بررسي نقش ها و بن مايه هاي ايراني شكار بر روي مقابر چيني و سغدي در عصر باستان و ارتباط آن با مفهوم «بهشت شي وانگ مو»

A study of Iranian Hunting Scenes and Motifs on the Ancient Chinese and Sogdian Tombs and its Relationship with the Concept of “Paradise of Xiwangmu

از جمله پركاربرد ترين بن مايه هاي هنري ايرانيان باستان د ر چين، نقوش شكار بر روي د يواره ها يا ظروف مقابر سلطنتي چيني و سغد ي است. د ر مقابر چيني هم چنين د يوارنگاره هايي حاوي نماد هاي الهۀ شي وانگ مو يا بهشت جاود ان قرار د ارند كه بين آنها و نقوش شكار بر روي د يواره ها د ر همان مقابر ارتباط مستقيمي وجود د ارد . اگرچه به آثار ايرانيان د ر چين پرد اخته شد ه اما پاسخي به د ليل استفاد ه از بن مايه هاي شكار به سبك پارتي يا ساساني د ر كنار الهۀ شي وانگ مو د ر مقابر چيني د اد ه نشد ه است. ازاين رو، مقاله حاضر بر آن است تا با روش توصيفي-تحليلي، ابتد ا چرايي حضور پررنگ مفاهيم شكار به سبك ايرانيان باستان د ر مقابر چيني را توضيح د هد و سپس به د ليل استفاد ه از همان بن مايه ها د ر مقابر سغد يان د ر چين بپرد ازد . بر طبق نظريۀ جاد وي شكار، به نظر مي رسد كاربرد نقش هاي شي وانگ مو و شكار د ر مقبره ها، شيوه اي جاد ويي براي رسيد ن متوفي به بهشت بود ه باشد . تصاوير پيروزي متوفي بر حيوانات شيطاني د ر واقع جاد ويي بود ه كه غلبه بر موجود ات شرور و رسيد ن به بهشت را تضمين مي كرد . اين سنت ابتد ا د ر مقابر چيني د يد ه شد و سپس به تد ريج، سغد يان نيز از آنها الگو گرفتند و از نقوش شكار و بن مايه هاي ايراني براي ترسيم زند گي پس از مرگ متوفي بهره برد ند .

Among the most widely used themes of Persian art in ancient China are hunting motifs on the walls or vessels of Chinese and Sogdian royal tombs. In Chinese tombs, there are also murals containing the symbols of the goddess Xiwangmu (西 王母) or eternal paradise, which are directly related to the hunting motifs on the walls in the same tombs. Although ancient Iranian cultural objects and elements in China have been studied, the reasons for use of hunting themes in Parthian or Sasanid fashions and reliefs of the goddess Shivangmo in Chinese tombs have not been studied. Therefore, the present article intends to use a descriptive-analytical method to first explain the presence of Iranian hunting concepts in Chinese tombs and then to discuss the use of the same themes in Sogdian tombs in China. According to “hunting magic”, the use of hunting in tombs seems to have been a magical way for the deceased to reach paradise. This tradition was first seen in Chinese tombs, and then gradually, Sogdians followed them and mixed hunting motifs with Persian cultural elements to depict the afterlife. Considering the variety of hunting images on Sassanid vessels and also the use of these motifs on Chinese and Sogdian tombs in China, which are mostly found near the city of Chang’an or Xi’an, the present article intends to examine these works in China and to consider whether the widespread use of hunting images and the use of Parthian and Sasanid style of hunting motifs in Chinese tombs is related to burial rites. In other words, was it the intention of the Chinese to use these unique motifs to depict the afterlife of their dead? The researcher claims that the Chinese people from the Parthian period were very interested in using the unique works of Iranians and it was new and attractive to them. This is especially evident in the ritual use of Iranian hunting motifs on the Chinese vessels and tombs. hunting imagery in these tombs depicted the route through the desolate spaces that were believed to exist between this world and the next. In addition to the Chinese Tombs, hunting scenes with Sassanid and Parthian fashions are also engraved on Sogdian tombs in late Sassanid period. As discussed, the inscriptions, historical and literary narratives, and images on tombs and vessels discovered in China suggest that the deceased tried to walk the difficult path between this world and the next, in order to reach the paradise of the goddess Xiwangmu. The connection of this goddess with hunting has caused her to be depicted in the tombs of the ancient Chinese from the beginning of the Han period. Parthian and Sassanid-style hunting symbols in Sogdian tombs also were ways of helping for the deceased to make his way to paradise. In other words, the ancient Sogdians learned from the Chinese and used hunting symbols on utensils or tombstones in order to help the deceased to walk the path to paradise by killing wild animals.