The Wanyan Digunai (Wanyan Zhong, Esikui) Funerary Complex in Primorye
https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.1.089-098
Abstract
The article outlines the findings of studies of a funerary complex beside the stone sculpture of a bixi turtle, discovered in 1893 on the territory of the mill of O.V. Lindholm in Primorye. The present research is based on unpublished diaries (from 1893 and 1894) of F.F. Busse, who carried out rescue excavations of the hill under the sculpture and unearthed a stone coffin buried nearby. A rounded stele top with 20 Chinese characters was found at the same place. The translation demonstrates that the burial was that of a prominent Jurchen military leader belonging to a noble Wanyan clan— Wanyan Digunai (Chinese name Wanyan Zhong, 完颜忠, known as Esikui/Asukui, 阿思魁). The burial was largely neglected, because scholars focused on translating and interpreting the inscription. The burial was believed to have been looted long ago, and Busse’s diaries remained unpublished. The focus of the present study, therefore, is to describe all available sources relating to Wanyan Digunai’s funerary complex. Based on the analysis of the excavation findings, features of the funerary rite are reconstructed. The architectural design and layout of the complex are shown to have followed the local East Asian tradition.
About the Author
N. G. ArtemievaRussian Federation
Pushkinskaya 89, Vladivostok, 690001
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Review
For citations:
Artemieva N.G. The Wanyan Digunai (Wanyan Zhong, Esikui) Funerary Complex in Primorye. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2024;52(1):89-98. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.1.089-098