Terracotta Soldiers

                                                

Qin Shihuang


        Qin Shihuang (259-210 B.C.E.), founder of the Qin Dynasty and the first emperor of a newly unified China, conquered many cities and other areas during his life. In addition to his many conquering's, death was certainly among them. The only way that Qin Shihuang could think to defeat death and have one last "hurrah" in the face every other past Chinese rulers who came before him, was to build himself a tomb-like none other had ever built before. Qin Shihuang built himself a tomb in the style of a vast underground city guarded by a life-sized terracotta army. His terracotta arming included not only warriors but also infantrymen, horses, chariots, and all of their, very life-sized, armor and weaponry. His tomb, his army, is one of the most remarkable works of craftsmanship in all of world history. One thing this specific tomb creation suggests is that the young emperor was obsessed with immortality from the time he ascended the throne. Emperor Qin ascended to the throne at the age of 13 and immediately began planning out his burial. Even more importantly, he had already begun to plan the actual underground tomb palace along with the terracotta attendants. To be more specific, over 7,000 of these figures were erected and intended to protect him in the afterlife. 


Terracotta warriors from the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor of China Qin Shihuang, c. 221-206 B.C.E., Qin Dynasty, painted terracotta


        As was previously stated above, these terracotta soldiers were crafted to protect the young emperor in death. In this way, Emperor Qin Shihuang would be both immortalized in the world of the living but also, he assumed, unable to be taken over in the afterlife. The early craftsmanship of each individual statue of this incredibly large terracotta army was so intricate and every statue had some sense of individualism to it. In fact, every statue was formed with different facial features and clothing.  To hide the treasures that lay within not only the tomb itself but the minds of the artisans, Qin had the middle door of the tomb closed and the outer door of the tomb shut, in order to seal in all of the artisans and crafters that worked on the project. Yes, it's true, he shut them in there to die. The burial complex, discovered in 1974, was certainly an astonishing discovery for the world at the time.


    "Terracotta Warriors | The First Qin Emperor Of China (Article) | Khan Academy". 2020. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/china-art/a/terracotta-warriors-from-the-mausoleum-of-the-first-qin-emperor-of-china.

    Rattini, Kristin Baird. 2020. "Who Was The Chinese Emperor Behind The Terracotta Warriors?". National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/culture-history/2019/06/who-was-chinese-emperor-behind-terracotta-warriors.








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unicorn Stamp Seal & Incense Burner

Image
  Stamp seal with impression: Unicorn and possible incense burner, c. 2600 – 1900 B.C.E., Indus  This stamp seal, seen above, may have been used in Indus trade practices. Stamp seals were also used to mark ownership and status. In urban Harappan centers, hundreds of these stamp seals were discovered when archaeologists excavated these sites. Stamp seals from the Indus region and time period are typically distinguished by the engravings of animals, humans, and other fantastical beasts such as unicorns! It is less likely to find a stamp with humans or divinities depicted on them. Although, from the research that I have done on this piece, it seems as though the creature featured on this piece is not said to factually be a unicorn as another stamp seal found in the same region, around the same time, was said to feature a bull. This makes sense as the bull is the most popular motif depicted in Indus art. The creatures, one featured on the stamp seal above and the other upon the se...
Read more

Knossos Palace

Image
  https://smarthistory.org/ancient-mediterranean/the-palace-at-knossos-crete/ After reading about the Palace at Knossos, located in Crete, Greece, I decided that it was fitting to write an ethical question post on these partially restored ruins.The structure itself was purely Minoan. However, Sir Arthur Evans, the archaeologist who originally discovered the site, incorporated architectural forms and art styles from other regions and time periods, including the Mycenaean era, during the reconstruction. This meant that the structure itself no longer was historically accurate and the restoration, more accurately a remodel, was almost overshadowed by Evans' own biases and preconceptions. The way that Evans restored the Palace reminded me of old Roman themed movies, too sleek, too modern. This reconstruction is not so much a question of ethics but a question of historical integrity. For example, Evans could have, and should have, taken more time to consult other historians on what would...
Read more

The Colosseum

Image
  The Colosseum, Rome, AD 72-80, Tufa and Concrete faced with Travertine This week, I chose to write about the Colosseum in Rome. The Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is a famous Roman structure whose building was initiated by the much-beloved Roman emperor, Vespasian. After the cruel, and egotistical, rule of Nero, Vespasian decided to give back to his people. Vespasian decided that the land under the extravagant and selfish golden house of Nero should be given back to the people in a grand gesture. The building of the monumental arena and amphitheater made it the grandest amphitheater anywhere in the world. Its events included mock sea battles, wild beast hunts, and gladiator games (ironically, where a great tyrant once stood). The varying types of entertainment served to entertain the people. The architects built doors at the inner ends of the Colosseum to allow both gladiators and wild beasts to enter and exit the arena safely. They also built elaborate pass...
Read more