CHINESE CIVILISATION AND ITS AEGEAN AFFINITIES: A SUMMARY
This book, written in Greek, critically examines the view that China developed a complex society and high culture without external influence. It is here illustrated that contact and interaction did take place, based on mobility, migration and exchange processes mainly along the Eurasian Steppe Highway and the Silk Road. Not solely via the nomadic tribes but certainly through their agency as well, said interaction included the Mediterranean and Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, as well as Afanasevo and Andronovo cultural horizons. The Hellenistic civilization is shown to be a significant party in this cultural encounter, mainly through its local cultural hybrids of Greek–Bactrian and Greek-Indian polities! The use of gold and silver as preferred luxury materials and the appearance of realistic life-size sculptures are only indicative examples with a rather pronounced Greek dimension; the above, together with architecture, landscape painting, various jewellery techniques, martial arts, and so much more, all owe a great deal to the Aegean heritage.
Concluding remarks
The discovery of mummified remains in the Tarim Basin and the wider Xinjiang area as well as the relevant genetic study on them, confirm the settlement of non-Chinese races in the region since the beginning of the second millennium BC.[11_1] The genetic identity of these settlers has been determined as of European type while in many cases their origin was certified as emanating from the Eastern Mediterranean in particular.
On the other hand, it seems that major discoveries or innovations were introduced to China from abroad, mainly from the second half of the second pre-Christian millennium onwards. Xinjiang proves beyond any doubt not only as the area of interface with the external environment but also as a place where racial intermixing took place and where important innovations sprouted for the first time on Chinese soil.[11_2] Metalworking, the domesticated horse, the chariot, the domestic wheat are some of the elements that impregnated Chinese culture, in the field of its material culture, which are estimated to be connected to one degree or another with the Afanasevo and Andronovo cultural horizons. Religious, cosmological and other views and ideas also influenced and shaped the spiritual identity of this great civilization.
Today we know that Chinese culture developed in the framework of an interdependent world where influences and imposition were much stronger and more decisive than we previously thought. The opinion that China developed a high level of civilization devoid of external influences and that it has been the ‘cradle of civilization in the East’ is proving to be-in the first part - inaccurate. Rudyard Kipling's famous phrase:
East is east and west is west and never they will meet
is proven to be wrong by the facts: there was contact and interaction and in fact multiple, with the nomadic tribes of the Eurasian steppe, the Mediterranean, the Oxos and the Indus, up to the Hellenistic factor and its cultural hybrids in Bactria and India, and this communication and conciliation proved to be very fruitful!
Direct political or military contact of the Chinese with the Greek element is confirmed or considered probable for a few cases, despite the fact that the mythological tradition of Central Asia refers to the campaign of the Macedonian Shah-i-Duhan against the Chinese in the very old years![11_3] The oldest (? ) contact is placed during the reign of Emperor Wu when the latter succeeded in conquering and enslaving Dayuan (Greater Ionia?) and Alexandria Eskhata during the War for the Celestial Horses of the latter, in 104 - 102 BC.[11_4] Then, when an alliance of the Han with Hermaeus was reached in order to confront the Sakes of Jibin, with these relations being maintained, at times friendly and at times belligerent, until the dethronement of the Greek ruler. Also during the Battle of Talas in present-day Kyrgyzstan when Greeks seem to have fought in the Roman Apollinaris Legio XV (36 BC). Finally between 64 BC and 114 AD[11_5] Claudius Ptolemy, Ptol.Geogr.1.11.7, refers to the organization and execution on the part of the Macedonian Maes Titianos[11_6] of an exploratory and trade trip from the Mediterranean to the Stone Tower in Xinjiang,[11_7] and then unto the Chinese palaces of Emperor He.[11_8]
In the wider Eurasian region high civilizations flourished that influenced the Chinese, being in interdependence as a whole. In Central Asia during the Bronze Age, until the middle of the second millennium BC, the culture of Bactria - Margiana Archaeological Complex
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(BMAC) flourished, while in neighboring India the culture of the Indus Valley. Since the first external influences on emerging Chinese culture date back mainly after the decline of these cultures, any influence exerted by the latter could be linked to population movements from the BMAC and Indian centers, without ignoringin direct contact through trade relations or through the moving steppe pastoral populations from thesteppes.[11_9] Indeed the comparison of cloth prints on pottery originating on the one hand from the Begash (Seven Rivers Region, Semirechye East Kazakhstan, period 1600-1000 BC, and on the other hand by Gonur (of the period 2200-1800 BC), revealed that they were fabrics of the sametype.[11_10] It is estimated that this is a presumption for the existence of contacts and the diffusion of technologies with a source in the BMAC and mediators of the migrating pastoral populations with a temporary headquarters in Begash on the borders of China.
The same researchers, Doumani and Frachetti, also believe that the discovery of cloth-shaped pottery in Ferghana of the late second to early first millennium BC. may support the existence of a wider material base for the commercial networks in this region.[11_11] Moreover, recent research has revealed additional evidence of contact of the Oxus culture with the Qijia and Erlitou cultural circles, while the contact of the Chinese area with the Indian subcontinent and NE Asia have played an important role from the last pre-Christian centuries onwards.
Farther away were the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece, while the nomadic peoples of the wider region were not absent. Little is known about the mechanism of influence and their historical details, but from the result and further taking into account the findings of genetic research, we can assume that the greatest influence was exerted by population groups of European related descent originating from the two affiliated Asian cultures as well as from other population groups more or less influenced by them. The direct influence of Egyptian culture can be considered negligible,[11_12] due to the ‘endoscopic’ attitude of the latter, while the influence of Mesopotamia should also be considered indirect. In any case, however, we must not miss the fact that up to, at least, the borders of (later)China, that is, up to the Anau, the Bactria and the Indus River, as early as the third millennium BC there were trade routes that enabled the communication and dissemination of cultural elements, and even the creation of a commercial-cultural sphere from the Mediterranean to the Indus.[11_13] Given the performance of the Aegeans in trade, their involvement in this activity is highly probable, as they seem to confirm relative archaeological evidence. In this case, the relevant myths referring to the ancient campaigns of Dionysus and Hercules at the ends of the world may reflect real events. It has already been noted that from 2000 BC. Population
Fig. 11_1: Alexander the Great in his legendary ‘meeting’ with the King of China (Nizami Ganjavi – Walters W612307B)
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movements to China itself took place around the same time, while similar but older migrations are reported starting from present-day Kurdistan, Asia Minor, the Aegean to the area around Lake Urmia, to Bactria-Margian of the Oxus culture (BMAC)![11_14]
The creation of the Persian Empire expanded the borders of the known world and created further possibilities for the permanent or temporary settlement of Greeks, in large numbers - as a distinct community or as individuals - in distant parts of its territory and beyond. It is characteristic that Darius I during the sixth / fifth c. sent the Greek Skylax of Caryanda to explore the Asian coast across the Indus River, Hdt. 4.44.1-3, without necessarily being the oldest relevant exploration effort. Following this successful mission, Darius subdued the Indians and made use of their sea. The presence of the Greeks at least from the sixth / fifth century BC in various places is historically confirmed. Indeed, the highly educated Branchidae are said to have settled in Sogdia, Curt. 7.5.28-35 and Strab. 11.11.4, the Barceans in the Bark (Balkh) of Bactria, Hdt. 6,204, the Milesians in the Persian Gulf Ambe, Hdt. 6.20, the Eretrians in Cissian land of south Persia, Hdt.6.119.2,[11_15] while the diffusion of Ionian ideas in the wider region is undeniable, already from the time before Alexander the Great.[11_16] OK
Indirect or direct trade contact with India is presumed by Sappho's reference to cassia (cinnamon, Cinnamomum iners), Sapph.Supp.20c.2, most likely of Indian origin, while in Heraion of Samos dried flowers of the same plant have been found. parrots that live in this subcontinent.[11_17]{7_148} The Indian grammarian of Sanskrit Panini, who clearly lived before the Alexandrian era, also refers in his Grammar to Ionians, under the name Yavana,[11_18]{7_148a1} some of whom he apparently met during his tenure at the University.[11_19]{7_148a2} In the Buddhist work Majjhima Nikaya we have already mentioned that the existence in the Indian subcontinent of the Greek state, Yona, specifically Ionian, is also commented. Yona and neighboring Cambodia were located in northwestern India, and according to the scriptures they had a different social organization from the other Indian states, their inhabitants had foreign habits and were known for their horse-related abilities.
The presence of Greeks in various places in the Persian Empire is also noted as a result of the professional mobility of craftsmen, architects, jewelers and many other specialties within the Persian palaces or more broadly,[11_20]{11_17} as evidenced by a number of Greek inscriptions from the period of area, Iranica online sv EPIGRAPHY, ii. Greek inscriptions from ancient Iran. Enlightening in this case is the written text NN 2261 from which it is presumed that the mission of Greek technicians to Arachosia, in the context of their work led by the Persian palaces, and their return to the center.[11_21]{11_18} From the sixth / fifth c. BC. There are five engravings from the limestone quarries of Kūh-e Raḩmat near Persepolis, one of which bears the signature of a Pytharchos.[11_22]{11_19} A clay tablet from 500 BC. from Persepolis refers to the Persian measure of wine (marin). From Susa comes an early Milesian dedication to Apollo (sixth century BC) engraved on an ankle-shaped brass weight, which is believed to have been transferred from the Didymian sanctuary of Miletus in 494 BC and today is in the Louvre.[11_23]{11_20}
Of particular importance is a short inscription in Greek, coming from the Archive ofthe Fortifications of Persepolis,[11_24]{11_21} while the Greek indirect presence there is underlined bythe adoption of Greek coins for the stamping of clay tablets,[11_25]{11_22} but also the finding of the so-called those of the Greek world abounded![11_26]{11_23}
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We also add an inscription of Nichokles of Sinope belonging to the fourth c. BC or earlier. According to Rougemont, the total number of Greek inscriptions that have been discovered to date in the area defined to the west by Iran and to the east by the Indus Valleyamounts to a total of 157 texts.[11_27]{11_24}
Presumption of Greek expansion and presence in Bactria centuries before the Alexandrian campaign is a silver statue of a naked young man (kouros) with a conical head covering and a characteristic short head, as well as cast heads which are thought to be parts of similar statuettes.[11_28]{11_25}
These kouros and the busts are considered works of Greek craftmanship {sculpture}, while it should be emphasized that through these items local Greek sculpure appears already established in the area. The sculptures follow the Ionian canon, but have been executed on the spot and incorporate additional local influences. At this point it is important to note the view of the researcher Wiesehöfer for the coexistence in various positions of the Persian Empire of communities of different ethnic and religious backgrounds such as Greeks, Parthians, Iranians, etc. According to him, the coexistence of these communities for a long time before the Alexandrian invasion and the arrival of Greek settlers had already set in motion a variety of intercultural processes which included art, ideas, the comparative formation of religious faith, etc.[11_29]{11_26} Without no doubt such processes intensified after the Alexandrian conquest, the colonization and the formation of Greek or hybrid states by his descendants. It is in the context of these processes that works of art of the Greek spirit such as the aforementioned combining local elements can be produced in this very early period. The 'high' dating of this kouros, of Greek inspiration and craftmanship (?), is also supported by the finding in various remote parts of the Empire, of treasure coins with a strong Greek correlation.[11_30]{11_27} Among them we may cite those from Persepolis, Ecbatana (Malayer),[11_31] Kabul,[11_32] Mir Zakah,[11_33] {11_30}Ai Khanoum and Balkh, with the latter, discovered at the site of the ancient Barca (Βάρκη), is the most important, from the point of view examined here.
It is characteristic that the above-mentioned treasure of the capital of Bactria contained more than 170 coins, most of which Athenian, the collection also does not include pieces from Aegina, Vergi or Liti[11_34] {11_31}and other parts of Thrace and Macedonia. The discovery of these
Fig. 11_2: Brass model weight from Susa bearing dedication to Greek
Fig. 11_3: Silver statuette of kouros from the treasure of Oxus
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Greek coins in such remote areas, and especially in Bactria, during the Achaemenid period is a result of the Greek influence there before the campaign of Alexander the Great. Indeed, according to Holt, the publication - circulation of copies of Athenian tetradrachms (glaux) in Bactria since the early Hellenistic period is not simply due to Greek colonization, but was the result of the efforts of the first Hellenistic satraps in the region (such as Stasanor and then Sophytos?) to provide a currency that was already familiar and accepted by both the natives and the settlers.[11_35] {11_32}However, the circulation as a medium of exchange of Greek coins found in treasures in various parts of the Empire is not confirmed in all cases. In fact, the last, at least, use of these of Persepolis seems to have been made for ritual purposes, since they were part of the foundation deposits of the palace.[11_36]{11_33}
The kouros and the heads are considered part of the treasure of the Oxus temple (Takht-i Sangin), and for their functionality and symbolism by the eminent archaeologist Kuzmina, interesting hypotheses have been made, with the most striking one connecting the artifacts with the worship of the related deities of Mithra and Dionysus which at this time are said to have merged! To this extent, this dissemination included the acceptance of the relevant symbolic content.
However, at least in India Dionysus joined the Buddhist pantheon, while the acceptance of Hercules (Vajrapani), Fortune (Hariti), Zeus (Indra), North and Athena was similar. Like the Scythians of Pontus, the Cossacks in turn accepted a series of Greek gods, whom they depicted on their coins (Hercules, Zeus, Nike, Sun, Moon, Dioscuri, etc.), while others matched their counterparts with similar ones. characteristics (Oado / Vata - Wind, North).[11_38] Thus the North who with his cloak full of winds threatens to grab Oreithyia, Plat. Phaedrus 229b —230a, seems to be copied in a Buddhist relief of the Oado of Gandharan art, while it survives much later as a model of the Japanese god of wind in the sacred Myouhouin Temple (Kyoto).[11_39]
Fig. 11_4: The god of the wind: Boreas (art of Gandhara, Hadda, left), God of the wind from the Kizil of the Tarim basin (7th century, middle). God of the wind Fujin (Japan,17th century, right)
The inclusion of a distinct 'Greek' component in the religious consciousness of thepeoples of Asia concerned other races as well, such as the Isidones (Wusun?), The Sakes, etc., and emerged as a result of the strong influence of the Hellenistic period and the survival of strong Greek communities or discrete individuals of increased influence in the societies of the time. It is characteristic that in the Kushan period of Gandharan art the god of war Skanda -
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Mars is represented with Greek war dependence, implying a corresponding correlation and possibly referring to the existing Greek community in their territory.[11_40] In his article Skupniewicz examines infantry warriors appearing in the art of Gandhara during the Kushan period. The warriors are depicted as a local mutation of the supporters of the Hellenistic period (shield-bearers with spears), having wings and armor of the trunk covered with rhombuses or with staggered decoration. This may mean that Skanda (son of Shiva and god of war), often depicted with the above war addiction, was associated with the Greek population outside the caste system (Varna). The depiction of the god Skanda-Kartikeya as a hoplite - supporter -Mars - Mars may indicate the important role of the Greeks in the military history of the Cossacks, but it could also refer to the situation of the Yavana themselves, people not integrated into the caste system, but nevertheless valuable warriors or kshatriya. Therefore Skanda can not only be a deity of war, equivalent to Mars, but also, as an external child, a powerful wicked god, corresponding to the social position of the Greeks.
The shamanistic character of Asian races, where the use of psychoactive substances was adopted to promote ecstasy, was a bridge that facilitated the spread of Dionysian worship over a wide continent. Aspects of the Dionysian ritual associating the god with death and rebirth made it possible to merge his worship with that of other deities with similar references, accomplishing what we might figuratively call Dionysus' triumph! Fundamental human needs such as the idea of the son rescuing his mother from the Underworld or, more generally, the desire to reunite with loved ones who were lost[11_41] met their similarities in different places and times helping to create a relaxed religious community that the possibility for individual races and communities to specialize their theological beliefs without straying from the developed Asian religious common ground. In this cultural - religious land Dionysus can alternate with Mithras or Apollo and Virgo can be represented by Athena or Anahita, while wine can take the place of psychotropic substances leading to ecstasy and transcendence of everyday life. .. At this point we consider it appropriate to reiterate Kuzmina's view on the spread and prevalence over a wide geographical area through the comparison of the Dionysian cult, a position that is not abandoned and the views of Carey.[11_42]
In the same Eurasian region, the expressions of the Dionysian theme with its various components abound Maenads, Medusa, apotropaic heads, eros (putto), Silenus, satyrs, panthers and dragons were generously adopted in religious, burial or other environments between the Greek cities of the Black Sea, in the tombs of the Scythians / Sakas, of the Issedones, from the Chinese mainland! After all, Francfort, studying the 'art of the steppe south of Taklamakan', proclaims the existence of an artistic common in Central Asia.[11_43] Accordingly, Trousdale, in his study of the long sword of the nomads, has argued that after the conquests of Alex in large parts of western and central Asia a degree of homogeneity was restored between racially and linguistically distinct peoples.[11_44]
Hellenistic syncretism on a practical level of worship was basically a means of promoting mutual recognition between the gods of different ethnic groups and did not always involve changes in their fundamental belief in traditional deities, while at the same time being a mechanism for assimilation and naturalization of potential religions.[11_45] On the other hand, it has been argued that in the Hellenistic world and then the Greco-Roman polytheism was characterized by a multiplicity of characteristics and symbols of deities which were recognized
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differently by each group, but their exchange was unimpeded, so that as loans they were incorporated into a new framework without much difficulty.[11_46]
Based on the Greek legends, on the reports of the Greeks before the time of Alexander the Great, but also on the archaeological data, we can reasonably assume that there were ancient contacts between the Aegean and the Indus. Of course, the expansion of the Macedonians of Alexander the Great was, until the time of the descendants, the preeminent period when Hellenism met the local traditions of Asia and North Africa, resulting in the fertilization of vast areas with the Greek spirit and the creation of special cultural idioms by merging with domestic elements (comparative).[11_47] Especially for China, considered as the cultural bond of Greece in the East, the contact with Greek culture during the Alexandrian period was decisive, among other things because it coincided with the unification phase. of the country for the first time and the building of a national identity, common among the warring parties and tribes until then.
After the decline of the Persian Empire and the emergence of Alexander the Great and his descendants, the Greek influence in China strengthened, while the influence of a number of nomadic tribes was also significant. After all, the transport of goods for commercial purposes had one or more intermediate stations,[11_48] involving more factors. Among them, the bloodthirsty Scythians and the Parthians, more or less carriers of the Greek cultural idiom themselves, also functioned as intermediate belts for the transmission of Greek and other influences. Indeed, the Scythians, being in close contact with the Greek element in the Black Sea and elsewhere, [11_49] as well as with the Middle Eastand the Iranian populations, absorbed influences, often Greek, and subsequently transmittedthem.[11_50]
Greeks and Scythians came into close contact mainly in the Black Sea, where they coexisted in the Greek colonies there, maintaining relations which changed from friendly to hostile - warlike. The case of the Scythian Anacharsis is typical, who, Greek from his mother, during the sixth c. e.g. received the rights of an Athenian citizen while he is said to have been ranked among the seven sages. Later, however, while in one case the Scythian king Ateas asked for and received the military aid of the Macedonians of Philip II,[11_51] in another case the relations reached a rupture resulting in the conflict and the death of Ateas! [11_52] In a later time Alexander the Great Darius will also face Sakes' allies, Arr. An. 3.11.4, while then after his domination the Scythians (Avioo, Il. 13.6) will treat him friendly, Arr. An. 4.1.1. Finally, the Macedonians will come into conflict with the Sakas in the area of present-day Afghanistan, competing for control of Jibin![11_53]
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Tsetskhladze's view is significant in this respect that the royal tombs of the Scythians were the work of Greeks, a position which is based on their close resemblance to the tombs of the rulers and aristocrats of the Bosporus kingdom![11_54] From this point of view, the expression ‘Nomadic Culture - Greek Style’ is indicative, which has been adopted by Feltham in a relevantarticle.[11_55]
The Parthians, on the other hand, establishing their power in the eastern part of ancient Seleucia as early as 246 BC, adopted - accepted the Hellenistic cultural heritage prevailing there, due to their cultural backwardness on the one hand, but also for reasons political interest, that is, to persuade the Greeks at home and abroad but also in order to gain their favor andacceptance.[11_56] Thus the existence of Greek settlements under the hegemony of the Arsakids is not at all reminiscent of that of nationally clean islands in a hostile environment, having – on the contrary - multiple aspects of cooperation and conflicts.[11_57]
However, inscriptions of the Parthians in the Greek language have been excavated from various places (Bīsotūn, Susa, Nisa,Awraman etc.), Iranica online sv EPIGRAPHY, ii. Greek inscriptions from ancient Iran,Iranica online s.v. AVROMAN DOCUMENTS.
It is worth mentioning here the unconventional view that the contact of the Greeks with China had taken place as early as the seventh century BC, with this version being based on a controversial interpretation of a passage by Herodotus, Hdt.4.13. 1.[11_58] The expansion of the Macedonians in Bactria and Central Asia was generally accompanied by the establishment of a large number of Greek-style cities, which served multiple purposes, namely military, administrative, commercial and communication. Strabo's reference, Strab.15.1.3, to the 'landof a thousand cities' underlines the unprecedented urbanization that took place there in the context of Greek colonization, with the result that the newly established cities became important cultural centers for the spread of Greek traditions. and acceleration of developments.[11_59] It is noted that the Hellenistic cities had walls, gyms, theaters, statues, inscriptions, while in them survived myths such as the Trojan cycle and flourished Greek ideas about philosophy and religion.[11_60]
According to the Shiji archives, dozens of Hellenistic cities are noted in Dayuan(Ferghana) inhabited by several hundred thousand people, the same was not true of Parthia.[11_61]The Hellenistic Common which was used in the administration, among the numerous Greeks but also by the Hellenists, was a means of conveying ideas and influence, its use does not seem to have spread widely, both in space and, above all, in time. Half a millennium later, the Buddhist monk Zhang Qian traveled to Bactria where he found that the use of the Greek alphabet continued,[11_62] the writing had a horizontal direction and even to the right, while he made similar remarks for the region of Anxi (Parthia). In fact, it is estimated that Parthia had probably procured the high quality parchments from Pergamon, Plin. Nat. 13.21, and on some such piece Zhang Qian may have seen Greek written down for the first time![11_63]{11_68}
Greek was also used by the Indian Empire of Maurya, as can be seen from a relevant inscription by Ashoka (c. 250 BC).{11_69} Worthy of note in this regard are two inscriptions - decrees in Greek from Kandahar (Alexandria in Arachosia?) of same period, where Ashoka addresses the Greeks of his territory.{11_70} In fact, in his XIII inscription, Ashoka refers to four Macedonian kings (Antiochus II Theo in Syria, Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt, Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia and Maga of Cyrene) as diplomatic and politically equal, embracing dharma, the idea of justice - piety - natural law.{11_71} Without the possibility to further analyze the particularly interesting topic, we proceed here to simply point out the contribution of the Greek spirit to the formation of Buddhism and the crystallization of the concept of Maitreyia, a subject for which an extensive bibliography is already available!{11_72} From Alexandria in Arachosia (Kandahar: Alexandria >> Iskanderiya >>Kandahar) comes, moreover, a fragment of a votive inscription of the son of Aristonaktos, dating from the period of Greek rule, ie before Ashoka.[11_68]{11_73} The inscription, in fact, has been
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claimed to be related to the mosque in honor of Alexander the Great,[11_69]{11_74} although objections have been raised.[11_70]{11_75}
In any case, the influence of the Greek element becomes decisive from the Alexandrian period onwards, both through the contacts from Ferghana and Khotan, and indirectly through Indian influences. The introduction of Buddhism in China from India, creates another channel of Greek,[11_71]{11_76} in part, influence in China, given the Greek - Buddhist character of the latter. The (Greek) Roman and Byzantine Empires,[11_72]{11_77} thereafter, will keep in touch with the West alive, and interactions will continue to the benefit of both sides.
Western influences in China are admittedly numerous and important, but distinguishing Aegean or Greek from them is difficult and in most cases controversial. However, architecture (especially burial and monumental), the use of gold and silver as preferred luxury materials, the various jewelry techniques (granulation, forging, impact technique - repoussé, sculpting, polishing - gold embroidery - fligree),[11_78] the development of painting landscape and the adoption of innovations in painting, the appearance of sculptures of realistic nude figures in real size, the craft of glass and beads, various innovations of war technology,[11_79] wrestling and sports activities in general and so many other characteristics have a more or less intense Greek dimension and owe many in the Aegean factor, other times as a result of direct contact and other - most - from transportation through the nomads .. Besides very successfully Arnold Toynby has historically likened the steppe to the sea,[11_80] while the horse and the camel can be considered as the parallels of naval vessels!
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK CHINESE CIVILISATION AND ITS AEGEAN AFFINITIES by Dimitrios N. Konidaris, Distributed by Amazon in e-book or printed version
Western influences in China are generally acknowledged to be many and important, but distinguishing the Aegean or Greek from them is difficult and in most cases controversial. However, the architecture (especially funerary and monumental), the use of gold and silver as preferred luxury materials, the various jewelry making techniques (coking, hammering, repoussé, chiselling, polishing, gold embroidery - filigree),11_78 the development of painting landscape and the adoption of innovations in painting, the appearance of sculptures of life-size realistic nude figures, glass and beadwork, various innovations in war technology,11_79 wrestling and athletic activities in general and so many other features have a more or less strongly Greek dimension and they owe a lot to the Aegean factor, sometimes as a result of direct contact and other times - mostly - from transport through the nomads .. After all, Arnold Toynby has very successfully likened the steppe to the sea from a historical point of view,11_80 while the horse and the camel they can be considered as the parallels of naval vessels!
(2) (PDF) Concluding remarks (excerpt in English from CHINESE CIVILISATION AND ITS AEGEAN AFFINITIES. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344606343_Concluding_remarks_excerpt_in_English_from_CHINESE_CIVILISATION_AND_ITS_AEGEAN_AFFINITIES [accessed Oct 20 2023].
