The Style of Hunni Blowing in Chang"an City

Liang+Qin

If you came to Chang'an， the capital of Tang Dynasty， you would be amazed by the prosperity and richness， and shocked by the "international style" here： you would see many Hunni from the Western Regions， had many exotic delicacies and appreciated music and dance of the Western Regions. Blowing of the style of Hunni was attribute to the Silk Road. As the political and cultural center as well as the starting point of the Silk Road， Chang'an had frequent exchanges with countries in the Western Regions， and all aspects of basic necessities of life had also been greatly impacted.

The three-color glazed camel carrying musicians collected by National Museum of China skillfully exaggerates the ratio of people to the camel， performs one program of acrobatics in Chang'an， in which there are three Hunnis from the Western Regions and two Han people， reflecting the harmonious relationship between outsiders in Chang'an and Han people.

Visitors afar getting together in Chang'an

Every day， when the drum at the Gate of Heavenly Peace began， Mingde Gate would be opened slowly， people of Tang Dynasty， Hu merchants， and envoys outside Chang'an entered Chang'an in succession. Walking on wide Suzaku Avenue， you're likely to see high-nose and deep-eye Hu merchants wearing high steeple top hats on head and wide lapel clothing bringing many exotic treasures， such as ivories， rhinoceros horns， agates， amber， aurin （a white gem） and a variety of glassware via the Silk Road.

You might be able to remain calm when you see Hu merchants， but please keep calm when you see Kunlun slaves with had dark skin and curly hair who were said to come from Indies， and dwarfs， a kind of tribute paid by Samarkand （located in Uzbekistan）. In short， you would see a lot of visitors afar full of exotic features in Chang'an .

Tang Dynasty implemented enlightened national and foreign policies， and set up specialized diplomatic organ， Court of State Ceremonials and guest welcoming house and concierge institute to receive foreign guests， and be in charge of foreign matters， as well as provide food for envoys coming to Tang Dynasty. In the 25th year of Kaiyuan reign of Tang Dynasty， preferential policies had also developed to attract alien immigration， including eliminating tax for immigration for ten years. Preferential treatment was also given to the foreign students studying in Tang Dynasty， including subsidizing the cost of everyday life， providing bedding and clothing for the four seasons， and even allowing them study in the Imperial College， school of four gates and other first-class schools， making the local students envious. A whole set of policies in Tang Dynasty had attracted a number of people from neighboring nations and surrounding countries， making Chang'an become the one of the world and international metropolis for exchanges of East Asian civilization.

Imitating the clothing and makeup of women from the Western Regions

Walking on Suzaku Avenue， not only people of other nations wearing bizarre clothing， but also fashionable beauties of Tang Dynasty could be seen. In the open environment of Tang Dynasty， women were out of their boudoirs， and changed clothing and makeup constantly under the influence of foreign national style. You would seem some noblewomen on horseback appearing on street， the horse might be "pony" paid in tribute by Silla （a country of ancient Korean peninsula） enjoyed and ridden by the noble exclusively.

Women wore "Mili" which was originally the clothing of women from northwest minorities， and was a bamboo hat shaped scarf hat worn by women popular in Tuyuhun Kingdom， and had wide brim with long veil falling down to cover the whole body. "Mili" was mainly prevalent in the north of Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty， and had been gradually replaced by "curtain hat" after Yonghui reign of Tang Dynasty （650-655）. "Curtain hat" came from the Western Regions， was also bamboo hat shaped， but it's veils was very short so that only face could be covered. "Mili" faded away thoroughly and "curtain hat" prevailed for a time until the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty. However， "curtain hat" was no longer popular during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty， women began to wear Hu caps with the top pointed， upturned cap lugs， and fur or felt originally worn by people in the Western Regions or Tibetans. Then later， women were not even wearing hats， instead， they traveled with the topknot exposed.

Besides hat， beauties of Tang Dynasty also chased fashion in other areas： clothing including silk short embroidered cape from Persia （Iran today）， long skirt hat from Tocharians， and tapered dress from Uyghur， which were popular in different periods. In terms of makeup， due to the influence by Tibetan Empire， the makeup of no rouge and powder on both cheeks， and black lips was popular with women during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty.

A great many of

exotic dishes

When you come to Chang'an， never miss the chance to taste food from the Western Regions. The most common food from the Western Regions in Tang Dynasty was Hu cakes and Biluo. There are a variety of Hu cakes， including cottage pudding， deep-fried dough cake， meat pie， sesame cake， etc. "Gulouzi" is a big meat pie. ?Cooking method of "Gulouzi" is to evenly distribute one catty of mutton on a big Hu cake， add pepper and fermented soya beans between the cake and the mutton， moisten with crisco shortening， and then bake it in stove. Hu cake was widely popular with Han people， there were two carriages of Hu cakes among the food prepared for the voyage by famous Monk Jianzhen in Tang Dynasty when he traveled to Japan.

Besides Hu cakes， Biluo， another cooked wheaten food with fillings was very popular， it could be steamed and baked， similar to steamed stuffed bun today. When Biluo was initially introduced in China， garlic was added in the fillings， so it was pungent in taste， but it had a lot of different tastes， for example， cherry Biluo， the filling was cherry. It was said that when Biluo was cooked by skillful persons， the color of the cherry could ?remain unchanged.

If you do not want to eat cooked wheaten food， and you want vegetables， then you are suggested to try the vegetables newly introduced by Tang Dynasty. Spinach， preserved szechuan pickle， seselopsis tianschanicum， gandena， etc. introduced from Nepal today were very popular. Spinach initially originated Persia， so alchemists also called it "Persian grass". Preserved szechuan pickle is a variant of mustard， originated in Nepal， was introduced into China in Tang Dynasty. Seselopsis tianschanicum is a western variety， and it is said that it has a special flavor. Gandena is a onion shaped white plant， and its Chinese name may be the transliteration of gandena in Middle Persian.

When having a dish， you may taste strange because sugar， pepper and other spices had been introduced to Tang Dynasty from abroad. Emperor Taizong and Gaozong had sent people to India to study sugar refining method， so people in Tang Dynasty had learned the skills of manufacturing brown sugar and white granulated sugar.

You could also taste the exotic feeling in pubs operated by Hunni from the Western Regions， and could meet Li Po， Wang Wei， and other famous poets. The pub had wine from Chotscho （a Buddhist country established in the Western Regions by the Han nationality）， Sanajon and Longgao wine， etc. from Persia.

Enjoying conviviality

and Hu dance

in Chang'an

Living in Chang'an， your entertainment would be very colorful. You could listen to conviviality， watch Hu dance or magic show， how comfortable it was！

In terms of music， conviviality of Tang Dynasty had evolved into ten musics on the basis of nine musics， i.e. conviviality， Qingshang Music （traditional old music since the Han and Wei Dynasty）， Xiliang Music， India Music， Komagaku， Qiuci Music， Anguo Music， Shule Mucic， Kangguo Music， and Gaochang Music. Among the ten musics， India Music， Anguo Music and Kangguo Music were music introduced from the Western Regions in the west of Pamirs， and had strong exotic features. Besides listening to music， you could enjoy dance which could be divided into vigorous dance and gentle dance depending on the music style. The most popular vigorous dances， such as Huxuan Dance， Zhezhi Dance， Huteng Dance， etc. came from Central Asia. Huxuan Dance was derived from Samarkand in the Western Regions， characterized by light movement at the beginning， spinning rapidly， and distinct rhythm. Yang Yuhuan and An Lushan were good at dancing Huxuan. Likely coming from Chaj in the Western Regions， Huteng Dance was characterized by "curveting". Like Huteng Dance， Zhezhi Dance was also from Chaj in the Western Regions， characterized by rich dancer's postures， vigorous， sprightly， and graceful style. When dancing Zhezhi Dance， the dancers worn Hu caps with golden bells. Quick and complicated tap dance made the golden bells ring.

In addition， you could see thrilling magic show， the performers could breath fires， dance on the blade， and even make the dead tree bloom. If you're timid， you'd better not watch some magics， such as the magic that the Indian actors stabbing themselves with knives， suspected of self-mutilation.

Playing introduced

polo was very happy

In Tang Dynasty， a sport was popular with the upper class， that was Dakyu， also known as playing polo. The origin of this sport remains controversial， one argument is that it came from Persia， called "Persian ball" or "Polo Ball" in ancient times. When playing， the sportsmen ride horses and hit the ball with sticks， the ball is fist-sized， light and tough， hollow， and colored outside. A lot of polo fields were built in Chang'an City， not only in residential districts， but also in Daming Palace. The polo fields should be smooth， so the balls can move quickly， and horses can run fast， therefore， polo lovers having economic strength will pour the ground with oil.

Polo is not an ordinary physical exercise， more like a simulated war requiring the combination of resourcefulness and teamwork. In the era of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty， Tang Dynasty had a breathtaking polo match with Tibetan Empire taking advantage of the opportunity that ?Princess Jincheng married into Tibetan Empire. Both sides， riding horses with crescent-shaped ball rod in hand， had a fierce competition. Tibetan Empire won in the first several rounds， which made Emperor Zhongzong seating on the stand lose face， finally， Li Yong， the king of Siguo， Yang Shenjiao， son-in-law of Emperor Zhongzong， Wu Tingxiu led by Li Longji， the king of Linzi City， defeated the polo ball team of Tibetan Empire and won the honor for Tang Dynasty. Li Longji， the king of Linzi City， was Emperor Xuanzong later who loved polo very much since he was a child， and there was a ballad saying "Li Longji was disheveled， often played polo and forgot to return the Palace when he was a child". After ascending the throne， Emperor Li Longji was still addicted to playing polo ball， and even issued a imperial edict to order the army to practice play polo ball， which greatly promoted the prevalence of the polo ball.

The Silk Road was a large artery for the economic and cultural exchanges between the east and the west， continued to inject fresh blood for Chang'an of Tang Dynasty. And as an international metropolis， Chang'an absorbed and blended cultures from various regions with its tolerance and open-mindedness， and made these exotic cultures a part of its rich life， leaving an indelible mark in history.