Research On The Ornamental Belt Plaque With Frame From The Warring States To The Western Han Periods

This thesis carried out a comprehensive study on the ornamental belt plaques with frame, based on the preceding research and systematically collected archaeological materials. It mainly depended on the materials from the scientific archaeological excavation, especially those in the central plains and southern areas, and also it referred to museum collections at home and abroad. Through comparatively analysis to the shapes and motifs of the belt plaques with regards to similar materials in the northern grassland, it tries to explore the influence of the northern steppe culture on the Central Plains and the South, as well as the cultural interaction between ancient China and contemporary foreign countries.The development of ornamental belt plaques with frame from Warring States to Western Han Period could be classified into three stages: from late Warring States to Qin Dynasty , the early and the middle Western Han Dynasty ,and the late Western Han Dynasty. The rectangle belt plaques in the Central Plains find their considerate amount counterparts in the South and the northern Steppe, while keeping similarity they also have some minor variations. Therefore this thesis summarized their common characteristics about shapes, materials, distribution, prevailing time, manufacture techniques, decoration, burial situations, etc. By analyzing several motifs of the ornamental belt plaques with frame, it explored the origins of some motifs such as the monster with hooked beak, hooked beak birds and animals whose quarters are overturned. It argues that they have connections with the Western Scythian - Altai art. The thesis also inquiries the diffusion process of this exotic art style from north China to south and their sinicization.Those tombs where the belt plaques unearthed belong to both Han people and the foreigners, thus we could deduce that they were not specifically applicable to any ethnic group.After discussing the tomb buried of a craftsman and the characteristics of belt plaques with frame, we propose that Xi'an was one production center, where a number of craftsmen constantly produced belt plaques from the Warring States to the Western Han Dynasty. Meanwhile, because of the special status and position of Nan Yue state, Guangzhou was another center during the Western Han Dynasty. The horseshoe-shaped blet plaques discovered in Yun Nan were probably local production too in terms of correlative archaeological materials.Through analysis on their frame characteristics and the postion in the tombs, we agreed with the popular point that most of the belt plaques with frame were functioned as buckle. However, we believe that the symbol of status, prestige and politics in them were more important, which is ignored by previous research.Through discussing the relationships between central plains and Hu ethnic group from the late Warring States to Qin period, the author believes that the belt plaques played a role in the historical process of Qin's unification. It acts as another "weapon" in the strategy of "affiliating with far states while attacking close ones."There were several reasons made those belt plaques popular in the Central Plains and the south and served as peacefully political symbol during the western Han Dynasty. First, the foreign policy in the Western Han Dynasty changes in terms of the relation between Han Empire and Xiong Nu. Second, people during the period sought novelty and yearned for God in the spirit. Last, the Western Han Empire weakened vassals' power to strengthen the central one.The introduction of Scythian ~ Altai art was related with Zhou and Qin's history between the Western and Eastern Zhou periods. In addition, it closely related with the nomadic people such as Xiong Nu ethnic group who lived in northern grasslands from the Warring states to the Western Han Dynasty.The rapid, large scale immigration of popualtion and its political, economic and cultural measures caused by Qin's unification war, as well as the immigration of ethnic groups along the frontier crescent-shaped cultural diffusion belt, plays an important role on the southward diffusion of the belt plaques.