 Even within single countries in Asia, there is lots of cultural diversity, and we see this across all of the Brooklyn Museum's East Asia galleries. Throughout Chinese history, there were many other kingdoms to the north, south, and west of the central Han Chinese-dominated realm, where people spoke different languages and followed different cultural traditions, all providing unique contributions to Chinese culture. One example is the Qitan people, who conquered northern China in the 10th century and established the Liao dynasty. Since they were nomadic and rode horses, they brought their equestrian culture into the already elaborate tomb-building traditions of China, adding things like these silver saddle ornaments. We usually think of the Chinese people as practitioners of religions such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, but this elegant blue vase from the 18th century reminds us that China also had a substantial Muslim population. The inscriptions etched into the side of the vase include Islam's three names of God, written in Arabic. While Japan is a much smaller country, it too holds much cultural diversity within its borders. For example, the Ainu people in the north developed unique, linguistic, artistic, and religious practices. This robe, with its intricate, hand-stitched patterns, protected the wearer by warding off evil spirits.