Title

From Mubiao to Muzhi: Changes in Brick Epitaphs in the Turfan Area from the Qu’s Gaochang Kingdom to the Tang Xizhou Period

Author

Genre

Pages

483-532

DOI

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Language

Chinese

Key words

Turfan, Qu’s Gaochang 麴氏高昌, Xizhou 西州 period, mubiao 墓表 (tomb announcements), muzhi 墓誌 (tomb epitaphs)

Abstract

In the mid-7th century, in the Turfan region, the main type of funerary inscription changed from mubiao 墓表 (tomb announcements) to muzhi 墓誌 (tomb epitaphs). This change is attributed to the influence of Central Plains’ culture, which scholars have suggested was transmitted after the Tang Empire conquered the Qu’s Gaochang 麴氏高昌 kingdom and established the prefecture of Xizhou 西州 in the Turfan area.
     This article explores the reasons for this change from the perspective of regional interaction with a focus on the agency of the Turfan people in the process of cultural exchange. The article starts by defining the structure of mubiao and muzhi and proposes a new classification framework to sort the inscriptions according to how they were structured. After this sorting, it investigates the connections between each type of inscription and the time periods in which they were used. It then considers how each type of inscription refers to itself. I suggest that muzhi need to be understood by investigating the changes in the numbers of each type as well as the format and content of brick epitaphs in the mid-7th century. Many of the Gaochang elite were relocated to the two capitals after the fall of the Gaochang Kingdom; they were later moved back to Turfan, and it has been suggested that elements of Central Plains’ epitaphs were introduced by them. However, the forms of the bricks and the locations of the brick epitaphs in tombs show a continuation of the traditions of the Gaochang kingdom. This continuation reveals that the Gaochang elite actively chose certain elements in the process of cultural exchange.