从"车厢"到"基座"——都兰太阳神织锦图像的跨文化再造OA

The two pieces of sun god brocade unearthed from the Reshui M1 tomb in Dulan,Qinghai,present a similar yet distinctive visual configuration:according to scholarly research,the central deity is the Esoteric Buddhist"Sun Deity"(Rìtiān).However,the vehicle on which the deity is seated is not the chariot compartment familiar from Eurasian solar iconography,but rather a corbelled structure that widens toward the rear and contracts toward the front in successive tiers.In appearance,this form more closely resembles the corbelled bases commonly seen in Buddhist sculptures and stupa architecture.Through cross-cultural iconographic comparison,textile-technical analysis,and jacquard weaving experiments,this article investigates the visual rationale behind the transformation of this form from a"chariot"to a"base,"and traces its transmission path from the Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent and finally to the Tuyuhun domains in Qinghai.The D-shaped chariot of the Mediterranean world entered India via the Greco-Bactrian cultural sphere,where it was reinterpreted in Buddhist sites such as Sanchi and Bodh Gaya,ultimately becoming integrated into the imagery of the Indian solar deity Sūrya.As Buddhist sculptural traditions developed during the Kushan and Gupta periods,Sūrya's iconography shifted from a standing charioteer to a seated deity,with the corbelled base emerging as a new visual focus.This feature later became a defining component of the Esoteric Buddhist"Sun Deity"icon. The Buddhistized"Sun Deity"image spread to Sichuan through routes across Central Asia and the Southwest Silk Road.As a major center of Buddhist art and silk weaving from the Southern Dynasties to the Northern Dynasties,Chengdu possessed high-density warp-faced compound weave technology capable of translating three-dimensional corbelled structures into planar geometric patterns,thereby enabling the re-creation of foreign architectural forms within the textile medium.This article argues that the corbelled structure in the Dulan sun-god brocades is not a mechanical replication of foreign chariot forms,but a creative adaptation by Sichuanese weavers—an integration shaped by loom structure and Buddhist visual conventions.The cross-media regeneration of imagery—across textiles,murals,and sculpture—demonstrates the mechanisms of artistic transmission along the Silk Road,wherein visual motifs are deconstructed,recombined,and localized as they move across cultural terrains.The study highlights the pivotal roles of Qinghai and Sichuan in the exchange of visual cultures across Eurasia and underscores the importance of textile technology in shaping processes of image transformation.