Panel from the Tomb of Anjia showing a Sogdian trader (right), who is shown welcoming a Turkic leader (left, with long hair combed in the back), 579 CE, Xi'an, China. The Tomb of An Jia (also read An Qie), discovered in Xi'an, is a remarkably well-preserved Northern Zhou (557–581 CE) Sogdian burial monument dating to 579 CE. Built in the style of Chinese noble tombs, it featured a stone gate and an elaborately carved stone couch at the end of an 8.1-meter passage. The tomb’s artwork—56 carved scenes—depicts the life of the Sogdian noble An Jia, including banquets, hunting, travel, and entertainment, blending Central Asian themes with Chinese funerary architecture.
Notable features include Zoroastrian imagery on the tomb gate and unusual burial practices: An Jia’s bones were found scattered on the floor rather than placed on the stone couch, possibly indicating a secondary burial. Evidence of fire was also found inside the tomb, perhaps linked to Xianbei funerary customs. Excavated intact in 2001, it remains unique as the only undisturbed Sogdian tomb found in China and is considered one of that year’s most important archaeological discoveries. Nearby contemporary Sogdian burials include the Tombs of Yu Hong and Wirkak, suggesting the cemetery may have been reserved for foreign elites.
An Jia (518–579 CE) was a Sogdian noble originally from Bukhara who served in the Northern Zhou court in Xi'an. The son of a regional governor, he held the title of Sabao (薩保), a Chinese office given to leaders of the Sogdian merchant community. In this role, he supervised trade activities of Central Asian merchants in China and oversaw Zoroastrian religious affairs in Tong Prefecture. His lavish tomb in Xi’an reflects the immense wealth and high social status of Sogdian merchant elites in China, whose burials rivaled those of the imperial aristocracy.
