Unearthed ancient brocade evidence to the spread of art and ideas

The brocade dating to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) was found tied to the tomb owner’s arm. It is woven with auspicious symbols and Chinese characters.

The texts read: “Wuxing chu dongfang li Zhongguo”, an astrological term meaning that five stars appearing at the same time in the sky is believed to bring peace and prosperity to the Central Plain. The prophecy corresponds to the Five Elements (Wu Xing) philosophy.

Unearthed from Niya ruins on the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert in NW China’s Xinjiang in 1995, this brocade is evidence of the spread of art and ideas from central China to its western areas some 2,000 years ago.

This item is in the permanent collection of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum.