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The Independent
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Ancient ‘bestie' figurine charms modern visitors
A painted pottery figurine depicting two women holding hands, housed at the Luoyang Museum in Henan province, has recently gained widespread attention online. The artefact, dating back over 1,500 years, has drawn large crowds eager to snap a photo with its touching portrayal of an ancient 'bestie' friendship. Standing side by side at just 6.7 inches tall, the two women each wear their hair in double buns and are adorned in cross-collared, left-overlapping, wide-sleeved robes with long skirts. Their elegantly poised stance with hands clasped together proclaims an enduring bond, as if declaring, 'We're the best of friends in the whole wide world!' The figurine's endearing and whimsical appeal has attracted a growing number of visitors, who come to witness the enduring bonds of female friendship that have remained resonant since the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). Pairs of young women have waited in long lines to take a photo with the figurine wearing hanfu, a traditional Chinese garment. Shen Yu, a 25-year-old from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, said she and her friend rushed to the 'bestie figurine' after seeing it on social media. 'We'd heard there were always long lines, and sure enough, we could feel everyone's enthusiasm,' she said. Shen is interested in the figurine's traditional clothing and makeup. She is moved by 'this kind of heartwarming friendship that stands the test of time'. 'We wore hanfu to take photos here, like a tribute to our own friendship, wishing it lasting strength and joy,' she said. The relic was unearthed from the tomb of Yang Ji, an important politician from the Northern Wei Dynasty. It was found with other pottery in the shape of warriors, ceremonial attendants and female labourers. Huang Chao, director of the exhibition research department of the museum, praised the relic's exquisite detail, saying it vividly captures the postures and expressions of different figures. 'Pottery figurines in a hand-holding or side-by-side pose are exceptionally rare,' he said. 'This 'millennium sisters' figurine, with its unique design, resonates perfectly with young people's pursuit of ancient cultural knowledge and aesthetics.' Sun Haiyan, the museum's deputy director, said that the figurine was relocated to maintain order and better meet audience needs. 'This 'cross-temporal dialogue' fulfills young audiences' emotional connection with cultural symbols while expressing their appreciation and endorsement of traditional culture,' Sun said. Geng Shuo, associate professor of the School of Humanities at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, said the figurine's popularity reflects the evolving social role of museums. 'Traditionally seen as spaces for learning history and acquiring knowledge, museums have now transformed into multifaceted venues that encompass leisure, photo opportunities and more,' he said. He added that the 'hand-holding figurine' might have been an artisan's spontaneous expression of emotion about 1,500 years ago. 'Little did they know that their work would evoke a cross-temporal emotional connection with people millenniums later.' He suggested that museums leverage public interest to deepen historical and cultural knowledge dissemination. Du Xiaofan, a professor at the Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology of Fudan University in Shanghai, said that in recent years, what captures public attention isn't always the artefacts of critical significance in the development of Chinese civilisation. 'People are now more drawn to exhibits that offer emotional comfort, joy or personal resonance. These artefacts, whether intentionally or not, connect with modern audiences on an emotional level, making them more relatable and engaging,' he said. Du said museums traditionally focus on helping the public understand the past by presenting historical facts. But today, they must evolve and inspire visitors to reflect on their present lives and future possibilities.
Asia Times
20-03-2025
- General
- Asia Times
China's Empress Dowager Ling paved the way for future female rulers
In sixth-century China, a woman known to history as Empress Dowager Ling ruled over an empire called the Northern Wei. Historians do not know her birth name or in what year she was born, but they do know that she served as empress dowager between 515 and 528. As the spouse of a ruling emperor prior to his death, she retained the title of empress dowager in her widowhood. She ruled on behalf of her young son, the heir to the throne. However, her regency was interrupted by a coup d'etat from 520 to 525. Although the empress dowager was expected to rule only as a regent, historical records indicate that she administered court in her own name. These same records also reveal that she adopted a personal pronoun – 'zhen 朕,' otherwise known as the Chinese 'royal we' – that was reserved for the exclusive use of the emperor. In my recent book, The Women Who Ruled China , I offer an overview of these historical sources and records that document her life, including a translation of her biography retained in the official chronicle of the Northern Wei. Using these sources, I argue that even though the Empress Dowager's rule was problematic and short – resulting in her assassination – she laid the foundation for other, more successful female rulers across medieval East Asia. In the late fifth century, the capital city of the Northern Wei was moved from its northern location in modern-day Datong, China, to its southern location in Luoyang, a city at the very heart of Han Chinese culture and history. However, the people who ruled the empire were not ethnically Han Chinese. The Northern Wei dynasty. Map: Wikimedia Commons Known as the Taghbach, this group migrated south from the Mongolian steppe and ruled a multiethnic and multicultural empire from Luoyang, the world's largest city and the former capital of the Eastern Han dynasty. The Northern Wei empire adopted laws, institutions and policies from both Taghbach and Han Chinese traditions. This cultural hybridity enabled the empress dowager to rule directly: On one hand, the Chinese court system rooted in the Han dynasty had long included the position of empress dowager, even though none of the women who held it had ruled directly. On the other, Taghbach culture had no formal position of empress dowager prior to its adoption of court ranks in the Northern Wei, but it did have a long tradition of women in public life. These women served in the military and advised on political matters. Multiple sources of evidence indicate that Taghbach women had a high degree of personal autonomy and political power, with no source suggesting otherwise. A well-known story about Taghbach woman appears in the legend of Mulan, who is said to have dressed as a man so that she could serve in the military in place of her father. The Mulan legend is widely recounted in Chinese literature and inspired a fictional character in two Walt Disney movies based on the Chinese fable. As a historian of gender in this period, I believe that the Mulan legend does not accurately depict Taghbach women. Instead, it is a Chinese story that emphasizes a form of gender transgression that makes sense only within Chinese and Confucian culture. Unlike Chinese culture, Taghbach culture had long known women warriors who could ride horses and shoot arrows without concealing their gender. Empress Dowager Ling was not a warrior, but she embraced martial symbols of her own power that were available to women in Taghbach culture but not in Chinese culture. For example, she was an accomplished archer and famously drove her own horse cart, which was just as splendid and imposing as was the emperor's cart. In the Confucian culture of Han China, such actions were considered highly inappropriate for women, but Empress Dowager Ling carried them out while holding the Chinese title of empress dowager. Her rule, like her empire, was culturally hybrid. That blend of cultural traditions enabled her to take power in a way that neither Chinese nor Taghbach women had done before. By the time of the reign of the Northern Wei empire, both Taghbah and Chinese cultures had become deeply familiar with Buddhism, a religion that they had inherited from India in a long process of cultural exchange along the Silk Road. The empire had integrated methods of Buddhist statecraft into its own forms of governance. Simply put, what this meant was that the ruler of the empire legitimized his reign through Buddhism, portraying himself either as a Buddha or as a patron of Buddhists – their texts and institutions. This was a type of governance that was widely practiced in premodern East Asia. Even though Buddhist statecraft was widespread in the empress dowager's time, she was the first woman to directly legitimate her independent rule through Buddhism. As a patron of Buddhism, she commissioned majestic Buddhist architecture. Perhaps seen by her populace as a Buddhist figure herself, she symbolized her co-rule with her son by using a Buddhist visual motif of two Buddhas sitting side by side, a representation that came to be known as the rule by 'Two Sages,' meaning tandem rulers depicted in the guise of buddhas. The source for the image was the popular Buddhist text, the 'Lotus Sūtra.' She also attempted to put her own granddaughter on the throne after the death of her son. As I argue in my book, she did so by capitalizing on the idea that first her son, and then her granddaughter, were thought of as the bodhisattva Maitreya, a being of infinite compassion who is believed to be the future Buddha. Empress Dowager Ling was largely unsuccessful in her bid for power. Her rule was short and contested. She was murdered, and her empire was toppled within 13 years of her rule. For five of those years, she was not in power because of a coup d'etat. However, about 150 years after the assassination of the empress dowager, another woman would rise to rule China independently, this time taking the title of 'emperor.' That woman is known as Empress Wu, or Emperor Wu Zhao, and she is undoubtedly the most famous woman in all of Chinese history. Numerous historical sources attest to her life, work and rule. What those sources tell us, however, is that she ruled using the very same strategies as Empress Dowager Ling. Investing her own family heritage in distant links to the Taghbach, she also positioned herself as a 'Two Sage' ruler alongside the emperor in precisely the same way that Empress Dowager Ling did. She was also able to successfully establish herself as the bodhisattva Maitreya by using Buddhist texts known to Empress Dowager Ling and her court. She patronized the very same Buddhist structures as did Empress Dowager Ling, including the Buddhist caves at Longmen, just outside of Luoyang. However, she accomplished what Empress Dowager Ling could not – holding onto power successfully. I argue her success was possible because Empress Dowager Ling had paved the way. Stephanie Balkwill is an associate professor of Asian languages and cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Remembering China's Empress Dowager Ling, a Buddhist who paved the way for future female rulers
In sixth-century China, a woman known to history as Empress Dowager Ling ruled over an empire called the Northern Wei. Historians do not know her birth name or in what year she was born, but they do know that she served as empress dowager between 515 and 528. As the spouse of a ruling emperor prior to his death, she retained the title of empress dowager in her widowhood. She ruled on behalf of her young son, the heir to the throne; however, her regency was interrupted by a coup d'etat from 520 to 525. Although the empress dowager was expected to rule only as a regent, historical records indicate that she administered court in her own name. These same records also reveal that she adopted a personal pronoun – 'zhen 朕,' otherwise known as the Chinese 'royal we' – that was reserved for the exclusive use of the emperor. In my recent book, 'The Women Who Ruled China,' I offer an overview of these historical sources and records that document her life, including a translation of her biography retained in the official chronicle of the Northern Wei. Using these sources, I argue that even though the Empress Dowager's rule was problematic and short – resulting in her assassination – she laid the foundation for other, more successful female rulers across medieval East Asia. In the late fifth century, the capital city of the Northern Wei was moved from its northern location in modern-day Datong, China, to its southern location in Luoyang, a city at the very heart of Han Chinese culture and history; however, the people who ruled the empire were not ethnically Han Chinese. Known as the Taghbach, this group migrated south from the Mongolian steppe and ruled a multiethnic and multicultural empire from Luoyang, the world's largest city and the former capital of the Eastern Han dynasty. The Northern Wei empire adopted laws, institutions and policies from both Taghbach and Han Chinese traditions. This cultural hybridity enabled the empress dowager to rule directly: On one hand, the Chinese court system rooted in the Han dynasty had long included the position of empress dowager, even though none of the women who held it had ruled directly. On the other, Taghbach culture had no formal position of empress dowager prior to its adoption of court ranks in the Northern Wei, but it did have a long tradition of women in public life. These women served in the military and advised on political matters. Multiple sources of evidence indicate that Taghbach women had a high degree of personal autonomy and political power, with no source suggesting otherwise. A well-known story about Taghbach woman appears in the legend of Mulan, who is said to have dressed as a man so that she could serve in the military in place of her father. The Mulan legend is widely recounted in Chinese literature and inspired a fictional character in two Walt Disney movies based on the Chinese fable. As a historian of gender in this period, I believe that the Mulan legend does not accurately depict Taghbach women. Instead, it is a Chinese story that emphasizes a form of gender transgression that makes sense only within Chinese and Confucian culture. Unlike Chinese culture, Taghbach culture had long known women warriors who could ride horses and shoot arrows without concealing their gender. Empress Dowager Ling was not a warrior, but she embraced martial symbols of her own power that were available to women in Taghbach culture but not in Chinese culture. For example, she was an accomplished archer and famously drove her own horse cart, which was just as splendid and imposing as was the emperor's cart. In the Confucian culture of Han China, such actions were considered highly inappropriate for women, but Empress Dowager Ling carried them out while holding the Chinese title of empress dowager. Her rule, like her empire, was culturally hybrid. That blend of cultural traditions enabled her to take power in a way that neither Chinese nor Taghbach women had done before. By the time of the reign of the Northern Wei empire, both Taghbah and Chinese cultures had become deeply familiar with Buddhism, a religion that they had inherited from India in a long process of cultural exchange along the Silk Road. The empire had integrated methods of Buddhist statecraft into its own forms of governance. Simply put, what this meant was that the ruler of the empire legitimized his reign through Buddhism, portraying himself either as a Buddha or as a patron of Buddhists – their texts and institutions. This was a type of governance that was widely practiced in premodern East Asia. Even though Buddhist statecraft was widespread in the empress dowager's time, she was the first woman to directly legitimate her independent rule through Buddhism. As a patron of Buddhism, she commissioned majestic Buddhist architecture. Perhaps seen by her populace as a Buddhist figure herself, she symbolized her co-rule with her son by using a Buddhist visual motif of two Buddhas sitting side by side, a representation that came to be known as the rule by 'Two Sages,' meaning tandem rulers depicted in the guise of buddhas. The source for the image was the popular Buddhist text, the 'Lotus Sūtra.' She also attempted to put her own granddaughter on the throne after the death of her son. As I argue in my book, she did so by capitalizing on the idea that first her son, and then her granddaughter, were thought of as the bodhisattva Maitreya, a being of infinite compassion who is believed to be the future Buddha. Empress Dowager Ling was largely unsuccessful in her bid for power. Her rule was short and contested. She was murdered, and her empire was toppled within 13 years of her rule. For five of those years, she was not in power because of a coup d'etat. However, about 150 years after the assassination of the empress dowager, another woman would rise to rule China independently, this time taking the title of 'emperor.' That woman is known as Empress Wu, or Emperor Wu Zhao, and she is undoubtedly the most famous woman in all of Chinese history. Numerous historical sources attest to her life, work and rule. What those sources tell us, however, is that she ruled using the very same strategies as Empress Dowager Ling. Investing her own family heritage in distant links to the Taghbach, she also positioned herself as a 'Two Sage' ruler alongside the emperor in precisely the same way that Empress Dowager Ling did. She was also able to successfully establish herself as the bodhisattva Maitreya by using Buddhist texts known to Empress Dowager Ling and her court. She patronized the very same Buddhist structures as did Empress Dowager Ling, including the Buddhist caves at Longmen, just outside of Luoyang. However, she accomplished what Empress Dowager Ling could not – holding onto power successfully. I argue her success was possible because Empress Dowager Ling had paved the way. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Stephanie Balkwill, University of California, Los Angeles Read more: Chinese only introduced a feminine pronoun in the 1920s. Now, it might adopt a gender-inclusive one The Lotus Sutra − an ancient Buddhist scripture from the 3rd century − continues to have relevance today What the Buddhist text Therigatha teaches about women's enlightenment Stephanie Balkwill does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
