The Terracotta Warriors: Exploring the Most Intriguing Puzzle in Chinese History

331 Pages·2018·24.28 MB·English

by  Edward Burman

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Note on the Text
Introduction: Legends and the 1974 Discovery
I: HISTORY
1 Warrior Chu
2 The Ancestors of Qin Shihuang
3 From Provincial Kings to Universal Emperor
4 Creation of the Temporal Empire
II: MYSTERY
5 What Kind of Immortality Did Qin Shihuang Expect?
6 What is the Mausoleum?
7 Who Built the Army, and How?
8 What were the Warriors for?
9 What is in the Mausoleum?
III: LATEST DISCOVERIES
10 Latest Discoveries and Research
11 New Techniques for Study, Restoration and Conservation
12 Recent Excavations and Current Studies
13 Why Did the Qin Fail?

Epilogue: Future Prospects
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Section l
1. Mausoleum, 1914 (Musée Guimet)
2. Mausoleum, 2013
3. First excavation of Pit 1,1974 (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihungs
Mausoleum Site Museum)
4. Preliminary cleaning of first warriors (Zhang Tian Zhu © Qin Shihungs
Mausoleum Site Museum)
5. Later work in Pit 1,1978 (Zhang Tian Zhu © Qin Shihungs Mausoleum Site
Museum)
6. Exterior of the original museum
7. Interior of Pit 1 today (Zhang Tian Zhu © Qin Shihung’s Mausoleum Site
Museum)
8. Pit 2, March 2017
9. Early restored warriors in Pit 1
10. Charioteer in Pit 1
11. Warrior close-ups before advanced pigment protection
12. Warrior close-ups with some pigment protection
13. Terracotta qun (Shaanxi History Museum)
14. Bronze vessels
15. Excavated tomb of Duke Jing at his capital, Yong
16. Covered pit at Yong awaiting excavation
17. Cedar beams from the coffin of Duke Jing
18. Tomb of Duke Jing, bronze junction bracket (Shaanxi History Museum)
19. Replica reception room for Duke Jing
20. Miniature gold woodpecker (Shaanxi History Museum)
21. Miniature gold monster (Shaanxi History Museum)
22. Tile end with deer pattern (Shaanxi History Museum)
23. Bell from Taigong Temple (Baoji Bronzeware Museum)
24. Eroded ancient Great Wall near Yulin, northern Shaanxi
25. Inscription marking the site of the imperial palace, Xianyang
26. Song dynasty copy of the inscription made by Qin Shihuang at Mount
Youyi
27. Qing dynasty map of the Shu road to the Shaanxi border (Library of
Congress)
Section 2
28. Half-sized imperial war chariot (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin
Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site)
29. Half-sized personal travelling chariot (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin
Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site)
30. Front and side views of restored armour (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin
Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site)
31. Acrobat or wrestler (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang’s
Mausoleum Site)
32. Wrestler or weightlifter
33. Bronze crane (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site)
34. Bronze duck (Shaanxi History Museum)
35. Seated musician (Shaanxi History Museum)
36. Bundles of quivers of crossbow arrowheads (Shaanxi History Museum)
37. Bronze shu from Pit 2 (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang’s
Mausoleum Site)
38. Halberd or ji (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site)
39. Bronze spearhead
40. Makers marks
41. Kneading clay by foot
42. Chariot horses from Pit 1 (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang
Mausoleum Site)
43. Animal sculpture
44. Horse standing over a Xiongnu warrior’s head
45. Hairstyles (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site)
46. Funeral mound of Emperor Jingdi of Han
47. Half-sized wooden warriors
48. Sheep, pigs and cooking vessels at the mausoleum of Emperor Jingdi of Han
49. Monumental figures along the Spirit Way of the tomb of Emperor Gaozu
50. Monumental figure at the Spirit Way of the Ming Tombs
51. Cleaning and reassembling warriors parts
52. General in longer armour suit
53. Kneeling warrior in armour
54. Warrior wrapped in plastic film
55. Figures of general and archer (Dr Catharina Blansdorff © Technische
Universität München, Lehrtstuhl für Restaurierung, Kunsttechnologie und
Konservierungswissenschaft)
Section 3
56. Warriors unearthed (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang Mausoleum
Site)
57. Head emerging from soil (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang
Mausoleum Site)
58. Coloured garment (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang Mausoleum
Site)
59. Coloured head (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Site)
60. Coloured arm (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Site)
61. Eye of a warrior (Zhang Tian Zhu © Emperor Qin Shihuang Mausoleum
Site)
62. Restoration work
63. Funeral mound
64. Entrance to Pit 9901
65. Wrestler/acrobat in armour (Zhang Weixing)
66. Greek-style acrobat (Zhang Weixing)
67. Lead weights for training
68. Ding from Pit K9901
69. Reassembled armour from Pit K9801
70. Entrance to Pit K0006
71. Ritual mace head from Pit K0006
72. Charioteers in Pit K0006
73. The Mausoleum from Wang Feng peak
74. Wang Feng peak
75. Replica qins
76. Original qin
77. Surviving wall of the South Gate of the inner precinct
78. Marble torso of Greek man (Museeé Guimet)
79. Gilt plate from Gansu (Gansu Provincial Museum)
80. Dunhuang star map of 700 AD (British Library)

Figure 1 Lands of Qin and the other six major Warring States, here
Figure 2 Qin migration route from Gansu to Xianyang, here
Figure 3 The Mausoleum key sites, here
Figure 4 Plan of the warrior pits, here
Figure 5 Distribution of the warriors in Pit 1, here
Figure 6 Sketch of two ‘service’ horses pulling a chariot, here
Figure 7 Area surrounding the Mausoleum, here
Figure 8 The Mausoleum, here
Figure 9 Plan of the mausoleum of the Emperor Jingdi, here
Figure 10 Pyramidal structure beneath ground, here
Figure 11 Air curtain system, here
Figure 12 Mercury levels and the Mausoleum site, here
Figure 13 Geography of empire, here