Editing Xianbei (section)

==Art==
[[File:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - gold horse head ornament.jpg|thumb|Xianbei head ornament with horse motif. Northern dynasties (A.D. 386 – 581)]]
[[File:HearingsNorthernWei5thcentury.jpg|thumb|[[Northern Wei]] earrings. Northern Wei dynasty, 5th century]]
Art of the Xianbei portrayed their nomadic lifestyle and consisted primarily of metalwork and figurines. The style and subjects of Xianbei art were influenced by a variety of influences, and ultimately, the Xianbei were known for emphasizing unique nomadic motifs in artistic advancements such as leaf headdresses, crouching and geometricized animals depictions, animal pendant necklaces, and metal [[openwork]].<ref name=dawn>Watt, James C.Y. China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200–750 AD. Comp. An Jiayao, Angela F. Howard, Boris I. Marshak, Su Bai, and Zhao Feng. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. Print.</ref>

===Leaf headdresses===
{{Main|Buyao}}

The leaf headdresses were very characteristic of Xianbei culture, and they are found especially in Murong Xianbei tombs. Their corresponding ornamental style also links the Xianbei to Bactria. These gold hat ornaments represented trees and antlers and, in Chinese, they are referred to as buyao ("step sway") since the thin metal leaves move when the wearer moves. Sun Guoping first uncovered this type of artifact, and defined three main styles: "Blossoming Tree" (huashu), which is mounted on the front of a cap near the forehead and has one or more branches with hanging leaves that are circle or droplet shaped, "Blossoming Top" (dinghua), which is worn on top of the head and resembles a tree or animal with many leaf pendants, and the rare "Blossoming Vine" (huaman), which consists of "gold strips interwoven with wires with leaves."<ref name=leaves>{{cite thesis |last=Laursen |first=Sarah |title=Leaves That Sway: Gold Xianbei Cap Ornaments from Northeast China |publisher=UPenn Repository |type=PhD |year=2011 |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/304 }}</ref> Leaf headdresses were made with hammered gold and decorated by punching out designs and hanging the leaf pendants with wire. The exact origin, use, and wear of these headdresses is still being investigated and determined. However, headdresses similar to those later also existed and were worn by women in the courts.<ref name=dawn/><ref name=leaves/>

===Animal iconography===
[[File:Flying Horse plaque, Xianbei culture, Inner Mongolia province, China, Eastern Han dynasty, 1st century BC to 1st century AD, silver repousse - Portland Art Museum - Portland, Oregon - DSC08648.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Flying Horse plaque, Xianbei culture, Inner Mongolia province, China. 1st century BC to 1st century AD.]]

Another key form of Xianbei art is animal iconography, which was implemented primarily in metalwork. The Xianbei stylistically portrayed crouching animals in geometricized, abstracted, repeated forms, and distinguished their culture and art by depicting animal predation and same-animal combat. Typically, sheep, deer, and horses were illustrated. The artifacts, usually plaques or pendants, were made from metal, and the backgrounds were decorated with openwork or mountainous landscapes, which harks back to the Xianbei nomadic lifestyle. With repeated animal imagery, an openwork background, and a rectangular frame, the included image of the three deer plaque is a paradigm of the Xianbei art style. Concave plaque backings imply that plaques were made using [[lost-wax casting]], or raised designs were impressed on the back of hammered metal sheets.<ref name=nomadic>{{cite book |last1=Bunker |first1=Emma C. |first2=Zhixin |last2=Sun |title=Nomadic Art of the Eastern Eurasian Steppes: The Eugene V. Thaw and Other New York Collections |via=Google Books |editor-first=James |editor-last=Watt |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2002 |isbn=0-300-09688-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QR4i-SwdhsoC }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Psarras |first=Sophia-Karin |title=Han and Xiongnu: A Reexamination of Cultural and Political Relations (I) |journal=Monumenta Serica |volume=51 |pages=55–236 |year=2003 |doi=10.1080/02549948.2003.11731391 |jstor=40727370 |s2cid=156676644 }}</ref>

===Horses===
The nomadic traditions of the Xianbei inspired them to portray horses in their artwork. The horse played a large role in the existence of the Xianbei as a nomadic people, and in one tomb, a horse skull lay atop Xianbei bells, buckles, ornaments, a saddle, and one gilded bronze stirrup.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Albert E. |last=Dien |title=The Stirrup and Its Effect on Chinese Military History |journal=Ars Orientalis |volume=16 |year=1986 |pages=33–56 |jstor=4629341 }}</ref> The Xianbei not only created art for their horses, but they also made art to depict horses. Another recurring motif was the winged horse. It has been suggested by archaeologist Su Bai that this symbol was a "heavenly beast in the shape of a horse" because of its prominence in Xianbei mythology.<ref name=nomadic/> This symbol is thought to have guided an early Xianbei southern migration, and is a recurring image in many Xianbei art forms.

===Figurines===
Xianbei figurines help to portray the people of the society by representing pastimes, depicting specialized clothing, and implying various beliefs. Most figurines have been recovered from Xianbei tombs, so they are primarily military and musical figures meant to serve the deceased in afterlife processions and guard their tomb. Furthermore, the figurine clothing specifies the according social statuses: higher-ranking Xianbei wore long-sleeved robes with a straight neck shirt underneath, while lower-ranking Xianbei wore trousers and belted tunics.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dien |first=Albert E. |title=Six Dynasties Civilization |location=New Haven, CT |publisher=Yale UP |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-300-07404-8 }}</ref>

===Buddhist influences===
Xianbei Buddhist influences were derived from interactions with Han culture. The Han bureaucrats initially helped the Xianbei run their state, but eventually the Xianbei became Sinophiles and promoted Buddhism. The beginning of this conversion is evidenced by the Buddha imagery that emerges in Xianbei art. For instance, the included Buddha imprinted leaf headdress perfectly represents the Xianbei conversion and Buddhist synthesis since it combines both the traditional nomadic Xianbei leaf headdress with the new imagery of Buddha. This Xianbei religious conversion continued to develop in the Northern Wei dynasty, and ultimately led to the creation of the [[Yungang Grottoes]].<ref name=dawn/>

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