Sogdians in China (New Explorations in History, Archaeology, and Language)

Author: Editorial Committee of "French Sinology"
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-12-01
Features: "The Sogdians in China" is a research topic that emerged with the rise of modern scholarship and continues to gain 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 Sogdiana 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 in Central Asia and various regions of 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. "French Sinology" has been published by Zhonghua Book Company since its fourth issue, with one volume released annually. This manuscript is the tenth issue, a collection of papers from the academic symposium "New Explorations in History, Archaeology, and Language of the 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 mainly composed of three parts: "Sogdian Sabo and Caravan Trade," "Sogdian Settlements and Local Society," and "Religion and Art of Sogdians in China."