The Kushan Empire

Both articles examine art in the Kushan Empire and the influence from other cultures on the art. For example both articles mention a Hellenistic influence on Gandharan Buddhist art. Also both articles deal with the implications scholars today face when trying to retrieve information from Kushan art. In Czuma’s article it states that scholars today have trouble composing a chronological order of Kushan art during the era of Muthura and Gandhara sculpture schools because both schools flourished at the same time in different parts of the Empire. Similarly in Liu’s article it discusses that the artwork (more specifically the sculptures) does not reveal Kushan physical characteristics. When historians analyze art to learn facts about a culture it can be problematic. Art can be interpreted in many different ways and can mean different things to many different people. However art can also be very helpful to scholars as well. For example when a culture was mostly oral and hardly wrote anything down art become vital to scholars trying to decode an ancient culture.

The presence of Buddhism in the Kushan Empire was significant. Lui’s article states that there was a large amount of Buddhist art; this shows the popularity of the religion. This popularity also enhanced prestige of horses and horse riding. Horses are associated with Buddhism including many legends of early Buddhist missionaries. The popularity of horse riding also lead to changes in clothing, “women wearing hats with hanging veils along with attire that combined a tight-sleeved blouse with riding pants was a common scene on the streets of the capital at Chang’an” (Liu, 286). Therefore Buddhism influenced changes in Kushan culture. Buddhism however was not the only religion in the Kushan Empire. There were many religions present in the Kushan Empire which means that there was not one religion that all the people of the Kushan Empire believed in such as Catholicism at one point in Rome.

The Han

 The Western Regions under the Hsiung-Nu and the Han gives an overview of the conditions of the communities dispersed in the Western Regions, which is the area in the Turfan basin, west of Lop Nor and  along the northern end of the Kunlun and Altai Mountain ranges. These communities are also known as ‘Walled-City States of the Western Regions’. The Han wanted to control these ‘Walled-City States’ however the Hsiung-Nu had control over them. Eventually the Han gained control of these communities.
            Under Han rule the Western Regions excelled at textile making. According to the article the textiles produced were of very high quality. This is no surprise considering the people of the Western Regions had direct access to the Silk Road. The article also mentions a robe found in a tomb that is embroidered with characters that state “Good luck for 10,000 generations”. This theme of good luck or good fortune is still a prominent theme in Chinese culture.
            Also during Han rule trade between the Western Regions and China expanded and the speed at which things were being transported increased. For example the article mentions that paper was found in the Western Regions shortly after it was invented in China. Does this speed indicate that the Western Regions and China had an exceptional trading system where goods can travel effectively from place to place? Or does this mean that the Western Regions and China depended on each other for trade therefore the trading between them had to be effective?

 Myth and the Construction of Foreign Ethnic Identity in Early and Medieval China by Bret Hinsch deals with the idea of manipulating myths associated with different ethnic groups. Hinsch gives many examples of how Chinese historians use myths to either change the way a specific group is viewed or to be used when China wants to expand. The idea that myths have the power to determine how an entire ethnic group is perceived, used to assimilate foreigners, or to justify expansion is an entirely new concept to me. Hinsch does illustrate the many ways the Chinese manipulated myths in order to gain or to change the ethnicity of a certain group with good examples, however I feel as though something is missing. Can changing a myth about a certain group’s ancestors really be that effective?