East-West Question, the treasure of the town hall丨Li Yongping: Why did the Eastern Roman gilded silver plate appear in the ancient port of the Yellow River?

Lanzhou, 7 July (ZXS) -- Why did the gilded silver plate of Eastern Rome appear at the ancient crossing of the Yellow River?

——Interview with Li Yongping, Director and Researcher of the Research Department of Gansu Provincial Museum

China News Agency reporter Feng Zhijun

In the Gansu Provincial Museum, there is a national treasure-level cultural relic comparable to the peerless and unique copper galloping horse - the Eastern Roman gilded silver plate, which is indispensable in the overseas Silk Road cultural relics exhibition held by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China, and is also the most frequently invited "guest" by cultural and museum institutions across the country, so it is called the "busiest cultural relics" in the museum.

Why did a "plate" with its ugliness receive this honor, and what historical events did it witness in the process of exchange and integration between the East and the West? Li Yongping, director and researcher of the Research Department of the Gansu Provincial Museum, recently accepted an exclusive interview with the "East-West Question" of China News Agency.

The following is a summary of the interview:

China News Agency: How was the gilt silver plate found in Eastern Rome? What is its main use?

Li Yongping: In 1988, near the ancient port of the Yellow River in Jingyuan County, Baiyin City, Gansu Province, a farmer found this silver plate while building a house, and it was later collected by the Gansu Provincial Museum. This silver plate of silver gilt, made by casting, hammering and other processes, the largest diameter is 31 cm, the height is 4.9 cm, and the weight is 3190 grams, and was cast in the territory of ancient Rome from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD. It is likely that after "stopping by Panhuan" in ancient West or Central Asia, it was introduced along the Silk Road in the 4th and 5th centuries and "wandered" in the area of present-day Gansu, China.

Eastern Roman gilt silver platter. Photo courtesy of Gansu Provincial Museum

Marsak, a famous Russian expert in gold and silverware, believes that the silver plate was cast in North Africa from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD, and some scholars believe that the casting time is slightly later, but they are believed to be cast in the Eastern Roman period.

In the middle of the gilt silver plate of Eastern Rome is a relief representation of Dionysus, the god of wine in Greek mythology, leaning on a beast of prey with a scepter commonly seen in Mediterranean art.

Eastern Roman gilt silver plate (center) part. Photo by Li Yalong

The outer circle of the silver platter is the twelve main gods of Olympus in Greek mythology. The largest distribution area is the vine, which is a typical ornament of the ancient Mediterranean coast, and lizards, bees, insects and other small animals "hidden" in it.

The grape branch arabess usually appear on Western pottery, but they appear on gold and silverware, and together with the gods of wine and the twelve main gods of Olympus, they are presented in this form on precious metal plates, which is unique among the known artifacts in the world.

Eastern Roman gilt silver plate (outer circle) part. Photo by Li Yalong

Judging from the relief of the gilt silver plate in Eastern Rome, it is not for food, but for collectibles, ornaments, and crafts, which are collected by high-ranking nobles or royalty on the Mediterranean coast, and are of great value.

China News Agency: As a rare Eastern Roman gilt silver plate in the world, why did it appear in Gansu, thousands of miles away? What's the story behind it?

Li Yongping: As an important witness of the East-West exchanges on the ancient Silk Road, the excavation of gilt silver plates in Eastern Rome was both inevitable and accidental. Inevitability is reflected in the fact that the land happened to be the key place where the Silk Road passed from Chang'an to Hexi during the Han and Tang dynasties. And by chance, it may be that the silver plate carrier to the Central Plains had an accident on the way.

During the Han and Tang dynasties, the land connecting the Hexi Corridor with the Central Plains was considered a "first-class national highway", and messengers, monks, and merchants traveling between the Central Plains and the Western Regions had to pass through the ancient crossing of the Yellow River.

According to years of research, this Eastern Roman gilt silver plate may have multiple properties, or was a gift for the royal family of Rome or Central and West Asia at that time; Or artifacts used as currency when Western merchants went to the East to trade.

In addition to this silver plate, many Eastern Roman gold coins have also been unearthed in Gansu, and cultural relics such as Eastern Roman gold cups have also been unearthed in the Northern Wei tombs excavated by the archaeological excavations in Datong, Shanxi. The excavation of these cultural relics testifies to the frequent exchanges between the Central Plains and Eastern Rome at that time.

Li Yongping introduces the Eastern Roman gilt silver platter. Photo by Li Yalong

China News Agency: Through the study of this silver platter, can we get a glimpse of the exchanges between the East and the West a thousand years ago?

Li Yongping: The Dionysian culture, which symbolizes a good harvest, is relatively well known in Western society. After the crusades of Alexander the Great (ancient Macedonian king), Greek culture spread everywhere, and its influence even reached the Tarim Basin in China. For example, on the cotton cloth unearthed in Xinjiang, there are images of the goddess of the earth and harvest in Greek mythology, and on the silk fabrics unearthed, there are embroidered Hermes and the god of the horse body of the head of the human head in Greek mythology.

On the Sui and Tang period pottery camels unearthed in Xi'an in recent years, there are relief images of Greek Dionysian drunk, which is called "Drunken Whisk" by researchers, which shows that the upper class of the Sui and Tang Dynasties has known various stories and legends about the Greek Dionysus, and the Dionysian culture has also begun to spread in the Central Plains society, but some specific plots have changed in the countryside and customs.

At present, it is difficult to know the details of the exchanges on the Silk Road at that time, but we can imagine the story behind it and the frequency of exchanges between East and West. It can be seen from this that there was mutual influence and absorption between early Eastern and Western civilizations.

Eastern Roman gilt silver plates and other artifacts on display at the Gansu Provincial Museum. Photo by Li Yalong

China News Agency: What enlightenment does the cultural attributes carried by the gilded silver plate in Eastern Rome have for the present? What is the positive role of promoting the construction of the "Belt and Road"?

Li Yongping: In recent years, this silver plate has been exhibited in the United States, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan many times, and it is a typical artifact reflecting the prosperity of the Silk Road, which has been loved and highly praised by visitors from all over the world.

Since the birth of Chinese civilization, it has been absorbing advanced foreign culture, and only through mutual integration can civilization and culture continue and develop, and the Eastern Roman gilded silver plate is a microcosm of this historical process.

Gansu was a "golden passage" where various civilizations from the East and the West met in ancient times, and this is represented in artistic expressions such as Dunhuang murals and sculptures. In addition, archaeological excavations such as Han Jian have also been unearthed in Gansu, recording the frequent exchanges between the Western Regions and the Central Plains Dynasty, and some unearthed silk fabric ornaments can also be seen to be influenced by the Mediterranean coast or West Asia.

In fact, exchanges between ancient civilizations around politics, economy, culture and other aspects were very frequent. This continuous "interaction" also brings "shared welfare" to people everywhere along the Silk Roads. This was true in ancient times, and it is no exception now, the current "Belt and Road" construction can not only promote the economic and social development of the underdeveloped western region of China, but also the development of countries and regions along the route. (End)

Respondent Profile:

Li Yongping is the director and researcher of the Research Department of the Gansu Provincial Museum, the director of the Gansu Historical Society, and the director of the Gansu Dunhuang Society. For more than 30 years, he has been engaged in research work, mainly unearthed Han Dynasty-Wei and Jin Jianshu documents from Gansu, ancient historical relics of Gansu, as well as museology and modern cultural relics. One of the authors of the outline of "Silk Road - Great Northwest Heritage Exhibition" and "Tea Horse Ancient Road - Southwest Silk Road Cultural Relics Exhibition", presided over the topic "Gansu Newly Unearthed Wei and Jin Sixteen Kingdoms Document Research".