Origin of the Alans

[Alanus]

2,400 Year-Old Zhou Dragon found with a Yuezhi "Twist"

This past Saturday, myself and several members of Legio III Cyrenaica went to Kennebunk, Maine, to march in the May Day Parade. Before the event, I visited the store of Cassius Julianus, our representative Senator. The store always has a few Roman and Egyptian artifacts, but this time I found a piece of Chinese jade-- an amazing Zhou dragon.

   
The Eastern Zhou dragon carried a distinctive style-- a heavy head and a tail that was straight on the top and convex along the underside. Both the Chinese and Yuezhi created distinctive animal-style art, in many ways similar, and the late Zhou dragon (pictured above) represents typical Chinese stylization. (I believe this artifact is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

   
Here is a piece of Yuezhi animal-style art, a realistic yet abstract tiger all in one piece, its hind quarters inverted 180 degrees. This artifact was found in a "Scythian" grave in Alagou, an ancient Yuezhi trading station in the Tarim Basin. (Previously, I've mentioned Alagou in connection with Arzhan-styled horse gear that goes back to 900 BC.) Important on this piece is the 180 degree "warping," plus an abstract shape which supposedly "defines" the so-called "Scythian animal-style."

   
We can also turn to the tattoo found on the left shoulder of the Ukok Priestess mummy. This is representative of the most sophisticated form of Yuezhi twist. Nobody knows the significance of a 180 degree offset. Possibly it represents two "planes," the "here" (the living) and the "future" (after death). We also find mirrors as very important to the Yuezhi-- and a mirror reflects a person's image at 180 degrees.

   
Now we can return to the Zhou dragon I found in Cassius' Kennebunk shop. It's totally different than other Eastern Zhou dragons, also quite late and crude. We are looking at high quality "Hetian" nephrite, straight from Khotan as carried to China on Yuezhi pack-horses. The carving "inverts" precisely where it should, at mid-point, bringing the dragon's legs inside the circle at 180 degrees from "reality." It's a poorly-worked Chinese copy of Yuezhi animal art. But to me, the sloppy craftsmanship doesn't matter... because we are viewing a Yuezhi-Chinese connection never seen before. And the cultural link is the important part.