Northern Wei Tombs in the Vicinity of Guyuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China

Abstract

Purpose of this article is to characterize the tombs of the Northern Wei period discovered in the vicinity of Guyuan City, analyze the specifics of the funeral rite of these complexes and define the factors that influenced its formation.Results. The possibility of studying the funeral rite of the Northern Wei period in Guyuan is limited by the small number of known complexes, the fragmentary nature of the materials that have reached our days due to tombs looting, and the lack of scientific publications on some complexes. The tombs known to date are not numerous (only seven tombs have been discovered so far), but varied in design features and the composition of the grave goods, which is explained by the chronological distance and differences in the ethnic and cultural identity and the social status of the tomb occupants. The earliest tombs near Shiwacun Village in Xinji Township show similarities to the tombs of the period of the Sixteen Barbarian States. The burials of ordinary Xianbei who moved to the Guyuan region after its conquest by the Northern Wei testify to the preservation of their own traditions and the insignificant influence of Chinese (Han) culture on their funerary practices.Conclusion. The funeral rite of the Northern Wei tombs in Guyuan, on the one hand, inherits the burials of the Sixteen Barbarian States era, on the other hand, serves as the basis for the funeral rite evolution of the subsequent periods of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou.