Verification of Ethnic Exchanges: Official Seal of Lord Fanyang and Gilded Bronze Stirrups with Wooden Core

Abstract

Museums constitute a vital arena for the revitalization and dissemination of historical materials, while cultural relics in museum collections serve as the core carriers for interpreting and transmitting historical records within such spaces. The Sixteen Kingdoms period marked a pivotal stage for the interaction, communication and integration of the Chinese nation. The Tomb of Feng Sufu of the Northern Yan Dynasty in Chaoyang, Liaoning Province, is a typical research case of ethnic integration in this historical phase. Research on the archaeological excavation findings of the Tomb of Feng Sufu demonstrates that the burial site features distinct multicultural attributes. It preserves traditional Han cultural conventions in its funeral systems and ritual artifacts and incorporates elements of Xianbei nomadic culture in the design of tomb chambers. Several relics from this tomb, now housed in the Liaoning Provincial Museum — including the Official Seal of Fanyang, gilt-bronze stirrups with wooden cores and the duck-shaped glass ewer — also testify to the commercial activities along the Grassland Silk Road during this era. These artifacts further reflect the mutual learning between the agrarian civilization of the Central Plains and northern nomadic civilization in military techniques, artistic creation and daily life. From the perspective of historical material excavation oriented toward museum communication, this paper centers on the three above-mentioned relics in the Liaoning Provincial Museum. It explores the historical evidence of ethnic integration across the Sixteen Kingdoms period embodied in these cultural relics from three dimensions: political rituals and institutions, military technology, and cross-regional exchanges. This study also discusses the pathways for realizing the dissemination and transformation of the historical value of museum collections, with an aim to provide practical references for museums to advance the revitalization of historical materials.