|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
Civil official
Western Wei dynasty (535–556)
Earthenware
H. 15 1/4 in. (38.9 cm)
Excavated at Cuijiaying, Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, 1977
National Museum of China
|
|
|
|
The Northern and Southern Dynasties refer to a period, from the fourth to the sixth century, when China was divided. An area located between the two realms, extending over the drainage of the Han River and its tributaries, in present-day Shaanxi south of the Qinling Mountains, in northern Hubei, and in southeastern Henan and parts of northern Sichuan, was inhabited by a people who formed a branch of a larger group of southern natives known by the general appellation man. Politically, they were allied with the south and submitted to the administration of the Southern Dynasties. They seem, however, to have retained some distinctive cultural traits of their own, including their manner of dress. Two types of apparel seen on the pottery figures found in the area may be related to those of the man. This figure also sports a hairstyle—the hair tied up in a pointed bun at the back—that fits the descriptions in the historical literature concerning people in this region.
|
|
|
|
|
|
