[Cannibal Terracotta]
Cannibal Terracotta, Tang Dynasty, 28cm high
The figurine wears a pointed folding hat, has a long face, deep eyes and high nose, and is full of sideburns. Its image is consistent with the “man’s nose is high, black and bearded” recorded in Volume 238 of the New Tang Book. The figurines wear a right lapel dress, lace up at the waist, wear boots with feet, carry bags on the shoulder and back, hold a kettle in hand, lean forward and make a march
Dashi is a special name for Arabs in the Tang Dynasty. In the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, cannibals defeated the Persian Empire, occupied the Iranian plateau, and sent envoys to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty in the second year of Yonghui (651). Since then, the two countries have increasingly frequent exchanges through the Silk Road. Many large food traders came and went by land and sea. They also brought Islam into China while trading goods, and began to settle in Xi’an, Guangzhou, Quanzhou and other places in China. The cannibal figurines found in the tombs of the Tang Dynasty are the products of this historical background. Conflicts between the Tang Dynasty and Dashi also occurred from time to time. In the tenth year of Tianbao (751), the general of the Tang Dynasty Gao Xianzhi fought with the general of the Great Food, Gyad bin Saleh, in the city of Talos (near the city of Jiangbul, Kazakhstan). Due to the defeat of the Tang Dynasty, the cannibals took away a large number of Chinese prisoners, including many weavers, goldsmiths, painters, and so on. As a result, a variety of Chinese crafts and techniques, including paper-making, were spread to the west and had a great impact on the west
The giant cannibal figurine made in the shape of a long journey is a miniature of the long caravan that we witnessed on the Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty. It is vivid and vivid.