HV27560384
CULTURAL HERITAGE - ANCIENT CAPITAL 6: THE PYRAMIDS OF THE WESTERN XIA EMPIRE
It is a customary practice for each Chinese dynasty to compile historical records of its predecessor, but nothing about the State of Western Xia is mentioned in the "Twenty-Four Histories" of China. There are claims that this is because Genghis Khan died during the invasion of the mighty empire, causing the Mongols to exact revenge by deliberately omitting its existence and only compiling the "History of Song", "History of Jin" and "History of Liao" after the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty. In any case, the lack of official historical records has led this feudal separatist regime, founded by the Dangxiang tribe (also known as the Tangut people), and which once stood alongside the Song, Liao, and Jin Dynasties for 200 years, to become a blur. At the same time, however, it has also given future generations infinite space to imagine its former beauty, as demonstrated in the creation of the fictional princess of Western Xia, Meng Gu, in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils by novelist Jin Yong.

Today, upon seeing the magnificent Western Xia Imperial Tombs on the Yinchuan Plain, one cannot help but marvel at the fact that such sophisticated architectural aesthetics existed in this border country established by nomads. Meanwhile, the mysterious Tangut script seems to have foreshadowed the restoration of the empire's history - Li Fanwen, a Tangutologist now in his seventies, has spent one-third of his life compiling a a Tangut-Chinese dictionary, the golden key to unlocking the literary treasure trove left behind by this ancient state.
DVD
25 minutes
2016
USD 500.00