Sogdian Trishul
I recently learned that the Smithsonian Asia Gallery of Art in DC has one permanent gallery room dedicated to exhibits on the Sogdians in Xi’an, China. Before discussing the particular exhibits, I need to mention a short history of Sogdians and the reasons for my interest in these exhibits.
Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization, centered around the region between Amu Darya and Sur Darya. Sogdian civilization peaked between the 4th and 8th centuries. Sogdians were very much an integral part of the Silk Road Trade. Geographically, Sogdiana was at the center of the trade route. Xi’an in China is considered as the easternmost point of the trade route. Some Sogdian traders also settled in Xi’an during that period.
Current Uzbekistan territory in central Asia overlaps with much of Sogdiana. I had visited Uzbekistan last year. I had been to the Uzbekistan Silk Road cities on the UNESCO heritage sites list. I therefore was very much interested to visit the exhibit gallery.
I must however say that I was a bit disappointed. It was a small room with not that many interesting exhibits. But there was one rather large exhibit that caught my attention. It was an intricately carved funerary couch of a Sogdian from Xi’an. I noticed two carved sculptures at both ends of the couch. The sculpted figures were holding Trishuls or Tridents. I am familiar with the Hindu God Shiva, holding the Trishul. But I did not think that the sculpted figure was that of the God Shiva, based on other sculpture features. Subsequently, I did a bit of internet search. I learned that the Greek God Poseidon had a trident. But also the Chinese Taoist deities depict a trident. Sogdians themselves followed Mazdakism, an offshoot of Zoroastrianism, prevalent in Persia before Islam. I also learned that Zoroastrianism is believed to be an offshoot of Vedic Hinduism. Finally, the description next to the exhibit mentions that the exhibit had Buddhist and secular themes.
I believe that the sculptures have some religious symbolism, though I don’t know if they have the Greek, the Indian, the native Sogdian Mazdakian, the Chinese Taoist, or the Buddhist religious influence. In any case, to be clear, I am not that interested in ultimately which religious symbolism the sculptures carry. Moreover, I don’t particularly care much about the outward symbolism in any religion outside of its artistic value. I am sure that there are experts in this subject, who can decipher the exhibit with additional information and tell us precisely what particular religious symbolism the sculptures depict.
My pleasure in viewing the sculptures comes largely from my realization that any of the above religions’ influence is a possibility, based on my limited knowledge. All these religions were interconnected through the Silk Road trade and the Sogdians knew of them all. Religious ideas and thoughts, like other human civilization ideas, traveled through the Silk Road, not just the physical merchandise like silk. The sculptures could be evidence of that thought. With some exaggeration, I believe that I was having a close to religious experience in entertaining this thought.
