The Terracotta Warriors Of Emperor Qin Shihaung 's Real Army

For this first paper assignment I have chosen to write my essay on The Funerary Model of a Pig Sty. This artwork takes place in Ancient China around c. 2nd century BCE. It was designed and used within the Han Dynasty early in China’s history. These clay models like the pig sty and other burial goods had a hand in furthering the development of Chinas cultural heritage and beliefs. Within this paper I will be discussing my chosen MIA artwork, works that are similar but different to this artwork, and also how all three works, although all different, have the same purpose for what they have been made for. Then finally touching on how the context of the piece can change based on its surroundings.

“The Terracotta Warriors are considered an 8th wonder of the world.” They were created over 2000 years ago to protect Qin Shi Huangdi in the afterlife. Some people believe that the warriors were for protection, others believed that they were a curse and new research has caused argument that they were for military training. “The Terracotta Army was traditionally believed to have been the guardians of the first emperor of a unified China, but research has claimed that they could have been military training models,” Sun Jiachun, a researcher of the army. The Terracotta Warriors were an army built under the power of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi, over 2000 years ago in Xi’an, China. The army was

By comparing The Thirteen Emperors (seventh century A.D) (Figure 1) by Yan Liben (600-673), ink and color on silk, is currently at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Xie Huan (1377-1452)’s Elegant Gathering in the Apricot Garden (ca. 1437) (Figure 2), ink and color on silk, is currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Both artists used the same subject matter (hand roll), and employed a different repetitive process they convey two distinct ideas; the differences between thirteen emperors in Yan and the idea of confucianism in Huan.

Chapter 3. 24. The terra-cotta figures near the Qin First Emperor’s burial mound demonstrate the

I have been fortunate enough through my travels to have trans versed the Great Wall of China, which was constructed by Qin Shihuang in order to unify the six states, he ordered General Meng Tian to connect the existing walls and to extend them further as a front line defense against possible invasion, it was an exhilarating experience, the piece of the wall I started to ascend, it was extremely steep with four levels, the configuration of the wall was unusual, in the design of the steps, they were built in a non–uniform format. The steps ranged in various sizes, from approximately 4” to what seemed like 12”, so in turn , it made the climb very uncomfortable, it also showed me that I was defiantly out of shape, but I did eventually make it to the second level, and looking over the mountain terrain, and along the hillside where it was built, I had a rush of adrenaline and realized that the Wall of China, was every bit as exhilarating to me today, as the day it was constructed. This engineering, of the Qin dynasty was truly an amazing feat. I will examine some key elements, while comparing the Qin, and Han dynasties, to The Roman Empire. Both cultures had implemented an impressive, society by introducing engineering wonders, an extensive political system that managed vast amounts of people, and a military to rule over their territories.

On March 29, 1974, a couple of workers were digging a water well on the east side of Mount Li outside of the city of Xi’an. The workers uncovered a single terracotta figure and called the government authorities who investigated the matter. Soon, government archeologists were sent to the site. The unearthed great clay army that has baffled modern day craftsmen, intrigued archeologists, and amazed the general public. Before this discovery, no one knew about the First Emperor of China. Forty years later, we know a good deal about his legacy.

The film Emperor's Eternal Armies is a great documentary to understand the beginning of China and its society. The film mainly focuses on the first two emperors of China, Qin Shihuangdi and Jingdi, who seemed to have very different ideas from one another. The film introduces archeological finds discovered in Xian and it took a deeper look at their tombs and examined the purpose of them in reference to many opinions from archeologist. Looking at the two tombs and comparing them suggests the two different ideas about how to govern.

The artwork that I decided to pick was Riace Warrior A, c. 460 BCE. Broze with copper, silver, and ivory, 6'6" high. Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia, Reggio di Calabria, Italy. The lines in the art work show definition within the structure of the body. They also show movement, shape, form, structure, and a range of emotions. The author uses continuous lines and thick lines to convey different expressive qualities. The shape in the sculpture are man-made, regular, solid,representational, opaque, symbolic and smooth texture. The shapes in the sculpture describe strength, stability and continuous movement. The tone of the sculpture creates the sense of depth and tranquil atmosphere. Color in the sculpture is very undescribable, the

This immensely massive army served two important roles given by Qin Shi Huangdi: to protect his tomb after death and to follow him into the afterlife. The mighty army consisted of approximately 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots, and 520 horses, but what was even more astonishing was that each soldier was individually unique. Everything was made from a clay-based unglazed ceramic (Check someone’s notes for that). It was discovered in 1974 by two farmers attempting to build a well when they accidently stumbled into the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, accompanied by the great Terracotta Army. Ever since the discovery, it has gained the attention of millions of people, from China’s citizens to tourist to scholars, and provided us with more information about

Four main pits were associated with the terracotta army. These pits were located about 1.5km east of there burial and were close to 7 meters deep. The army was built as if to protect the tomb from the east, The east side was were all the conquered states of Qins army. All four pits were constructed differently. Pit one was the most elaborate of them all. holding over 6,000 figures and stretching to 230 meters long and 62 meters wide.

The monument of the Tomb of Emperor Qin tells us about early Chinese religious beliefs and practices. The mound itself remains unexcavated except for some test trenches, but researchers believe it contains a vast underground funerary palace designed to match the fabulous palace the emperor occupied in life. It was not taken into account the seriously until the discovery of pits around the tomb filled with more than 6,000 life-size painted terracotta figures of soldiers and horses, as well as bronze horses and chariots. The terracotta army served as the First Emperor’s bodyguard deployed in perpetuity outside the tomb.

The Terracotta warriors found, March 29 1974, was one of the most astounding historic finds of the last century. Although, the statues were buried at the base of the mountain, the Emperor was buried near the peak. 8000 soldiers and counting, over 500 horses, 150 chariot horses found inside the mausoleum. This astonishing masterpiece is 40 years of excruciating work of approximately 700'000 workers.

Chinese historians and archeologists have discovered that the contact between the West and the East may have happened long before Marco Polo. A report done by A.R. Williams has provided insights into the death of Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor with the discovery of approximately 8,000 human-size sculptures with detailed inscriptions. The sculptures signify the Terra Cotta army, the emperor’s army, were supposed to in fact escort the emperor towards his final journey into the afterlife. A closer look at the sculpture's design and inscriptions has suggested their relation to the ancient Greece artistry leading to the suggestion that the Greeks had an influence on the Chinese society more than a century and a half before the famous Marco Polo

The Terra-Cotta Army of the Qin Dynasty is the rare historical relie of China, it enjoying worldwide fame. Craftsmen make them in 2,200 years ago, Terra-Cotta Army have been listed as "the eighth wonder of the world". The three figurines pits located the east side of Mausoleum; there were nearly ten thousand figurines, horse and chariots in these pits. Some of them also a formation composed of fighting plan, and the size of figurines as real human, or bigger than real one . Although terracotta made by pottery, but the scale of them are difficult to surpass.

In the British Museum, you can learn and discover many things from late Chinese history like the Qin dynasty ,terracotta army and the Emperors biggest achievements. As there are many unique things in this fascinating place, something important is the wonderful exhibitions of the legacy these late dynasties have left.