An analysis of Six Dynasties (220-589) tombs from the Yangzi middle region (Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces)

• Applicant: Dr. Annette Kieser
• Subject Area: Asian Studies
• Term: from 2016 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 290606957

The past decades have seen a change of paradigm in Chinese archaeological research from focusing on cultural centers towards investigating individual regions. The results broaden our knowledge based on handed down historiography. For the time of the Six Dynasties (220 to 589), when the former unified empire was fragmented into several states, some under non-Chinese rule, a different approach not focusing on the center appears to be a very fruitful one. Especially the southern capital Jiankang (modern Nanjing) dominates as political and cultural heartland in the dynastic histories and is therefore in the focus of research until today. It is getting more and more evident, however, that especially the Yangzi middle region was of crucial importance to the history of the Six Dynasties. This was a populous zone of migration and interaction, where social groups different from the ones in the capital region were active. These were embattled regions close to the border, of high economic, political and military importance due to their strategic location at trade routes and traffic networks. In this region secondary centers evolved that often rivaled the capital Jiankang. By use of a systematic analysis of the material remains the project aims to broaden and reevaluate the picture of the Yangzi middle region (modern provinces of Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi), mainly reconstructed through historical sources and so far in the shadow of the research focusing on Jiankang. The project is based on archaeologically excavated Six Dynasties tombs from this region. Core questions in this regard are: In what ways does the archaeological evidence broaden the picture reconstructed from the written sources? Are the strategic region, social tensions as well as political development mirrored in the archaeological material? What can be deducted from an analysis of the burial culture of parts of the elite in a region shaped by such diverse tensions as outlined? The project will electronically collect and analyze the data presented in the excavation reports. Taking into account the written sources, the results will be put into historical context. Tombs from other southern regions, especially around the capital, will be used as reference material. This data has already been made accessible in a database compiled by the applicant. Aim of the project is to incorporate the archaeological evidence of the Yangzi middle regions into the handed-down picture of the history of the South during the Six Dynasties, and also an independent description of the burial culture of this area. The results will be published as a monograph.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants