The Tomb of Wirkak (Sogdian: wyrkʾk), in Chinese commonly referred to as Tomb of Master Shi (Chinese: 史君墓; pinyin: Shǐ Jūn Mù; Wade–Giles: Shih3-Chün1 Mu4), is the grave of the SogdianSabao (Chinese: 薩保, "Protector, Guardian", derived from the Sogdian word s’rtp’w, "caravan leader") Wirkak and his wife Wiyusi, dating from 580 AD (Northern Zhou dynasty). The tomb was discovered in 2003 in the east of Jingshang village in Daminggong township, Weiyang District, Xi'an, and excavated between June and October in the same year.[2] It is especially significant for the rich content of the reliefs on the stone structure contained in the tomb and a bilingual epitaph.[3] Sogdian tombs in China are among the most lavish of the period in this country, and are only slightly inferior to Imperial tombs, suggesting that the Sogdian Sabao were among the wealthiest members of the population.[4]
^Dien, Albert E. (2003). "Observations Concerning the Tomb of Master Shi". Bulletin of the Asia Institute. 17: 105–115. JSTOR24049308.
^GRENET, Frantz (2020). Histoire et cultures de l'Asie centrale préislamique. Paris, France: Collège de France. p. 320. ISBN978-2-7226-0516-9. Ce sont les décors funéraires les plus riches de cette époque, venant juste après ceux de la famille impériale; il est probable que les sabao étaient parmi les éléments les plus fortunés de la population.