Tomb of Wolf and Dawn - Sogdian tomb of Wirkak (aka Master Shi) 580 CE

October 08, 2023

Tomb of Wolf and Dawn - Sogdian tomb of Wirkak (aka Master Shi) 580 CE

"The Tomb of Wirkak (Sogdian: wyrkʾk), in Chinese commonly referred to as Tomb of Master Shi (Chinese: 史君墓; pinyin: Shǐ Jūn Mù; Wade–Giles: Shih-Chün Mu), is the grave of the Sogdian Sabao (Chinese: 薩保, "Protector, Guardian", derived from the Sogdian word s’rtp’w, "caravan leader") Wirkak and his wife Wiyusi, dating from 580 AD (Northern Zhou dynasty). The tomb was discovered in 2003 in the east of Jingshang village in Daminggong township, Weiyang District, Xi'an, and excavated between June and October in the same year. It is especially significant for the rich content of the reliefs on the stone structure contained in the tomb and a bilingual epitaph. Sogdian tombs in China are among the most lavish of the period in this country, and are only slightly inferior to Imperial tombs, suggesting that the Sogdian Sabao were among the wealthiest members of the population.

"According to Yoshida Yutaka, the expression “snkyn’k βγkt’k” (lit. “stone house of Gods [souls]”) on the Sogdian part of the epitaph of Wirkak contextually means “tomb”. The corresponding term in the Chinese part of the same epitaph is shitang 石堂 (“stone hall”), meaning generally, however, “memorial hall”. In this regard, the stone house of Wirkak seems to be in the same tradition as the 5th century ones, only it is much larger and possibly emulates a temple." (Funerary Beds and Houses of the Northern Dynasties, Shing Müller, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich).

The epitaph reads:

(The period) Daxiang of Great Zhou, year 2, in the first month of a rat year, on the 23rd day. So: there was a man of a family from Kish, domiciled in Guzang. From the emperor he holds the rank (of) sabao of Guzang, in the land of the Sogdians, a landowner. He is named Wirkakk, the son of Wanuk, (namely) Wanuk, the son of the sabao. And (his) wife, born in Xinping, is named Wiyusi. And Wirkakk the sabao married (his) wife in Xinping in a pig year, on the 7th day of the 6th month, on a hare day. And afterwards, here in Xianyang (= Chang’an), he himself died in a pig year, on the 7th day of the 5th month. And his wife too died on the 7th day of the 6th month, on a hare day, in the same year (as her) marriage, the same month, the same day. There is no living being which is born which is not subject to death; moreover, it is hard to complete (one’s) period in the world of the living. But this is harder (still), that, without being aware (of it), a husband and wife see one another (for the first time) the same year, the same month, the same day, in the human world (and) also in paradise, (so that) the beginning of (their) life together (in each place) may be at the same period. This stone tomb was made by Vreshman-vande, Zhimat-vande (and) Prot-vande, desiring a suitable place for (their) father (and) mother.

— Epitaph of the tomb of Wirkak. Translated from the Sogdian by Nicholas Sims-Williams.

The bilingual epitaph written in Classical Chinese and Sogdian language sheds light on the life of an 86-year-old man named Wirkak (493–579 AD) in Sogdian, but Shi Jun (史君) in Chinese, and his wife Wiyusi. The Sogdian name Wirkak is derived from the word for "wolf". The Chinese name Shi Jun is composed of the surname Shi (史) with the honorific jun (君) or "master"; the space for his Chinese given name was left blank, so it is unknown. The name of his wife, Wiyusi, means "dawn" in Sogdian. The couple came from the State of Shi and the State of Kang (Samarkand origin) respectively. In his lifetime, Wirkak served as a sabao in the ancient province of Liangzhou, or today's city of Wuwei, a once-booming hub of international trade on the Silk Road. Sabao (薩保) is a Chinese translation of the Sogdian term s′rtp′w, meaning a "caravan leader", but later became the title of an administrator in charge of the international and foreign religious affairs of Central Asian immigrants who settled in China at the time.

According to the epitaph, Wirkak had lived in the Western Regions but had moved to Chang'an. His grandfather, Rštßntk (阿史盤陁, Ashipantuo), had been a sabao in his native land. His father was named Wn’wk (阿奴伽, Anujia), but no office is listed for him. Wirkak was appointed as chief of the judicial department of the sabao bureau in the Datong reign (535–546) during the Liang dynasty, then in the 5th year of the same reign (539), he was made sabao of Liangzhou. He died in 579 at the age of 86; his wife Wiyusi died a month later. The tomb was built by their three sons, and the interment took place one year later in 580.

The total length of the tomb was 47.26 metres, with long slope path and yard faces south with an azimuth of 186º. It consists of ramp, yard, tunnel, a corridor and a chamber. The number of the yards and the tunnels are both five. The corridor measures 2.8 m long, 1.5 m wide and 1.9 m high with an arch ceiling. The chamber has a rectangular plan, it is 3.7 m long from the east to the west and 3.5 m from the north to the south.

The Hephthalites are omnipresent in the depictions on the Tomb of Wirkak, as royal figures with elaborate Sasanian-type crowns appearing in their palaces, nomadic yurts or hunting in panels 2 to 5: Wirkak may therefore have primarily dealt with the Hephthalites during his younger years (he was around 60 when the Hephthalites were finally destroyed by the alliance of the Sasanians and the Turks of the First Turkic Khaganate between 556 and 560 CE). On the contrary, the depictions in the Tomb of An Jia (who was 24 years younger than Wirwak) show the omnipresence of the Turks, who were probably his main trading partners during his active life. On the tomb of An Jia, the Hephthalites are essentially absent, or possibly showed once as a vassal ruler outside of the yurt of the Turk Qaghan."

-taken from Wikipedia