Situated at a longitude between 97 and 126 degrees east
and a latitude between 38 and 53 degrees north, Inner Mongolia is located to the north of
China proper. The area has a continental climate, with an annual precipitation of 50 to
450 millimeters. Great extremes are typical of the weather in Inner Mongolia.
At the dawn of the Neolithic Age, i.e., some 8,000 years ago, the
Hsing-lung-wa Culture emerged in the eastern part of the landlocked region, where people
based their economic life chiefly on primitive agriculture, fishing and hunting. The
carved stone figure of a goddess featured in the exhibition is possibly the earliest
object of worship in the form of a female goddess in China. Excavations in the area also
yielded a large number of jade objects that date to 3,000 B.C. or so. Characteristic of
the Hung-shan Culture, these relics are considered as significant as jade pieces of the
Approximately 3,500 years ago the climate began to change, gradually
turning Inner Mongolia into an area of vast grasslands. The nomadic tribes active on the
steppe were truly complex and diverse, and were identified by dwellers of the agricultural
culture in the south by a multitude of different names. Some of the names found in
classical Chinese historical literature include Kuei-fang, Hsien-yun, Jung-ti and
Hsiung-nu (known in the West as the Huns). Excavated artifacts such as the gold
hawk-shaped hat ornament and other metal ornaments with motifs of ferocious birds and
animals signify the brave and fierce nature of these northern tribes.
After the decline of the Hunnic domination, a host of other nomadic
groups rose to prominence in northern China. Presented in the exhibition are artifacts of
the tribes known as Wu-huan, Hsien-pei, Turks, Khitans, Jurchens and Mongols, who were but
a few of the peoples on the Mongolian steppe. Some of the tribes entered northern China
and set up imperial rule; others held power over both the steppe and the agricultural
south. On the other hand, whenever the Chinese governments felt strong enough to do so,
they tried to drive the nomadic herdsmen far to the north and solidified parts of Inner
Mongolia. In general, cultural exchange in Inner Mongolia over the last two thousand years
or so has been a constant and common force regardless of whether the region was ruled by
the Han Chinese or by the nomadic tribes.
More often than not the history of such cultural exchange is told
through the archeological finds themselves as an examination of artifacts from different
historical periods and from various tribal cultures so demonstrates. After all, the
northern tribes had over time absorbed the legacies of neighboring areas in the west and
in the south directly into their cultural domains. The Great Wall of China was erected as
a definite border to keep the nomads of the pastoral north away from the farmers of the
cultivated south. Traditionally, the Chinese have viewed their history only in terms of
the regions south of the Great Wall. However, if we were to remove this fence in our
perception, what kind of picture of the world would emerge? It is hoped that the present
exhibition will go some way towards answering part of this question.
Pre-Steppe Period (ca. 80th-16th century B.C.)
Around 1500 B.C. the climate of Inner Mongolia began to change,
gradually turning the area into a vast steppe land. The society that existed during the
four thousand years prior to the transformation was agriculturally based. To date, major
excavations in Inner Mongolia have been conducted in two areas, one in the southeast and
one in the central south, where archaeologists have unveiled many sites of distinctive
cultures. The Hung-shan Culture, for example, is best known for its exquisite jade
implements and carvings of human figures and deities.
Jung-ti and Tung-hu Period (ca. 14th-4th century B.C.)
Beginning in the middle of this period, the tribes on the Inner
Mongolian steppe began to adopt a nomadic lifestyle. Cultural relics are represented by
knives and daggers with decors of animal heads or with animal patterns, which have been
described as "Ordos-style." Also found are bronze ritual vessels of the Shang
and Chou Dynasties, which could have been brought from the Central Plains.
Hsiung-nu Period (ca. 3rd century B.C.-1st century)
Over the past 20 to 30 years, several Hsiung-nu burial sites have
been discovered in Inner Mongolia, and finds include belt buckles with animal patterns,
decorative plaques and animal-shaped bronze sculptures, apart from the bronze knives and
daggers made in the Ordos-style. To be sure, gold and silver pieces unearthed in certain
sites, along with objects with animal decors, have served to illustrate the cultural
interaction between the nomadic tribes on the eastern and western steppe.
Hsien-pei Period (ca. 2nd-5th century)
While relics of the Hsien-pei share the same characteristics with
works of animal themes and gold pieces of earlier cultures of the steppe, the gold
ornaments with decors of horse head and deer antlers featured in this exhibition are
rendered in a style not seen in the art of the Hsiung-nu. The Northern Wei was a dynasty
that ruled over both the steppe and the agricultural regions. Indeed, several artifacts
related to the agricultural society of the south are also presented in the exhibition.
T'u-chueh Period (ca. 6th-8th century)
Originated in the Altai Mountains, the T'u-chueh (Turks)
succeeded during this period in extending their territory to the area north of the Gobi
Desert and to Central Asia. The themes of the art of the Turks are a clear departure from
the culture of the Han Chinese as can be detected from the Turkic figurative stone
carving, the silver hu vessel decorated with the figure of a gilt Caucasian head and the
silver dish with the makara pattern on view in the exhibition.
Khitan Period (ca. 10th-12th century)
While the saddle ornaments, knives and whistling arrows all serve
to illustrate the culture of the Khitans, a good portion of the objects on view in this
section is made up of Liao ceramics. The design of the cockscomb-shaped hu vessels is in
effect taken from the style of the leather pouches used by the nomadic tribes to hold
water. On the other hand, the long-necked vase with a phoenix-shaped attachment exhibits a
flavor in line with Persian art.
Mongol Period (ca. 13th-14th century)
The culture of the Mongols is characterized by its multi-faceted,
pluralistic features. The gold works, Buddhist sculptures, ritual objects and certain
patterns on ceramics presented in the exhibition all reveal a strong affinity to Tibet and
Islam. That porcelains of some of the major kilns of China have been discovered in Inner
Mongolia serves to confirm that trade between the north and south was common during the
Mongol Empire and Yuan Dynasty. Finally, the exhibition also includes a few Mongolian
artifacts of the Ch'ing Dynasty.