An English-language lecture exploring the mystery of the bygone Sogdian civilisation is slated to be held at the Macau Museum of Art’s (MAM) auditorium on September 8, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) says in a recent statement.
The lecture, entitled “Sogdiana, its mural paintings and religious art: A forgotten civilisation from pre-Islamic Central Asia”, is the fourth in “The Belt and Road Cultural Talk Series – Collections of Mural Paintings”.
Sogdiana, according to the statement, was “a historical region of Central Asia that corresponds to modern central Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan in ex-Soviet Central Asia”.
Many Sogdians started migrating along the Silk Road caravan trade network and between the fifth and eighth centuries C.E. and dominated the trade in the entire Eurasian continent for several centuries, according to the statement, and also maintained close relations with China’s pre-Sui and pre-Tang Chinese courts.
The statement added that some tombs belonging to powerful Sogdians in modern northern China were excavated by Chinese archaeologists. The lecture, which will be conducted by Beijing’s Capital Normal University’s School of History Prof. Matteo Compareti from Italy, will explore mural paintings and artefacts found at the Penjikent archaeological site, the statement said.
Those interested in the lecture, which will also have simultaneous interpretation into Putonghua, can sign up via their Macao One Account on activity.mo.gov.mo/activity-h5/activity-list-web, with those successful to be notified via SMS. More information can be found on www.icm.gov.mo/academics or by calling 8399 6210 during office hours.
