The history of Changzhi reveals a long succession of cultural influences. The xiaochenqiang inscription, dated about 1500 BC, records the encounter of Indo-Aryan nomadic tribes with the early Chinese in this region.
In 386 AD the Tuoba, one of the major Xianbei clans, founded the Northern Wei dynasty and migrated to Pingcheng (near present-day Datong, in Shanxi), where they established their capital.
The Silk Road was extended eastward to Pingcheng, which became the economic and cultural centre linking Western Asia and China. The exuberant richness and variety of the early Tang period are displayed in the grey pottery figurines excavated at Changzhi in Shanxi province, initially in 1954 and again within the last two years.
Many are horses (prancing, drinking, walking, standing, or with their heads up in the clouds) and their riders often have the features of minorities or foreigners. These pieces embody the mix of Eastern and Western cultures, as well as an individualism unique in Chinese history. Particularly characteristic are terracotta figures of camels and riders, some pieces more than a metre in height, as well as figures of grooms, warriors and guardian beasts. An early Tang pottery camel with rider, 100cm in height, gained a hammer price of US$412,750 (HK$3.2 million) in an auction last March at Christie's, New York, but the historical significance of these terracottas is clear in the power and beauty of the pieces themselves.
