...TERRACOTTA WARRIORS Blake Rogers 2/6/2017 English Since the finding of what is considered the 8th world wonder to some, there have been many new exciting discoveries about China’s first emperor and the Chinese civilization. The 7,000 and counting terracotta warriors were discovered by a local farmer who was digging a well for his family. The Terracotta Warriors were made during the rule of Emperor Qin Shi Huang- who was the first emperor to rule China as a whole in Chinas known history. The terracotta warriors were created and then fired in a kiln 100’s at a time by the citizens and craftsmen inside of the Qin Empire. Terra Cotta warriors were very important to Chinese culture. Even, archeologists are excavating the...
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...Since he knew he could not be immortality, he prepared well his afterlife. He believed after he dead, and his spirit was still there, he could be an emperor as before. There had to be a proper army to protect him, and helped me to conquer the world after death. Consequently, he put many a large number of clay warriors in his tomb, then he could enjoy the same imperial status and the military power as his early lifetime. According to Lubow stated, "The artifacts offer a glimpse of the treasures that attract visitors from around the world to the Xi'an museum site, where 1,900 of an estimated 7,000 warriors have been disinterred so far"(36). Ying Zheng love using "brute force", he thought violent is the very thing to build his empire. No matter...
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...The Terracota Army The Terracota Army The Terracota Army was discovered in 1974 in China. The emperor Qin the first ordered that at his death they should build an army of 7,000 men. The army was buried in his grave so the army will carry him in the next life. This was many years ago, during Qin´s empire, therefore anybody knew about of its existence. In the year of 1974, in one place in China called Xian, a group of farmers were working on his crops and were making a well to take out water, but instead of water they found pieces of broken people figures and bronze weapons, they had armor and each carried a weapon that could be bow, spear or sword. Immediately they alerted the authorities and the notice got to Beijing, and they sent to Xian one group of archeologists, and unburied one large number of warriors and horses of terracotta. The Terracota is a mixture of clay and soil. First the good land is chosen, washed and mixed with sand to make good clay. The terracotta warriors and horses were made piece by piece. The human figure is made from the bottom up. First they built the base platform. Then they made the hollow body and arms. Head and hands are made separately and then join the body. Figures were left to dry in the shade. Of all the work the hardest part is the head, as it must be unique and different personality traits. The horses were made in different parts, head, neck, body, four legs, tail and ears are glued together and are sculpted and dried. The...
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...professional artists. Many had been sentenced to death and would never leave this place alive. Under these terrible conditions thousands of unhappy human beings managed to construct one of the most beautiful works of art ever seen.” (Capek, 2008, p.27) The terracotta warriors are a collection of sculptures that depict the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of china. The terracotta warriors are a form of funerary art that were buried with Qin Shi, and were created to serve and protect him in the afterlife. He also had the warriors built to ensure that Qin Shi had loyal followers after his death. It is believed that the Terracotta Army were created around the time of 3rd century BC and were discovered in 1974 by local farmers of Lintong in the Shazznxi province. It has been estimated that there were around 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots and 670 cavalry/horses that were buried in the pits of Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum. The purpose of this historical investigation is to determine what the discovery of the Terracotta warriors shows us about ancient Chinese society, and why it is important to preserve them? To ensure a well developed exploration of the Terracotta Warriors it is essential to examine the emperor, Chinese society, the army, construction and structure of the warriors, burial vaults and...
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...The first emperor’s tomb, which is located about 1.5 kilometres east of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang mausoleum, 35 kilometres East of Xian contained 7500 life sized terracotta models of the emperor’s army, from foot soldiers and crossbowmen to charioteers and officers. Each was based on a real life soldier. The first tomb was discovered in 1974 by a group of farmers digging a well, and additional chambers were discovered in 1976. With the farmers discovering the warriors not intentionally this is known as a chance find. The procedure they went through to uncover the warriors was once the farmers discovered the head of a warrior they then called Yuan Zhongyi an archaeologist who first arrived in 1974, with his college Zhao Kangmin who originally collected all the broken pieces of the warrior and then reconstructed the first terra-cotta warrior. Mr Yuan Zhongyi then exposed, processed and recorded the evidence found, this then was the method that the archaeologist were using to uncover more of the tombs. The tomb was excavated by hand, because any use of machinery would/could have disrupted the evidence and could have destroyed the entire army of warriors. Some of the handheld instruments they used were, Marshalltown trowel- used for digging and unearthing artefacts and features, paintbrushes- used for delicate work around artefact and features, Sunnico Pointing Trowel- another tool to use for digging, and several others. Pit 1 is the largest of the three pits. It measures 230...
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...I just have to say this week’s subject was fascinating! The level of detail and craftsmanship on these statues is amazing! The Terra Cotta Soldiers were crafted during the reign of Qin Shi Huangdi’s reign as the first emperor of China. Qin Shi Huangdi was a fierce warrior who conquered all the neighboring lands to build a unified country. He built massive infrastructures of roads, walls, fortifications and even developed a uniform writing script as well as a system of weights and measures (Lubow, 2009). What I found most interesting was the insight that this building project give s us of the modern day collective culture of China. According to the movie “Emperor’s Ghost Army” (2014), the technology involved with the construction of...
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...Tong Zhang Pre-Modern East Asian History China: Introduction Written records of Chinese civilization date back to 1200 BCE. Naturally many parts of China have become worldwide attractions due to historical richness. The Dynasties of China covered in this chapter will be: Shang (1600 – 1050 BCE), Zhou (1046 – 256 BCE), Warring States Period (475 – 221 BCE), Qin (221 – 206 BCE) Han (206 BCE – 220 CE). Henan Museum, Zheng Zhou Yellow River Valley (Shang) Today, Zheng Zhou is the provincial capital of the Henan Province and is a fast growing city that is one of the centers of technology and politics in China. Lying on the southern bank of the Yellow River (Huang He) Zheng Zhou is home to many beautiful pagodas, Shaolin Temples, and amazing sceneries. Though a bustling megacity today, Zheng Zhou has been an integral part of since the Shang Dynasty of China starting in 1600 BCE. During the Bronze Age, the huge country we call China today had hardly developed. At the time, people understood very little so the base of Chinese culture known as Di (or god) was created. Di gave the Shang people a sense of predictability and understanding of the world. For example, they used Di to predict whether a harvest was to be good or bad. The Shang people communicated with Di through Oracle Bones and Pyromancy. Ritual specialists would use fire to strike a special oracle bone. The grains in the bone would crack in a certain direction and the Shang people would take that as a sign...
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...codified law system. In his 35-year reign, he managed to create magnificent and enormous construction projects such as the Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Army. He standardized all weights and measures used in China, and it was during his reign that the Chinese system of written characters became used throughout the land. Today’s Chinese characters are written differently, but are direct descendants of those used during Qin Shi Huang’s reign. Despite his good intentions in unifying China, he did many things that were deemed ruthless. With Li Si’s advice, he banning and burning of many books and the execution of recalcitrant scholars. At the same time, many slaves were sacrificed during the construction of the Great Wall of China. Many scholars have argued that Emperor Qin Shi Huang was a brutal Emperor and disregard his contributions to China. However, his contributions far surpassed his unmerciful action. Therefore, Emperor Qin Shi Huang was the one of the greatest reformer and pioneer in China history and left behind many legacies that has made China what it is today. Emperor Qin named himself “Qin Shi Huangdi,” which means the first great emperor of China. "Qin was for his original states, 'Shi' means first, and 'Huangdi' was a new compound word that joins majestic with emperor." (China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors) After his new title was formed, Emperor Qin went on and chose the symbol of the state according to the School of the five elements - earth...
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...My Last Words: Qin Shihuangdi Reginald Leron Butler HUM 111 Dr. Aurello D. Givens November 26, 2014 My Last Words: Qin Shihuangdi My life began over 2,000 years ago in the seven states known today as China. At the age of 13 I took the throne as emperor, but due to my youth and lack of leadership, I had to relinquish power to my father figure, Prime Minister Lu Buwei. Lu Buwei was a very successful business man in Qin who introduced a sustainable tax system to the land as well as manufacturing and trade. Buwei efforts along with his involvement with the powers that be at the time brought great fortune to Qin which also created an economic climate for war. Buwei reign would last for 8 years until he was caught trying to take my throne, in an assassination attempt, when I was just 24 years of age. Lu Buwei latter took his own life in fear that I would come after him in his exile (Szczepanski, 2013). In the wake of the Prime Ministers death, I was able to take full control of my kingdom and in doing so I made some changes to the legislation. Because there were many assassination attempts on my life, paranoia took its toll on me, shaping my thoughts and actions. Due to this revelation, I had to make a change in legislation to fit my needs. First I banished all scholars from my court. Next I took away all freedom of expression of those that would oppose me. I even change the currency so that instead of many coins being accepted by merchants there would now only be...
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...INTRODUCTION Nowadays, when people discuss the UK culture, there is a museum that would be mentioned -The British Museum, which was built in 1753, is the first national public museum in the world. Thus, it can be seen that the British Museum is one represent of the UK culture in people’s subconscious. However, there is an another opinion shown that the British Museum can represent most of countries’ culture well expect the British. Because this museum collected massively rare treasures from all over the world that even the native country cannot remember. Usually, when people talk about Egyptian culture or Chinese culture, they would mention the British Museum either. Meanwhile, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, this museum decided a new building project that made its attitude clearly – to set a world conservation and exhibitions center (British Museum, 2003). It is shown that the British Museum is not only a national museum, but also a universal museum that they want to be. Depending on above discussion, this essay will explain the purpose of the British Museum, one part of the British culture – multiculturalism, and evaluate how the British Museum can represent this characteristic of the British Culture. The British Museum The British Museum, which is located in the capital of UK – London, is opened to all “studious and curious persons” (British Museum, 2003). “The museum was founded in 1753 and celebrated its 250th...
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...World H. Stansbury HUM111 6/3/13 The ancient Chinese have made many invaluable contributions to both technology and culture. Originally, a tribe of stone tool using hunter-gatherers, this civilization evolved into a sophisticated people who harnessed the command of gunpowder, medicine, and the arts among other things (Sayre, 2012, pg 208). Although little remains from China’s early history, the luxurious items carefully buried with royalty are a testament to the nation’s power. For example, emperor Shihuangdi of the Quin dynasty was buried in 210 BCE with an extensive army of unique terracotta soldiers, each painstakingly created by hand (Sayre, 2012, pg 208). In his book Travels, Italian merchant and explorer Marco Polo exclaimed, “The houses of the citizens are well built and elaborately finished, and the delight they take in decoration, in painting, and in architecture, leads them to spend in this way sums of money that would astonish you” (Sayre, 2012, pg 497). One of the oldest civilizations in history, China is for these reasons revered for its many achievements throughout history. Following Rome’s fall during the beginning of the Common Era, China emerged as the strongest nation in the world (Sayre, 2012, pg 226). China’s many dynasties each brought technological, cultural, and intellectual advances. Included among these are gunpowder, the compass, printing, paper, tea, acupuncture, spaghetti, the utilization of animals for agriculture, the abacus, and paper money...
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...Brief History of China Prehistory Mythical Era Ancient Era Imperial Era Modern Era Introduction Chinese civilization originated in various city-states along the Yellow River Valley in the Neolithic era A history of 4700 years since Yellow Emperor during the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors; the written history of China begins with Shang Dynasty 3600 years ago when turtle shells with ancient Chinese writing were carbon dated in 1500BC Prehistory Peking Man Paleolithic – – – – China was inhabited by Homo erectus more than 1 million years ago The archaeological site of Xihoudu site in Shanxi Province is the earliest recorded of use of fire by Homo erectus 1.27 million years ago The excavations at Yuanmou and later Lantian show early habitation The most specimen of Homo erectus found in China is the so-called Peking Man discovered in 1965 Prehistory (cont.) Neolithic – – – – – – Stone Tools The Neolithic age traced back to 10,000 BC Early evidence for proto-Chinese millet agriculture is carbon-dated to about 7,000 BC Population was increased due to agriculture, the ability to store and redistribute crops and to support specialist craftsmen and administrators In late Neolithic times, the Yellow River valley began to establish itself as a culture center, and the first villages were founded Early history of China is complicated by the lack of a written language during this period At Damaidi site in Ningxia, 3172 cliff carvings dating to...
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...Brief History of China Prehistory Mythical Era Ancient Era Imperial Era Modern Era Introduction Chinese civilization originated in various city-states along the Yellow River Valley in the Neolithic era A history of 4700 years since Yellow Emperor during the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors; the written history of China begins with Shang Dynasty 3600 years ago when turtle shells with ancient Chinese writing were carbon dated in 1500BC Prehistory Peking Man Paleolithic – – – – China was inhabited by Homo erectus more than 1 million years ago The archaeological site of Xihoudu site in Shanxi Province is the earliest recorded of use of fire by Homo erectus 1.27 million years ago The excavations at Yuanmou and later Lantian show early habitation The most specimen of Homo erectus found in China is the so-called Peking Man discovered in 1965 Prehistory (cont.) Neolithic – – – – – – Stone Tools The Neolithic age traced back to 10,000 BC Early evidence for proto-Chinese millet agriculture is carbon-dated to about 7,000 BC Population was increased due to agriculture, the ability to store and redistribute crops and to support specialist craftsmen and administrators In late Neolithic times, the Yellow River valley began to establish itself as a culture center, and the first villages were founded Early history of China is complicated by the lack of a written language during this period At Damaidi site in Ningxia...
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...Classical Greece (Athena Nike Adjusting Her Sandal, 2005-2012) This marble sculpture is a segment from the Athena Nike Temple and Parapet. It was built during the Peloponnesian War which was hard on the Athenians and they suffered several defeats. (Athena Nike Parapet Frieze, 2012) With the war’s outcome unknown they choose to depict Nike not in a narrative manor but choose to concentrate instead on the folds of the dress she is wearing. (Athena Nike Parapet Frieze, 2012) It depicts the God Nike which means victory, adjusting her sandal. (Athena Nike Parapet Frieze, 2012) This piece romanticizes the female form and gives a beautiful and very expressive example of the talent it took to create this piece. (Athena Nike Parapet Frieze, 2012) This piece looks as if she could come alive and the form of her legs and torso under the drapery of the dress Nike is wearing, it’s as if one can see through the dress. (Athena Nike Parapet Frieze, 2012) This piece was created in a time of war and Athenians suffered several losses. (Athena Nike Parapet Frieze, 2012) Before this time sculpture was more realistic and depicted what is seen in real life but this is more formal and leans to what is more pleasing the eye. (Athena Nike Parapet Frieze, 2012) Suffering losses in war may be the reason behind this change in the way sculptor was created, with being surrounded with suffering and hardship looking at pleasing, above average depictions of their gods may have giver the people visiting this...
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...animals were necessities in the daily life of all Sumerians. The next band is of naked men carrying overflowing baskets and jars to present as a votive offering and the top band depicts a female in a horned headdress symbolizing the goddess Inanna. Inanna is depicted much larger than the man, signifying her importance. This is one of the first examples of hierarchy of scale, where greater size is used to emphasize power or importance. The layout of the bands signifies Sumerian society: Inanna has blessed the people with abundant crops and herds and in return they give votive offerings. The Wakara vase is the first known example of the relationship among the divine, humans, animals, plants, and water. Even in the earliest days of recorded history, there was evidence of social satisfaction with a select few afforded power and authority. SPRING FRESCO (CH 4) Before the period of ancient Greece there were three interacting civilizations occupying Crete, the Cyclades, and the Greek mainland. The...
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