Antiquities Exhibits

My husband and I have been watching the "Qin Empire Epic", a Chinese produced series, on Amazon Prime.  Although I can't always keep up with the subtitles (I can't read that fast from across the room!) I have found the history of the unification of China under Qin Shi Huangdi, initially called Yíng Zhèng, very interesting. Most references to China's first emperor that I had read, mostly information accompanying the three different Terracotta Warriors exhibits I have attended, seemed to emphasize the emperor's brutality, as portrayed in traditional Chinese historiography.  But, I discovered, like Roman propaganda vilifying the emperor Nero, perceptions of Yíng Zhèng's actions need to be considered in the political context of the fierce competition between warlords that dominated the tumultuous Warring States Period. Although I haven't seen any reference to burying Confucian scholars alive yet (we're on episode 78), I was researching some of the port...

Qinhai in the Belt and Road. Through June 30, 2019 at the Capital Museum in Beijing, China. In the Qin and Han dynasties, the Qiang people, Bronze Age rulers of Qinghai, were involved in the war between the dynasty ruling the central plain and the Huns. As a result, central plain dynasty forces first entered the Hehuang region. In the subsequent turbulent times involving the Wei and Jin dynasties, the war raging in central Chin a spread west to Qinghai. The Tuyuhun clan of the Xianbei people from Liaodong finally established their kingdom in the former homeland of the Qiang people. However, after ruling for over three hundred years, this kingdom stretching thousands of miles was gradually crushed by invading troops of the Sui and Tang dynasties from one direction and the Tibetan Empire from the other. Eventually, Qinghai became the frontier of the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Tibetan Empire. The exhibit displays 442 cultural relics, including works of colored pottery and co...