• Acta Via Serica
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.37-60
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• 2021

Before the tenth century, the dress of elite women in and around China often reflected "Han" Chinese fashions and preferences. In funerary paintings and relief sculptures of Sogdian and Xianbei couples from the sixth century, for example, women wear "Han" Chinese-style clothing. Even in the Tang dynasty (ca. 618-907), when exchange with Central Asia via overland Silk Road trade impacted the styles and patterning of elite dress and men incorporated clear Central Asian attributes into their dress, elite women in the Tang sphere wore recognizably Tang fashions. Chinese-style dress in these centuries clearly conveyed cultural import and, likely, political power, especially after the founding of the Tang dynasty. However, the straightforward borrowing of Tang women's dress shifted in the Khitan Liao dynasty (ca. 907-1125). The Liao, in contrast to other states that shared a border with China in previous centuries, saw themselves as political equals to the Song dynasty (ca. 960-1278) court in the south. The Liao court was interested in Song customs and culture and incorporated artistic motifs and practices from the Song court. However, the Liao courtly idiom was never fully subsumed into the greater world of the Song - rather, the Liao used facets of Song courtly culture for their own ends. One way this is manifested is through the dual administrative system, a bureaucratic organization that, among other things, regulated and distinguished between who was permitted to wear Khitan and non-Khitan dress. In this paper, I will examine the material evidence from funerary contexts for how the dress of elite Liao women both engaged with the dress of the Song, while also maintaining a certain amount of cultural autonomy. Through their dress, elite Liao women signaled clear messages about their status, identity, and difference to their Song counterparts.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.133-146
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• 2015

King and Crown Prince's Gwanbok (冠服) written in "Goryeosa" Yeobokji was the bestowment of robes and crowns by the Son of Heaven who yielded hegemony over East Asia. It designated the King and Crown Prince of Goryeo as real and authentic as well as confirmed the political status of Goryeo in East Asia. In "Goryeosa" Yeobokji, the King's Gwanbok is of higher stature than the adornments of the King's ritual robes (祭服) and court robes (朝服) which held a domestic political significance. In East Asia, bestowment of voiture (車) and robe (服) usually appeared in the multistate system. In the $10^{th}$ century, the Later Jin (後晋) spread the idea of investiture and bestowment to Khitan (契丹). The Liao (遼) or Khitan and the Jin (金), the Conquest Dynasties, endeavored to establish the legitimacy of the Son of Heaven by imitating Sinocentrism by means of investiture and bestowment. In the reign of XingZong (興宗) and DaoZong (道宗) of Liao, the ritual of investiture and bestowment for Goryeo was in the making, adding titles and bestowments in the occasion of the elevation of Emperor Liao's honorific title. King Munjong (文宗) of Goryeo reached 9-bestowment which symbolized the first of the feudal lords in East Asia. This exceptional respect for Goryeo went on to Jin's investiture and bestowment. From then, 9-bestowment was defined as an international decorum (禮) toward Goryeo. This historical study of Gwanbok (冠服) of "Goryeosa", indicates: First, the King's Ceremonial Robe with Nine-symbol Design were designated from the early to middle of the Goryeo Dynasty by investiture and bestowment from the Conquest Dynasties. Second, the bestowed King's Robe and Crown had simultaneous functions for domestic order and international order. Goryeo did not follow ideological Sinocentrism but followed practical interest by accepting Confucian Li (禮) philosophy passed on through the Conquest Dynasties.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.29-59
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• 2019

As 'a total social fact,' drinks and drinking may serve as a lens through which we can view a distant society. Although not frequently discussed, drinking vessels serve the same function for accessing a past world hidden or forgotten behind written records. The present article is an art history attempt to seek a cultural link between liquor vessels used in medieval Korea and the political and social change of the period. The Goryeo period (918-1392) saw an unprecedented abundance of drinking vessels in various forms and decorations. Goryeo artisans and craftsmen produced ewers, pitchers, flasks, bottles, and others in addition to the pre-existing shapes of vessels mainly consisting of jars and bowls. I argue that this sudden burst of creativity during the Goryeo period was closely related to Goryeo's constant and diverse contacts with foreign powers. Their zone of international connections was not confined to the Chinese world, as we have commonly presumed. Even before the Mongol intervention, Goryeo was in contact with regions beyond East Asia through the northern nomadic states. Khitan Liao was recorded as having worked as a kind of international intermediary to link the Chinese and Islamic worlds. This medieval global culture became a norm in Goryeo society when it became an important part of the Mongol Empire. These nomadic powers brought global trends to Goryeo, and foreign drinks were among them; kumis, araq, and grape wines are just three cases of them discussed in this article. The change of alcoholic drinks led to, or was accompanied by, a new range of drinking vessels. Three types of ewers, familiar to East Asian consumers but foreign in their origin, are discussed in the main text to highlight such social change. Three more cases of drinking cups are also presented. The article shows that medieval Korean society was far more open to international art and culture than our usual understanding, and in their drinking vessels, Goryeo culture embraced global trends reaching China, the Islamic world and Europe.