individual end in zoroastrian eschatology four panels from a sogdian tomb in chang’an

In 2003, the discovery of a sogdian tomb in the historic city of chang’an opened a new horizon for researchers studying cultural exchanges and zoroastrian eschatological beliefs. this tomb, belonging to wirkak, a leader of a trade caravan, and his wife, wiyusi, contains eleven stone panels, four of which directly depict concepts related to individual end in zoroastrian eschatology. these panels illustrate the fate of the soul after death, providing a pictorial interpretation of zoroastrian teachings within a sino-sogdian context. despite previous studies, the details of these panels have not been comprehensively analyzed from a zoroastrian eschatological perspective, and some existing interpretations require reassessment. employing a text-image analysis approach, this article examines the eighth to the eleventh panels of wirkak’s tomb and, by drawing on the avesta and middle persian zoroastrian texts, seeks to elucidate the visual representations of eschatological concepts in this artwork.

individual end in zoroastrian eschatology four panels from a sogdian tomb in chang’an

abstractin 2003, the discovery of a sogdian tomb in the historic city of chang’an opened a new horizon for researchers studying cultural exchanges and zoroastrian eschatological beliefs. this tomb, belonging to wirkak, a leader of a trade caravan, and his wife, wiyusi, contains eleven stone panels, four of which directly depict concepts related to individual end in zoroastrian eschatology. these panels illustrate the fate of the soul after death, providing a pictorial interpretation of zoroastrian teachings within a sino-sogdian context. despite previous studies, the details of these panels have not been comprehensively analyzed from a zoroastrian eschatological perspective, and some existing interpretations require reassessment. employing a text-image analysis approach, this article examines the eighth to the eleventh panels of wirkak’s tomb and, by drawing on the avesta and middle persian zoroastrian texts, seeks to elucidate the visual representations of eschatological concepts in this artwork.