Objects of Fascination: Encountering Six Dynasties China through Material Culture

Material culture—images, built spaces, and objects—can open extraordinary windows into the past. This is especially true when exploring China’s Six Dynasties period (220–589 CE). The Six Dynasties was a time of fragmentation. In the south, there was a rapid succession of dynasties while, in the north, invading nomads competed with Chinese in establishing kingdoms and dynasties. Though often remembered as a time of warfare and disruption, material culture shows that it was also a time of cultural exchanges and innovation. Political power in the Chinese heartland was fragmented and ever-changing. In this shifting political landscape, the northwestern frontier stood at the vanguard of new ideas. Here, small tomb paintings from the Hexi (huh-see) Corridor demonstrate how people mixed Chinese and nomadic customs. Mistakes in a wine vessel from nearby Ningxia (nee-ing see-ah) reveal how the introduction of foreign crafts transformed entire industries, and stone funerary structures illustrate in nearly cinematic detail how a foreign culture established itself in China. Objects and images stand ready to give direct testimony about individuals and groups who were not necessarily prominent but whose experiences, perceptions, and interactions shaped history.