art history - qin shihuang di

8/12/2019 Art History - Qin Shihuang Di

1/11

Lee p1

The Tomb of Qin Shihuang Di

My father told me a story once that, in 1974, he stood on a small dirt road in

China, watching two farmers dig a well. Some time into the work, he saw them find in

the earth what would lead to a wide scale eca!ation of the land and the disco!ery of

what is often considered "the eighth wonder of the world.# $he story is accurate with the

possi%le eception, of course, that my father was actually there to witness the initial

disco!ery of the tom% of the &irst 'ea!enly (mperor )in Shihuang.

&i!e kilometers east of the city of Lintong, a kilometer north of Li mountain and

*ust south of the +ei i!er lies this final testament of an emperor-s unparalleled power a

gra!e /0, 22 s3uare meters in area. $his gra!e consists most nota%ly of a gra!e mound

tumulus5 two ramparts, and four giant pits. $he ramparts enclose the gra!e mound, one

%eing the inner rampart and one %eing the outer. $he inner rampart measures 1,200 06

meters and the outer rampart measures /,10 949 meters. $he foundations of the

ramparts are, for the most part, the only remaining indication that they e!er eisted, and

are meters wide. (ach side of the rampart has one doorway, with the eception of the

inner, which has two on its north side. $his etra doorway leads to the partitioned,

northeast 3uarter of the inner rampart-s area. $he south wall of the partition also has a

doorway, making for 16 doorways total.

+ithin the inner rampart, at it-s south wall, lies the gra!e mound of )in

Shihuang. +hile the tumulus now measures 010 meters north to south and 40 meters

east to west a perimeter of /,666 meters5 and 7 meters high, historical accounts mark

the height as more than 110 meters high and the perimeter to %e greater than /,066

meters. 8ccording to the historical record "Shi*i, )in Shihuang %en*i# %y Sima )ian, the


2/11

Lee p/

gra!e cham%er was erected %y some 766,666 forced la%orers in addition to artisans and

craftsmen who were working of their own free will. "$hey closed up the outer casket

with melted copper, and filled the gra!e cham%er with models of palaces, towers and the

'undred ffices in addition to !alua%le !essels and precious stones and wonderful

treasures. Cross%ows with mechanical automatic releases offered protection from

intruders. $he country-s !arious waterways, the :angt;e and the :ellow i!er as well as

the ocean itself, were imitated in 3uicksil!er t has yet to %e opened up.

?uildings eca!ated northwest of the gra!e mound, outside of the outer rampart,

pro%a%ly ser!ed as @dwelling hallsA# %uildings where the emperor-s possessions of daily

use were kept and offerings could %e made. 8lso thought to %e dwelling halls are the

%uildings that were disco!ered northwest of the tumulus, %etween the outer and inner

ramparts.

8lso in %etween the ramparts, %ut to the west, are 12 depositories of gra!e

furnishings, consisting of small, clay, kneeling sta%lemen as well as an angular horse

gra!e. Bear%y, rare animals and %irds are %uried in 1 pits, with clay food and %rass

rings attached to them, thought to ha!e sym%oli;ed the royal garden. 8nother 21 gra!es

of a similar nature can %e located slightly to the south of the inner west gate, guarded %y

clay wardens.


3/11

Lee p2

8t the southwest corner of the comple, 266 horses were %uried in wooden

coffins with clay grooms standing guard. More horse remains can %e found 206 meters

east of the outer rampart, where 92 gra!es of clay sta%lemen, horse skeletons and !arious

tools represent the royal sta%les. nly a few meters from there, 17 gra!es of human

remains are arranged in one row going BorthSouth. $hose %uried were pro%a%ly of high

social status, %e it highranking ci!il ser!ants or mem%ers of the family. $hey were

pro%a%ly eecuted with the ascension of the second emperor after )in Shihuang to the

throne.

166 meters from the gra!e mound, southwest of the outer rampart, are / gra!e

sites where the la%orers are %uried, while only /6 meters west of the tumulus, two %ron;e

chariots drawn %y four %ron;e horses lie underground, ready if the spirit of the emperor

wishes to ride around this comple.

8ll of this pro%a%ly lends some scope to the si;e of the gra!e site and the thought

that went into this !erita%le necropolis, %ut in Bo!em%er of 1974, the most impressi!e

part of this great endea!or, certainly it-s trademark, was eca!atedA 066 soldiers, /4

horses and %ron;e weapons. $his was the start of what is now la%eled Dit 1. $here are

two more pits containing artifacts similar and *ust as aweinspiring and a fourth pit that

seemed intended for the same cargo %ut was left empty, pro%a%ly not finished in time for

the death of the emperor. $hey were all found and eca!ated %y 197.

$he pits themsel!es were constructed with solidity and permanence in mind. $he

walls consisted of pounded earth, as hard as concrete, held together %y wooden frames.

$he roof carried layers of mortar and earth three meters thick. $he floor was also made

of pounded earth and then layered o!er with tiles. 8t the front of the pits are ramps. $he


4/11

Lee p4

terracotta clay soldiers, as they were finished, were pro%a%ly transported down these

ramps and into the pits, which were then, when full, co!ered. $his leads us to %elie!e

that no one, including the emperor, saw what archaeologists would disco!er to %e an

entire royal army.

+ithin these pits are not figures that merely represent an army. ather, the pits

contain thousands of terracotta soldiers and horses, %ron;e and wooden chariots, and

weapons, %its, %ridles and reins of %attleworthy 3uality, all life si;e, made to ser!e the

spirit of the departed emperor.

$he army e!en stands in %attle formation. Dit one, containing warriors and

horses, would %e the main portion of the army. Dit two, with ca!alry, infantry units and

war chariots would %e the military guard. $he smaller Dit 2, containing a chariot drawn

%y 4 horses and highranking officers and their su%ordinates, is the command post. $he

soldiers carried spears, hal%erds, daggeraes, swords, cross%ows and arrowsA some of

those %lades are still ra;or sharp.

$he work done on this terracotta army is an ehi%ition of great care and

craftsmanship. $he clothes, armor and faces were all car!ed and worked with great

attention to the details of the people and o%*ects that they were taken from. &acial

epressions and types, in particular, !aried largely. $he craftsmanship of these faces is

so well eecuted that one could actually identify, %ased on facial features, what regions of

China one of these soldiers if of flesh and not clay5 would ha!e %een drafted from. &or

eample, some warrior with a large mouth, thick lips, %road forehead and round chin,

with an honest and simple look a%out him, could %e said to %e from the present day

Shaani pro!ince.


5/11

Lee p0

$hanks to this attention to detail, the terracotta army can %e categori;ed many

different ways, %e it %y rank in the army, facial type or %ody type.

$o start, the chariots can %e di!ided into four categories

Command chariots:these are luuriously e3uipped, lac3uered in %lack and

decorated with geometric patterns. &rom the %aldachins hang drums and %ells. $hese

chariots are manned %y a charioteer at the center, a general to the left and the charioteers

ad*utant to the right.

Auxiliary chariots: these chariots are similar to the "command# type %ut ha!e no

%aldachin. nly a charioteer and his ad*utant ride in these. Esually three people would

ride in this sort of wagon %ut in "following# the general-s chariot, it is manned only %y

two.

Quadrigae:$his chariot is much like the "command# chariot %ut without any

%ells or drums. 8 charioteer, an officer and two warriors stand in this wagon, which is

thought to ha!e tra!eled in front of the ca!alry.

Fourth-type chariot:$his chariot is simpler, manned %y a charioteer who is

flanked %y two warriors.

$he Ca!alry would %e made up of four chargers per group with 1/ groups per

row, and nine rows per unit. $hey consisted of horses with cropped manes and knotted

tales with saddles of leather. $o the left of each horse stood their riders, reins in the right

hand and a %ow in the left.

$he infantry can %e di!ided into "officers# and "soldiers,# and each respecti!e

group can %e further categori;ed.

Officers


6/11

Lee p

-Fenerals, or commanding officers, wear dou%le tunics and apronlike

scale armor that comes to a point at the %ottom, with showy cords on the

chest, shoulders and %ack with the surfaces %eing much more ela%orately

and carefully car!ed than other figures. $hey wear twopart, starched caps

and pro%a%ly held swords

fficers wear dou%le tunics and scale armor similar to the generals- with

colorful %orders and a starched cap that is flat in the front. fficers

representing national minorities wear their nati!e costumes underneath

long scale armor with a flat %ottom. Charioteers were counted among the

officers

Low officers are dressed in a light tunic, some with armor and some

without. $hey wear similar caps to those of the officers though it is

somewhat smaller. Lowranking officers are the most numerous.

Soldiers

+arriors without armor sere as the !anguard and the flanks, found in pit

num%er 1. $hey ha!e long %elted *ackets, puttees and light shoes. $hey

ha!e knotted hair and each carries a 3ui!er on their %acks

8rmored warriors wear long *ackets, puttees, shoes or short %oots and

simple scaled armor. $hey carry either a cross%ow or a long weapon such

as a hal%erd5. $he armored warriors either wear soft hats o!er a hair knot,

ha!e a %raid pinned to the %ack of the head or ha!e a round hair knot to

the right side of their head.

8rchers can %e found either kneeling or standing. $hey %oth wear the

same uniform, hairstyle and ha!e the same e3uipment. $hose kneeling

lean on their right knee and appear to %e drawing a %ow. $hose archers

that stand are positioned in stride and pro%a%ly held drawn %ows.


7/11

Lee p7

8s said %efore, the figures can also %e categori;ed %y facial and %ody types. 8

%rief catalogue of %oth follows. Geep in mind that this catalogue is incomplete, as the

pits containing the terracotta soldiers ha!e still not %een completely eca!ated. 8lso note

that the count gi!en for each only applies to pit num%er one, which is the most hea!ily

eca!ated.

8 "mu# shaped face is one that is elongated. $his type is found 142 times.

8 "guo# shaped face has an angular and elongated shape. $his type is found 1/7

times.

8 "yong# shaped face possesses a characteristic s3uare forehead, cheeks and a%road chin. $his type is found 100 times.

8 "*ia# shaped face possesses a %road forehead and cheek%ones. $he chin is

long and pointedA the face is %road at the top and narrow at the %ottom. $his type

is found 1/6 times.

8 "tian# shaped face has a !ery s3uare skull and is found 9 times.

8 "shen# shaped face has %road cheekones, a narrow forehead and a pointed

chin. $here are 6 eamples of this type.

8 "feng# shaped face would ha!e a %road forehead and a fleshy, weak chin.

$here are 40 eamples of this type.

8 "you# shaped face has a narrow forehead, %road chin. $here are 10 eamples

of this type.

$he !arious %ody types are, so far, as follows

&igures with a coarse, powerful frame. 'eroic and authoritati!e, these %odiesoften %elonged to elite soldiers.

&igures with a large %ody. $hese figures usually had long arms, legs and face.

&igures with a columnarlike frame. Soldiers with this %ody type were usually of

an a%o!e a!erage si;e and represent young, healthy, sturdy and strong soldiers.


8/11

Lee p

&igures with long, narrow %odies. $hose of this type tend to %e more slender and

elegant with a handsome face.

&igures with slender hips and slightly cur!ed %ellies. $hese soldiers appear

fresher and li!elier than others and are of a!erage si;e.

&igures with thin, small %odies. $he soldiers are rarely depicted in this manner.

$hey seem to lack health or strength, %eing slight and sickly in %ody and possess

ugly faces.

&igures with flat, %road %odies. $hese soldiers are large, flat and %road.

$he army was, at a time, fully colored and decorated. Much of the paint has worn

off of the men, horses and chariots, %ut current analysis lets us know the color schemes

and patterns that the workers en*oyed using.

$he color tones were always !ery strong, the painters using a lot of deep red, dark

and %right greens, dark %rowns and a;ure. 'orses were colored with "date red# for the

torsos5 %lack, and white.

$he colors often formed clear contrasts. &or eample, if the outer clothes were

red, the collars, %orders and trim would %e a dark or %right green, or perhaps a %right

purple. 8lso adding to a contrast of color is the fact that the upper %ody clothes tend to

%e %right while the pants and shoes are all darker colored. $hese contrasts accentuated

the heroic and li!ely 3uality of the clay army.

$he colors are opa3ue and flatly applied. $he style of the clay warriors marked

the start of a new era in the use of sculpture and paint for representing the human figure.

$he loss of paint aside, the figures are all in remarka%ly good condition,

considering the centuries spent underground, the fires that the tom% has gone through and

the ca!eins on the figures. Much of this may %e owed to the dura%le clay that was used.


9/11

Lee p9

>t was also an ideal medium in that it could yield lasting, naturalistic results a plus when

the army was constructed for an emperor o%sessed with immortality5 and it was !ery

a!aila%le a integral factor when considering the scale of the task5.

$he a!aila%ility and sculptural 3uality of the clay was !ery fortunate, considering

an order from the king that might ha!e read something like "Make me a magic army. >t

must ne!er decay, %ut protect my residence for eternity. >t must look like a real army in

all respects. nly then will the magic work.# )in Shihuang $he $erracotta 8rmy of

the &irst Chinese (mperor p/975. 8nd the approimate 766,666 forced workers plus

free craftsmen and artisans5 were a%le to carry out this task, the craft of which is left for

us to see today. 'owe!er, this gargantuan task is not only a testament to the power and

influence of the newly unified Chinese empire and its emperor, %ut "indicates that the

luury and waste of that time were unprecedented.# (astern Hhou and )in Ci!ili;ations

p/095. $his could %e why )in Shihuang-s reign, while one of the most powerful in all of

history, lasted only a short while %efore there was a sort of reform in the empire.

$he eagerness to eca!ate the land, though, has led to hurried restoration and a

general neglect for the pieces, and so the states of the pits and figures, at a point, simply

decayed further, dura%le construction or no. 8t the moment, walls are in danger of

collapsing due to dryness and weathering, groundwater is rising threatening to make

porous the clay figures, the %ron;e chariots are !ulnera%le to further loss of polychromy

and to corrosion, and the horses and men are all !ery top hea!y and !ulnera%le to falling,

which could lead to a sort of domino effect. More careful work, though, has %een

proceeding for some time and archaeologists continue to find artifacts in )in Shihuang-s

gra!e comple, al%eit more slowly.


10/11

Lee p16

8 museum now stands 1.0 kilometers east of the gra!e mound, ehi%iting the clay

army that stands as a sort of " th+onder of the +orld# and a testament to argua%ly the

most powerful man in human history.


11/11

The 8thWonder of the World: The Terracotta

Army of the Qin Shihuang Di

ainer Lee

art history - qin shihuang di

Documents