Posted on 09/20/2010 7:40:59 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Chinese archeologists have found new evidence of international cultural exchange on the ancient Silk Road.
Four European-looking warriors and lion-like beasts are engraved on an empress's 1,200-year-old stone coffin that was unearthed in Shaanxi Province, in northwestern China.
The warriors on the four reliefs had deep-set eyes, curly hair and over-sized noses -- physical characteristics Chinese typically associate with Europeans.
The 27-tonne Tang Dynasty (618-907) sarcophagus contained empress Wu Huifei (699-737), Ge Chengyong, a noted expert on Silk Road studies, said Tuesday.
Ge said one of the warriors was very much like [Zeus], the "father of gods and men" in Greek mythology.
The coffin was also engraved with deer, tigers and goats.
"It's noteworthy that goats signify tragedy in Greek mythology. The word 'tragedy' itself means 'song of the man-goat singer'," he said.
He said the tragic element coincides with the empress's unhappy life: several of her children died young and she herself lived constantly in fear.
Ge said the exotic sarcophagus is rare for China, where ancient coffins almost always had Buddhist-themed reliefs and murals depicting harmony, happiness and peace.
The elements of Greek mythology on Empress Wu Huifei's coffin suggest cross-cultural exchange was common in Chang'an, capital of the Tang Dynasty, located in today's Xi'an, he said. "There could have even been clergymen from Western countries serving in the Tang imperial court."
Wu Huifei was Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine and was posthumously known as Empress Zhenshun, meaning "the virtuous and serene empress."
(Excerpt) Read more at english.peopledaily.com.cn ...
“Speaking of the Clinton years... those guys don’t need to sneak out the documents in their pants anymore.”
Well, they tried socks and cucumbers, but a roll of 8.5 x 11’s seemed to impress the ladies more.
Marvelous idea! I've played in club bands for 45 years (approximately since the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan) and am always ready to rock out... "The Zots"... that's priceless! "VikingKitty" has to be the female bassist with the leather outfit, electric hair, and a tattoo of the WTF Cat:
There was an 80's band called "Zot" (http://perrin3.com/zot/ and http://feeds2.feedburner.com/Zot) but I don't think they're still active or would give a damn.
We need to know about those vicious brutes. Often, it is a case of a fatality.
Call the thread hijack police!!
hehehe
Good one.
Yeah. That is a type of trump card around here, although I never understood that argument.
I am not necessarily saying you are trying to claim some kind of conservative moral high ground based on sign up date, but lots of people do.
< trump > I've been on SunkenCiv's ping list for many years longer than you've been registered, and haven't heard a single complaint until now. In fact, I think it's one of the better user contributions to FR. It's consistently interesting. < / trump > ;-)
Anyways, we're all entitled to our opinions about things. Jim, John and the Admin mods decide whether content is relevant to their site.
Why are you here on this thread>? are you a niche bitch poster?
just askin
“Well, they tried socks and cucumbers, but a roll of 8.5 x 11’s seemed to impress the ladies more.”
Socks the Cat?!
Not at all. My point was that we're all guests in Jim Robinson's living room, and none can claim seniority enough to tell him how to run his site.
Of course we all have opinions about how the site could be improved, and since the more years one has hung around FR, the more one picks up about how it runs, the traditions and so forth, the opinions of the old-timers tend to get more consideration. No surprise there. But I don't consider myself an old-timer, which was my point in mentioning the dates.
Hope you have a great day...
Cheers to you and the rest.
Wow, I guess I missed somethin’ in the stream of semi-consciousness that is FR. :’) Thanks go to the Mod who’s got my back. :’)
Skip over the threads that don't interest you.Thanks dayglored, and /bingo.
Skip over the threads that don't interest you.
That’s a nasty bastard you had to suffer with. I’d have had an airtight alibi, and there wouldn’t have been any trace of him anyway. Speaking of erasure.
But I digress.
It’s amazing the lengths that someone who is obviously on the take (from the sound of it) or completely gonzo (also possible) will go to, and how long they can escape scrutiny for vandalism.
Well, the truth is, some of them *seem* like they’ve been going on for ten years or longer... ;’)
:’) It’s a matter of more being known, although some of the baldfaced lies are still with us, or more accurately, still be shilled in public schools. I don’t have any use for that “Lies My Teacher Told Me” leftwinger.
New posters, please leave our archaeology threads alone. SunkenCiv has a well establised following.
Textide, you are too new in my opinion so i won’t listen to you! and more so, since i have been around for a few months longer, your no longer entitled to any opinions that differ from mine! please contact me for your future opinions. thank you!
Thanks marsh2. Seems to have worked. ;’)
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