The Terracotta Warriors of Qinshihuang - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 11
About This Presentation
Title:

The Terracotta Warriors of Qinshihuang

Description:

Even though the Ancient Greeks meticulously carved individual statues out of ... upon solid legs that the Ancient Chinese craftsmen solved the perplexing problem ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:226
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 12
Provided by: bbr2
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: The Terracotta Warriors of Qinshihuang


1
The Terracotta Warriors of Qinshihuang
  • For a more detailed description of the tomb and
    the story of its discovery, check this link
    http//www.imperialtours.net/terracotta_warriors.h
    tm

2
Qinshihuang ruled in the 3rd century B.C.
  • One of the most important rulers in Chinese
    history, this ruler is very complex. He was made
    King of the state of Qin at the age of thirteen,
    by the time he was thirty-eight he conquered the
    six neighboring states to unify China for the
    first time.
  • Although reviled for his tyranny, Qinshihuangdi
    is also admired for many radical and insightful
    policies which later dynasties used. He brought
    together seven separate states into one nation,
    he standardized a common script and established
    uniform measurement and monetary systems. For
    effective government, he codified a legal system
    and replaced hereditary rulers with a centrally
    appointed administrative system. To improve
    industrial productivity he encouraged
    agricultural reforms and constructed many roads.
    And in an effort to limit the inroads of
    barbarian tribes, he supervised the construction
    of a defense fortification along the northern
    frontier, the first Great Wall. (Though not the
    same one that will be constructed on a grander
    scale at a later time) Although China benefited
    from these policies, thousands of Chinese workers
    died in completing this far-reaching public works
    program.

3
The Emperors Tomb
  • 700,000 forced laborers were sacrificed to
    construct his tomb which was begun as soon as he
    ascended the throne. All workers and childless
    concubines were interred with him to safeguard
    its secrets. According to Sima Qian's "The
    Historical Records" written a century later,
    heaven and earth are represented in the tomb's
    central chamber. The ceiling, inlaid with pearls,
    represents the starry heavens. The floor, made of
    stone, forms a map of the Chinese kingdom a
    hundred rivers of mercury flow across it. And all
    manner of treasure is protected by deadly
    booby-traps.

4
(No Transcript)
5
  • The main tomb has still to be excavated - partly
    because archaeologists are still uncertain of its
    exact location. Often Emperors amassed huge
    burial mounds simply to divert robbers' attention
    from the true site of their tomb. So the
    artificial mound that today marks the Emperor's
    tomb does not necessarily indicate the location
    of its wondrous central chamber. However, because
    high mercury levels have recently been reported
    nearby, archaeologists think they may, at last,
    have discovered it. The Terracotta Warriors, that
    you will see today, form just one of the many
    barriers the ruthless Emperor employed to protect
    his tomb for eternity.

6
Though not the first free-standing sculptures in
the world, the ingenuity of the Terracotta
Warriors' design and manufacturing process were
astounding. Even though the Ancient Greeks
meticulously carved individual statues out of
stone at an earlier date than the Qin, the Qin
dynasty project held all the problems of
production on a mass scale. Tens of thousands of
individual human and animal statues were
manufactured within a series of processes that
began with the molding of solid legs.
7
Methods of construction
  • It was by constructing each of the hollow statues
    upon solid legs that the Ancient Chinese
    craftsmen solved the perplexing problem of how to
    make a statue free-standing. Hollow heads, arms
    and legs, made of coiled earth, were joined
    together with strips of clay and set upon the
    solid legs. After this rough model was assembled,
    a fine clay slip was added, and details such as
    eyes, mouth, nose and details of dress were
    carved into the clay while it was still pliable.
    Additional pieces such as ears, beard and armor
    were modeled separately and attached, after which
    the whole figure was fired at a high temperature.

8
(No Transcript)
9
Each of the 8000 figures is unique, with
different facial features for every figure.
10
(No Transcript)
11
  • The End
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com