![]() It was only in 1920 that scientist George Sargent popularized the method of chrome plating that now keeps our silverware and bathroom fixtures from rusting. Metallurgists coated the army’s swords with chromium oxide, a strategy, Sung said, “to preserve, to prevent corrosion, and to strengthen the metal”-methods that predate similar modern technologies by over 1,000 years. “These works are really amazing for that time, without modern technology,” Sung explained. For her show, Sung used a replica instead, comprised of about 3,000 individual pieces. The chariots are so complex and fragile that they are not allowed to leave China. Each of the terracotta soldiers required the laborers to fire individual pieces-hats, body parts, armor-separately. Over a timespan of 38 years, more than 700,000 workers contributed to the massive building project (many of whom are buried in the mass grave within the complex). Workers began constructing the emperor’s tomb when he first rose to power at 13 years old. The Terracotta Army and its surrounding objects also offer insight into craft practices throughout the Qin Dynasty. “We can see what kind of a chariot he rode and the structures of the tomb,” Sung continued. “We can see his military organization, the different ranks of the warriors,” said curator Hou-mei Sung, who co-organized the exhibition “Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emperor of China,” currently on view at the Cincinnati Art Museum through August 12th. Indeed, modern China owes much of its ancient, founding accomplishments to the ruler.Ĭontemporary scholars view the Terracotta Army as a model for how Qin Shi Huangdi prepared his formidable troops for battle and was able to unify the city-states. Still, Qin’s legacy lives on: China’s name derives from his own. Infighting among his heirs and power-hungry advisors ensured that his son, Emperor Qin Ershihuang-who was directed by a scheming political advisor, Zhao Gao-ruled for only three or four years before civil war wracked the country, ultimately leading to the emergence of the Western Han Dynasty. Unlike the Terracotta Army, Qin’s dynasty did not survive long past his death. (Extending west from the Yellow Sea, the kingdom was still a fraction of the country’s size today.) During his reign, Qin began constructing the Great Wall, standardized currency and weights throughout the empire, and evolved the written language into contemporary Chinese script. By 221 B.C., the emperor united a series of warring states into a single political unit: the beginnings of modern-day China. In its entirety, the trove illuminates particulars about life in ancient China and Qin Shi Huangdi’s enormous accomplishments. A rectangular wall surrounds these central structures and mass graves, with the Terracotta Army submerged less than a mile away. Although archaeologists have left the tomb untouched for fear of damaging its contents, modern tests have revealed unusually high concentrations of mercury, bolstering these accounts.Ĭhillingly, however, a sprawling chamber around the mound contains the skeletons of craftsmen who worked on the site, along with murdered princes, sacrificed animals, and convicts who are still bound in chains. Historical writings describe underground palaces and cities replete with “rivers” of mercury running through a bronze landscape, and artificial birds that promise both a vibrant natural world and imperial architecture in the afterlife. The burial complex itself comprises a vast landscape. his name means “the First Emperor of Qin”), and were built to protect their ruler in the afterlife. The archaeologists determined that the warriors are located next to the burial site of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi (ca. Their facial hair is unique (some sport top knots or mustaches), as are the positions of their arms (raised at their sides hands folded) and even their headgear. Most astoundingly, each sculpture is clearly differentiated. Throughout 22 square miles of subterranean landscape, they discovered over 7,000 terracotta sculptures-men in warrior attire standing in rows an army ready for battle. Their extraordinary findings continue to offer crucial insights into the country’s history and evolution. The government-appointed archaeologists who continued the dig gradually unearthed the largest trove of underground sculpture the world has ever seen. In 1974, Chinese farmers stumbled upon fragments of a life-size clay sculpture buried beneath the ground just outside Xi’an in central China.
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