The Terracotta Warriors are familiar to every foreigner who has ever traveled to China. Located in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, they provide clues about the Qin Dynasty (221—206 BC).

However, few know that similar figures exist in the royal tombs of other dynasties, too. Zeng Qingying, a professor on archeology from Dunhuang Academy, Northwest China’s Gansu province, has been studying the depictions of military troops in tomb figurines in Northern Wei tombs for a long time.

“These figures are not in combat but in formation, which raises many questions,” he said. “Did the families commission this theme as protection for the tombs? Or, were the tomb occupants generals when they were alive?”

It was at the Eighth Worldwide Conference of the Society for East Asian Archeology that he shared the latest developments of his research. The conference is being held in Nanjing University from Friday to Tuesday, aimed at promoting interaction among archeological scholars on East Asia.

The conference is attended by over 200 scholars from China, the US, the UK, Germany, France, Russia, Japan as well as the Republic of Korea. Their topics range from productions of luxuries in ancient East Asia to the origin of agriculture in the region as well as along the ancient Silk Road.

Liu Shuguang, deputy chief of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said that East Asia has unique examples of regional cultural heritage. By strengthening the archeology of East Asia, we could learn more about the development of civilizations in this whole region, as well as the unique attractions of these civilizations and their contributions to world civilization.

Lyu Jian, president of Nanjing University, the forum’s host, also expressed his welcome to the scholars. “We hope participants can improve their research and do more in interdisciplinary sciences,” he said in the opening remarks.