of the Xinjiang Museum.
He also serves as the vice president of the China Dunhuang Turpan Society and an executive director of the China Museum Association.
Graduated from Northwestern University.
Has long been engaged in Xinjiang archeology and Silk Road archaeological research, museum social education.
Participated in and presided over the excavation of the Niya site in Minfeng County, Xinjiang in 1995, and the archaeological excavation of the tombs of the Sixteen Kingdoms of Jin Dynasty on Youyi Road, Kuqa City in 2007, respectively, which were awarded the "Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in China" of the year; Academic Investigation Report" (three volumes), "Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics: Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Volume", "Complete Collection of Unearthed Murals in China - Xinjiang Volume", "General History of Xinjiang - Picture Record (Pre-Qin, Qin and Han)" and other books have been published in academic journals at home and abroad There are more than 50 papers, and the representative works include "A Preliminary Analysis of the "Five Stars Out of the East and China" Unearthed in Niya, Xinjiang", "A Study of the Famous Objects of the Bone Sticks Unearthed at the Weiyang Palace Site in Chang'an City, Han Dynasty", etc.