A Study Of Images Of The Gods In The Tomb Of Anjia In The Northern Zhou Dynasty

The Northern Zhou Dynasty tomb of Anjia in Xi'an is one of the most representative of Sogdian tombs in China of recent years.Unearthed in the tomb were an epitaph proving the tomb occupant Anjia's Sogdian life and background,a stone couch and screen carved with scenes of former life,and a stone relief carving image with strong Zoroastrian characteristics,together which have attracted scholarly attention.This dissertation,based upon previous academic research and combined with field research,makes a systematic study of the images of the three deities found in Anjia's tomb,namely,the God of music,the dracontomclon dao bird body and the frightening beasts.This dissertation is separated into five sections.The first section summarises the shape of the tomb,the relics unearthed and the images found in Anjia's tomb.The second section compares images of the God of music in Sogdian tombs in China to examine the morphological characteristics of the God of music on the gate of Anjia's tomb and to investigate its relationship to Buddhist Apsara Musicians.The third section summarises the dracontomclon dao bird body image in Anjia's tomb and other tombs,comparing it with images of the Magu of Central Asia and Qianqiu-wansui in both form and meaning,in order to establish its source.The fourth section classifies the definition and form of the frightening beasts image in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and establishes that the frightening beasts on the couch leg in Anjia's tomb comes from a Han Dynasty tradition and can be named “Wu Huo”.The fifth section examines the burial system,burial customs and images in Anjia's tomb to show the Chinese transformation of Zoroastrian art in the Northern Dynasties.