Jin Xu

My research has focused on religious and funerary art in early medieval China (220-589 CE). During this period, Chinese culture was transformed by the arrival of immigrants from the Mongolian steppes and Central Asia. I am particularly interested in stone objects, such as sarcophagi and Buddhist steles. Grounded in close studies of carved stones in museums in China and America, my research addresses a wide array of issues. I investigate questions related to the sources of artistic materials, technical processes, and provenance, as well as questions regarding visual-verbal dynamics, spatial strategies, cultural identity, and cosmopolitanism. I am now preparing a book manuscript on stone coffins and mortuary couches created for Sogdian immigrants in sixth-century China.