A Study Of The Fan Figurines Discovered In The Tombs Of The Tang Dynasty In Xi'an Area And Luoyang Area

The Fan figurines are the most typical of the cultural exchanges between China with the foreign regions among the burial goods of the tombs of the Tang Dynasty in Xi'an area and Luoyang area. So the academic circles have paid close attention to the Fan figurines over a long period. This article makes an attempt to probe the problems about the Fan figurines further on the basis of the new discoveries and achievements in recent year. Based on the difference on their hats or their hair styles, the Fan figurines are divided into three periods and 24 types in Xi'an area, and into three periods and 12 types in Luoyang area. The quantity, quality and types of Fan figurines are closely related to the status and families of the tombs' owners. The prototypes of Fan figurines reflect the populations of the foreign regions and their offspring in the actual world. This article presumes that the prototypes of Fan figurines come from Turfan, Sogdiana or the central Asia. The characters of Fan figurines are divided into two categories. One is the guard of honours. The other one is the servants, dancers and singers etc. The status of Fan figurines are mostly the slaves and maid-servants or the people of a lower social status than common people in the families of the noble, the officers, the merchant. The prototypes of Fan figurines origin from: the offsprings the captures etc. The development of Fan figurines epitomized the society of the Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline.