|
|
|
The
Ancient Corpses of Xinjiang: The Peoples of Ancient
Xinjiang & Their Culture |
|
by Wang,
Binghua; translated by Victor Mair
|
|
The
Ancient Corpses of Xinjiang: The People's of Ancient Xinjiang &
Their Culture by Wang
Binghua.
The publisher says: In the
Xinjiang region, especially the vast area south of the Celestial
Mountains (Tian Shan), the weather is extremely dry. Here desiccated
corpses are often discovered in ancient graves. When unearthed, apart
from dehydration, they remain basically the same as when buried with
their hats, clothes, ornaments, and detailed physical features. They
therefore provide us with rich historical and cultural information not
previously selected or revised by scholars.
Scientific data that would
otherwise be difficult or impossible to acquire are obtained from these
corpses and their associated artifacts - the inhabitants’ racial
characteristics, ethnic customs, basic necessities of life, religious
beliefs, artistic and aesthetic concepts, nutritional condition, causes
of illness, infestation by parasites, the natural ecological environment
and its changes, etc. This data is unusually significant in Xinjiang, a
region where minority races prevailed, where Chinese, Indian, Persian,
Greek, and Roman cultures intermingled.
This book describes the
historical and cultural items that accompanied the ancient desiccated
corpses.
|