page_title: Zoroaster
section_title: Muslim scholastic views
hierarchical_section_title: Zoroaster / Influences / In Islam / Muslim scholastic views
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Dinastia tang, shanxi, straniero dal volto velato, 600-750 ca English: From a Wall Street Journal article by Lee Lawrence (published 3 September 2011): “Made in China during the latter part of the eighth century, this unusual Tang dynasty burial figure today sits on a shelf in the Museo di Arte Orientale (MAO) of Turin, Italy, exuding as much mystery as he does energy. To date, nobody can say exactly who or what he is—his clothes, his pose, his expression don't add up. Even his manufacture is atypical: While almost all other known burial statuettes are hollow and cast in molds, this one is solid clay and appears to have been sculpted by hand. For the moment, MAO has him down as "a Persian riding a camel or a horse," says Marco Guglielminotti Trivel, MAO's curator of East Asian art. And this is plausible enough. Formerly owned by the Agnelli Foundation, the figure's eyes are rounded, his nose aquiline, and though most figurines show a male rider straddling his mount, sidesaddle is not unheard of. The raised fists, Mr. Guglielminotti notes, might have held reins, while the face cover—as well as a flap of cloth over the back of his neck—would have protected against wind, sun and sand. "Keep in mind that at the height of the Tang period, the population of the imperial capital was about one million and, of these, at least a fourth were probably foreigners," Mr. Guglielminotti says. And many of them were Sogdians, a Persian people who dominated trade along the Silk Road. So it stands to reason that, when creating a microcosm of everyday reality to accompany the deceased in the afterlife, wealthy Chinese often included foreigners. It also showed just how cosmopolitan they were. But the camel-rider interpretation is not entirely satisfying. Just ask Marcello Pacini, who headed the Agnelli Foundation for 25 years and acquired the statue at auction some 20 years ago for its collection. "I have never seen a rider with such intensity in his eyes," he says. "His is the expression of a priest honoring a god, not that of a camel rider facing some banal complication." He speculates that our riveting mystery man is a Zoroastrian priest feeding the sacred fire. He points to the fact that Zoroastrian Sogdians had a visible presence in Tang China and that Zoroastrian priests wore a face cover during rituals to avoid polluting the fire with breath or saliva. Still, the case is not airtight. Zoroastrian priests, for example, wore belts with tassels, yet the belt here is plain; priests usually appear standing, while our man sits; and their face cover—or padam—is square, while this one falls in a triangle like a folded kerchief. Not a deal breaker, according to Mr. Pacini. He speculates that communities of Sogdian traders might have adapted rituals and costumes to caravan life. Could outside experts resolve the issue? Although intrigued by the Zoroastrian theory, Prof. Suzanne Cahill of the University of California, San Diego, nevertheless warns against reading too much into the disconnect between the eyes and hands. She specializes in Tang material culture and notes that in foreign figures the gaze is often intense "whether or not their bodies are tense. The artists fixate on the big round eyes and often caricature them." But the face veil mystifies her; "it might be part of a dancer's costume," she muses. In a similar vein, Tonia Eckfeld, who wrote "Imperial Tombs in Tang China, 618-907" (2005), thinks the figure in Turin might be a musician. "His loose sleeves would be consistent with a drummer, and the positions of his arms and hands suggest he could have been holding drumsticks," she emails after examining images of the statuette. But Mr. Guglielminotti, who has the advantage of examining the actual object, says the pose is not quite right for that—one sleeve falls too far over the lap to allow enough room for an instrument. Mr. Guglielminotti then reluctantly admits to harboring a secret theory of his own. The only other tomb figures he knows that also appear to be sculpted portray four actors—they, too, are in the MAO collection. "Similar dynamism and originality, but," he adds, "there is more: The actors sport 'exotic' clothes that are practically identical to that of the veiled man." Not only do tests indicate that the works probably come from the same atelier, but Mr. Guglielminotti thinks it's possible they depict the same subject. Just a theory, he is quick to add, hoping that future research will investigate this possibility too. In the meantime, only two things are certain: As unusual as our man is among burial figures, he is authentic according to thermoluminescence tests; and whatever he represented to eighth-century Chinese, to 21st-century scholars he is a riveting work of art.” Русский: Из статьи Wall Street Journal, написанная Ли Лоуренсом (опубликованная 3 сентября 2011): “«Сделанная в Китае во второй половине восьмого века, эта необычная династия Танской династии сегодня сидит на полке в итальянском музее Италии (Италия), источая столько же тайны, сколько и энергии. На сегодняшний день никто не может точно сказать, кто он или что он - его одежда, его поза, его выражение не складывается. Даже его изготовление является нетипичным: хотя почти все другие известные статуэтки захоронения являются полыми и отлиты в формы, этот является сплошной глиной и, по-видимому, был вылеплен вручную. На данный момент МАО спустил его как «персидский верблюд или лошадь», - говорит Марко Гуглиелмотити Тривель, куратор МАО восточноазиатского искусства. И это достаточно правдоподобно. Раньше принадлежащая Фонду Агнелли, глаза фигуры округлые, нос орлиный, и хотя большинство фигурок показывают, что всадник-мужчина, оседлавший свою гору, не имеет ничего общего. Возможно, поднятые кулаки, по словам г-на Гуглиелмитти, держали поводья, а обложка для лица, а также лоскут ткани на затылке - защищали бы от ветра, солнца и песка. «Имейте в виду, что в разгар Танского периода население императорской столицы составляло около одного миллиона человек, и, по крайней мере, четвертый, вероятно, был иностранцем», - говорит г-н Гуглиелмитти. И многие из них были согдийцами, персидскими людьми, которые доминировали в торговле по Шелковому пути. Поэтому разумно предположить, что при создании микромира повседневной реальности, чтобы сопровождать умершего в загробной жизни, богатые китайцы часто включали иностранцев. Он также показал, насколько они космополитичны. Но интерпретация верблюдов всадника не совсем удовлетворяет. Просто спросите Марчелло Пачини, который возглавлял Фонд Агнелли в течение 25 лет и приобрел статую на аукционе около 20 лет назад для своей коллекции. «Я никогда не видел всадника с такой напряжённостью в его глазах», - говорит он. «Его выражение священника почитает бога, а не верблюжьего всадника, сталкивающегося с каким-то банальным осложнением». Он размышляет, что наш клепающий человек-загадка - зороастрийский священник, кормящий священный огонь. Он указывает на то, что зороастрийские согдийцы имели видимое присутствие в Тан Китае и что зороастрийские священники носили обложку лица во время ритуалов, чтобы не загрязнять огонь дыханием или слюной. Тем не менее, дело не является воздухонепроницаемым. Зороастрийские священники, например, носили ремни с кисточками, но пояс здесь прост; священники обычно кажутся стоящими, а наш человек сидит; и их обложка для лица - или падам - ​​квадратная, а эта - в треугольник, как свернутый платок. По словам г-на Пачини, это не перехватчик сделок. Он предполагает, что общины согдийских торговцев могли бы адаптировать ритуалы и костюмы к жизни караванов. Могут ли внешние эксперты решить проблему? Профессор Сюзанна Кэхилл из Калифорнийского университета в Сан-Диего, хотя и заинтригована теорией зороастрийцев, тем не менее предупреждает против слишком большого чтения в отключении между глазами и руками. Она специализируется на материальной культуре Тан и отмечает, что у иностранных фигур часто наблюдается интенсивность «независимо от того, напряжены ли их тела. Художники фиксируются на больших круглых глазах и часто карикатурируют их». Но завеса завладевает ею; «это может быть частью костюма танцора», - размышляет она. Аналогичным образом, Тония Экфельд, написавшая «Имперские гробницы в Китае» (618-907) (2005), считает, что фигура в Турине может быть музыкантом. «Его свободные рукава будут соответствовать барабанщику, а позиции его рук и рук предполагают, что он мог бы держать барабанные палочки», - пишет она после изучения изображений статуэтки. Но г-н Гульельминотти, у которого есть преимущество в изучении фактического объекта, говорит, что поза не совсем подходит для этого - один рукав слишком сильно опускается на колени, чтобы дать достаточно места для инструмента. Г-н Гульельминотти затем неохотно признает, что скрывает свою собственную секретную теорию. Единственные другие фигуры гробниц, которые он знает, которые, как представляется, тоже изображены, изображают четырех актеров - они тоже находятся в коллекции МАО. «Подобный динамизм и оригинальность, но, - добавляет он, - есть еще: актерская спортивная«&#160;экзотическая »одежда, которая практически идентична одежде завуалированного человека». Мало того, что тесты показывают, что работы, вероятно, происходят из одного и того же ателье, но г-н Гульельминотти считает, что они могут изображать один и тот же предмет. Просто теория, которую он быстро добавляет, надеясь, что будущие исследования также исследуют эту возможность. Между тем, только две вещи несомненны: столь же необычно, как наш человек среди погребальных фигур, он аутентичен в соответствии с испытаниями на термолюминесценцию; и что бы он ни представлял китайцам восьмого века, ученым XXI века он является захватывающим произведением искусства».”
context_page_description: Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, Zarathushtra Spitama or Ashu Zarathushtra, was an ancient Iranian spiritual leader who founded what is now known as Zoroastrianism. His teachings challenged the existing traditions of the Indo-Iranian religion and inaugurated a movement that eventually became the dominant religion in Ancient Persia. He was a native speaker of Old Avestan and lived in the eastern part of the Iranian Plateau, but his exact birthplace is uncertain.
  There is no scholarly consensus on when he lived. Some scholars, using linguistic and socio-cultural evidence, suggest a dating to somewhere in the second millennium BC. Most scholars date him in the 7th and 6th century BC as a near-contemporary of Cyrus the Great and Darius I, while some have speculated on datings as far back as the sixth millennium BC. Zoroastrianism eventually became the official religion of Ancient Persia and its distant subdivisions from the 6th century BCE to the 7th century CE. Zoroaster is credited with authorship of the Gathas as well as the Yasna Haptanghaiti, hymns composed in his native dialect, Old Avestan, and which comprise the core of Zoroastrian thinking.
context_section_description: Like the Greeks of classical antiquity, Islamic tradition understands Zoroaster to be the founding prophet of the Magians (via Aramaic, Arabic Majus, collective Majusya). The 11th-century Cordoban Ibn Hazm (Zahiri school) contends that Kitabi "of the Book" cannot apply in light of the Zoroastrian assertion that their books were destroyed by Alexander. Citing the authority of the 8th-century al-Kalbi, the 9th- and 10th-century Sunni historian al-Tabari (I, 648) reports that Zaradusht bin Isfiman (an Arabic adaptation of "Zarathustra Spitama") was an inhabitant of Israel and a servant of one of the disciples of the prophet Jeremiah. According to this tale, Zaradusht defrauded his master, who cursed him, causing him to become leprous (cf. Elisha's servant Gehazi in Jewish Scripture).
  The apostate Zaradusht then eventually made his way to Balkh (present day Afghanistan) where he converted Bishtasb (i.e. Vishtaspa), who in turn compelled his subjects to adopt the religion of the Magians. Recalling other tradition, al-Tabari (I, 681–683) recounts that Zaradusht accompanied a Jewish prophet to Bishtasb/Vishtaspa. Upon their arrival, Zaradusht translated the sage's Hebrew teachings for the king and so convinced him to convert (Tabari also notes that they had previously been Sabis) to the Magian religion.
  The 12th-century heresiographer al-Shahrastani describes the Majusiya into three sects, the Kayumarthiya, the Zurwaniya and the Zaradushtiya, among which Al-Shahrastani asserts that only the last of the three were properly followers of Zoroaster. As regards the recognition of a prophet, Zoroaster has said: "They ask you as to how should they recognize a prophet and believe him to be true in what he says; tell them what he knows the others do not, and he shall tell you even what lies hidden in your nature; he shall be able to tell you whatever you ask him and he shall perform such things which others cannot perform." (Namah Shat Vakhshur Zartust, .5–7. 50–54) When the companions of Muhammad, on invading Persia, came in contact with the Zoroastrian people and learned these teachings, they at once came to the conclusion that Zoroaster was really a Divinely inspired prophet. Thus they accorded the same treatment to the Zoroastrian people which they did to other "People of the Book".
  Though the name of Zoroaster is not mentioned in the Qur'an, still he was regarded as one of those prophets whose names have not been mentioned in the Qur'an, for there is a verse in the Qur'an: "And We did send apostles before thee: there are some of them that We have mentioned to thee and there are others whom We have not mentioned to Thee." (40 : 78). Accordingly, the Muslims treated the founder of Zoroastrianism as a true prophet and believed in his religion as they did in other inspired creeds, and thus according to the prophecy, protected the Zoroastrian religion. James Darmesteter remarked in the translation of Zend Avesta: "When Islam assimilated the Zoroastrians to the People of the Book, it evinced a rare historical sense and solved the problem of the origin of the Avesta." (Introduction to Vendidad. p. 69.)
caption: An 8th-century Tang dynasty Chinese clay figurine of a Sogdian man (an Eastern Iranian person) wearing a distinctive cap and face veil, possibly a camel rider or even a Zoroastrian priest engaging in a ritual at a fire temple, since face veils were used to avoid contaminating the holy fire with breath or saliva; Museum of Oriental Art (Turin), Italy.[65]
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