|
Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his afterlife. The figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong District, Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The figures vary in height according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, Chariot (Ancient China), chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army hold more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remain ''in situ'' in the pits near Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Other, non-military terracotta figures have since been found in other pits, including those of officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lintong District
Lintong District (), formerly Lintong County, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, Northwest China. The district was approved to establish from the former ''Lintong County'' () by the Chinese State Council on June 25, 1997. The Terracotta Army and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor was discovered in March 1974 near this district. The district borders the prefecture-level cities of Xianyang to the northwest and Weinan to the east, Gaoling County to the northeast, Baqiao District to the southeast, Lianhu and Xincheng Districts to the south, and Chang'an District to the southwest. Artifacts from the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, can be viewed at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum () in Lintong District. The National Time Service Center, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (), formerly known as Shaanxi Astronomical Observatory (), was established in 1966 in Lintong responsible for the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twelve Metal Colossi
The Twelve Metal Colossi () were twelve bronze monumental statues cast after 221 BCE in the Qin dynasty by the order of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. After defeating the other six Warring States during Qin's wars of unification, Qin Shi Huang had their bronze weapons collected and melted them down to be recast as bells and statues. Particularly noteworthy among them were twelve human statues, each said to have weighed a thousand ''dan'' bout 30 tons The Emperor displayed them in the palace. Sima Qian considered the casting of these monumental statues as one of the great achievements of the Emperor, on a par with the "unification of the law, weights and measurements, standardization of the axle width of carriages, and standardization of the writing system".''Shiji'' by the historian Sima Qian (c. 145–86 BC), after Liu An in the ''Huainanzi'' circa 139 BCE: 收天下兵, 聚之咸陽, 銷以為鍾鐻金人十二, 重各千石, 置廷宮中. 一法度衡石丈尺. 車� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chariot (China)
The ancient Chinese chariot () was used as an attack and pursuit vehicle on the open fields and plains of ancient China from around 1200 BCE. Chariots also allowed military commanders a mobile platform from which to control troops while providing archers and soldiers armed with dagger-axes increased mobility. They reached a peak of importance during the Spring and Autumn period, but were largely superseded by cavalry during the Han dynasty. History Traditional sources attribute the invention of the chariot to the Xia dynasty minister Xi Zhong, and say they were used at the Battle of Gan (甘之戰) in the 21st century BCE. However archeological evidence shows that small scale use of the chariot began around 1200 BCE in the Late Shang period. They were probably introduced through the northern steppes, probably from the area of the Deer stones culture. Contemporary oracle bone inscriptions of the character depict a chariot-like two wheeled vehicle with a single pole for the att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terracotta Army Pit 1 - 2
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware objects of certain types, as set out below. Usage and definitions of the term vary, such as: *In art, pottery, applied art, and craft, "terracotta" is a term often used for red-coloured earthenware sculptures or functional articles such as flower pots, water and waste water pipes, and tableware. *In archaeology and art history, "terracotta" is often used to describe objects such as figurines and loom weights not made on a potter's wheel, with vessels and other objects made on a wheel from the same material referred to as earthenware; the choice of term depends on the type of object rather than the material or shaping technique. *Terracotta is also used to refer to the natural brownish-orange color of most terracotta. *In architecture, the ter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disturbance (archaeology)
A disturbance is any change to an archaeological site due to events which occurred after the site was laid down. Disturbances may be caused by natural events or human activity, and may result in loss of archaeological value. In some cases, it can be difficult to distinguish between features caused by human activity in the period of interest, and features caused by later human activity or natural processes. Causes Natural causes The soil science, soil scientist Francis D. Hole identified nine natural processes resulting in soil disturbance, including the movements of animals and plants (known as bioturbation, and including burrowing, root growth and tree uprooting, treefalls); freezing and thawing; movement under gravity (including earthflow and rockslides); swelling and shrinking of clays; the actions of wind and water; the growth and dissolution of salt crystals; and movement caused by earthquakes. Different sites are subject to different degrees, combinations, and interactio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rammed Earth
Rammed earth is a technique for construction, constructing foundations, floors, and walls using compacted natural raw materials such as soil, earth, chalk, Lime (material), lime, or gravel. It is an ancient method that has been revived recently as a sustainability, sustainable building material, building method. Under its French name of pisé it is also a material for sculptures, usually small and made in Molding (process), molds. It has been especially used in Central Asia and Tibetan art, and sometimes in China. Edifices formed of rammed earth are found on every continent except Antarctica, in a range of environments including temperate, wet, semiarid desert, montane, and tropical regions. The availability of suitable soil and a architecture, building design appropriate for local climate, climatic conditions are two factors that make its use favourable. The French term "pisé de terre" or "terre pisé" was sometimes used in English for architectural uses, especially in the 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Pyramids
Chinese pyramids are pyramidal structures in China, most of which are ancient mausoleums and burial mounds built to house the remains of several early emperors of China and their imperial relatives. About 38 of them are located around – north-west of Xi'an, on the Guanzhong Plains in Shaanxi Province. The most famous is the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, northeast of Xi'an and 1.7 km west of where the Terracotta Army was found. Earliest tombs The earliest tombs in China are found just north of Beijing in the Inner Mongolia, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and in Liaoning. They belong to the Neolithic Hongshan culture (4700 to 2900 BC). The site of Niuheliang in Liaoning contains a pyramidal structure. Information available in the West In 1667 the Jesuit Father Athanasius Kircher wrote about Chinese pyramids in his book ''China monumentis Illustrata''. The existence of "pyramids" in China remained little known in the Western world until the 1910s. They were d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terracotta Army-China2
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware objects of certain types, as set out below. Usage and definitions of the term vary, such as: *In art, pottery, applied art, and craft, "terracotta" is a term often used for red-coloured earthenware sculptures or functional articles such as flower pots, water and waste water pipes, and tableware. *In archaeology and art history, "terracotta" is often used to describe objects such as figurines and loom weights not made on a potter's wheel, with vessels and other objects made on a wheel from the same material referred to as earthenware; the choice of term depends on the type of object rather than the material or shaping technique. *Terracotta is also used to refer to the natural brownish-orange color of most terracotta. *In architecture, the ter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhao Kangmin
Zhao Kangmin (; July 1936 – 16 May 2018) was a Chinese archaeologist best known for discovering and naming the Terracotta Warriors of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, one of the most famous archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. Fragments of the warriors were initially found in 1974 by farmers digging a well, but Zhao was officially credited as the discoverer as he was the first to recognize the significance of the fragments and reconstruct them into life-size statues. He also led or participated in many other excavations and served as a longtime curator of the Lintong Museum. Early life and career Zhao was born in July 1936. He worked as a farmer but loved history. In 1961, he was assigned to work at the Lintong County Cultural Center (later Lintong Museum). Lintong, just outside of Xi'an, an ancient capital of China, is rich with archaeological sites, but the museum was tiny and Zhao was its only employee in charge of cultural relics and archaeology. He had no form ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Necropolis
A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distance from a city, as opposed to tombs within cities, which were common in various places and periods of history. They are different from grave fields, which did not have structures or markers above the ground. While the word is most commonly used for ancient sites, the name was revived in the early 19th century and applied to planned city cemeteries, such as the Glasgow Necropolis. In the ancient world Egypt Ancient Egypt is noted for multiple necropoleis and they are major archaeological sites for Egyptology.. Ancient Egyptian funerary practices and beliefs about the afterlife led to the construction of several extensive necropoleis to secure and provision the dead in the hereafter. Probably the best-known one is the Giza Necropolis. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
