French Sinology, Issue 10 – The Sogdians in China

Author: Editorial Committee Member of the Series "French Sinology"
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-12-01
Features: "Sogdians in China" is a research topic that emerged with the advent of modern scholarship and has continuously gained new vitality. As we know, due to the Islamization of Central Asia and changes in the natural environment, the ancient traces of Sogdian activities in their homeland and surrounding Central Asian regions have long disappeared. We can only glimpse some traces of Sogdian activities from Arabic and Chinese historical records. Based on archaeological findings across Central Asia and China, Sogdian studies, particularly the study of Sogdians entering China, have continuously advanced with the progress of modern scholarship since the late 19th century, and have recently experienced vigorous development. Since its fourth issue, "French Sinology" has been published by Zhonghua Book Company, with one volume annually. This issue is the tenth volume, a collection of papers from the academic conference "New Explorations in History, Archaeology, and Language of Sogdians in China," which includes nearly all the papers presented at the conference. The content covers various aspects of Sogdian history, archaeology, art, religion, and language. This issue is primarily composed of three main parts: "Sogdian Sabo and Caravan Trade," "Sogdian Settlements and Local Society," and "Religion and Art of Sogdians in China."