Exchanges and Mutual Learning:A Social Life of All Ethnic Groups Living Together in Gaochang and Xizhou in the Tang Dynasty—A Case Study of Documents Unearthed in Turpan
Located at the heart of the Silk Road,Turpan has always been a place of ethnic convergence and integration since ancient times.In particular,during the period of Gaochang Kingdom and Xi Zhou Prefecture in Tang Dynasty,a large number of foreign ethnic groups were naturalized here and enrolled in the household register.By using the documents unearthed in Turpan,this paper investigates the social life of people of various ethnic groups from the as-pects of residence,production,marriage and belief.It can be seen that,at that time,the people of all ethnic groups lived together,shared roads and canals,joined in agricultural production and handicraft work,even intermarried with each other and changed religious belief,thus conducting exchanges with and mutual learning from each other.They are a typical epitome of multi-ethnic exchanges and integration on the Silk Road,and an important part of the plural-istic unity of the Chinese nation,which provides important cultural identity resources and psychological support for all ethnic groups in Xinjiang to foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.
Gaochangthe Unearthed Documents in TurpanSocial LifeEthnic CommunicationA Strong Sense of community for the Chinese nation