If you can look down at the plane from the air, you will see that this dense pit is like a compact and reasonable underground army array. When we carefully observe the pottery figurines in the pit, it is indeed the image of the soldiers of that year. Kneeling figurines are ancient chariots. They can be divided into two types: the thinner one is the imperial chariot figurine, which is responsible for driving the chariot. Soldiers in armor and quiver are archers. The infantry is advancing. At the top, there are four fat and strong war horses, and behind them stands a tall clay figurine, who is the commander of this unit. Ancient figure sculptures or paintings have such performances. A little attention will also find that there is no one around the commander. According to archaeologists, there were traces of a pile of rotten wood during the excavation, and the horse was painted with a red hard rope, indicating that there was originally a command car here, and the horse was pulling the car. The commander of course stood in the car, showing the attitude of ancient nobles standing beside the stone on important occasions. In this way, four horses, one car and one terracotta army formed a command center, which further confirmed the integrity of this underground army. Then, in the wild, 8 meters underground from the original table, how can there be such an army?
According to textual research, these terracotta warriors and horses were originally buried with Liu Wu, the third generation king of Chu in the Western Han Dynasty, more than 2 150 years ago. Just as we all know that the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Dynasty were buried together with Mount Li, the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, the society of Han Dynasty was a society of death. People think that after death, people just move on in different places. Therefore, all the material and spiritual benefits that can be enjoyed before death must be brought to another world by all means after death. Therefore, in the tomb of the king of Chu in Xuzhou, all kinds of granaries, kitchens, dance halls and living rooms are readily available, and even toilets are carefully made and fully equipped. In this context, some powerful princes or senior generals can naturally hope to continue to command thousands of troops after their death, and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses came into being.
According to the burial system of the Han Dynasty, only those who made special contributions can enjoy the burial of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, and they also need the approval of the emperor. So at present, there are only three large terracotta warriors and horses found in China: Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Yangjiawan, Xianyang, and Han Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Lion Mountain, Xuzhou. The emergence of such a large-scale Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xuzhou fully illustrates the special position of Xuzhou in politics and military affairs in the Han Dynasty. Xuzhou is a famous cultural city with a long history, especially in the Han Dynasty, because it is the hometown of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty. Just after the regime was stabilized, Liu Bang appointed his younger brother Jiao Wei Liu, King Chu, to manage this area. In the early years of Han Dynasty, Liu Bang held the highest position among kings with the same surname, and most of the civil servants and military commanders below Gaozu came from Xuzhou. This special background led Xuzhou to become the political and cultural center after the capital Chang 'an in Han Dynasty. The Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Han Dynasty are powerful evidence of the development of Chinese culture in Xuzhou. It tells all the guests with irreplaceable historical connotation that "Chinese culture sees Xuzhou" is not shouted by Xuzhou people themselves. The patchwork han group, the exquisite China stone statues, and the unique artistic charm and cultural connotation of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Han Dynasty are like bright pearls, shining on the land of Gupeng and reflecting the brilliant material civilization created by the people of Pengcheng in the Han Dynasty. Xuzhou Han terracotta warriors and horses, because the owner is only a vassal of the central dynasty, can not produce as large and vivid pottery figurines as Qin figurines. But the momentum of the small figurines squeezed out is too small. Therefore, the clever Chu craftsmen borrowed from the production technology of ancient bronzes and adopted the method of closing the mold. We take the military figurines with the simplest technology in the pit as an example to illustrate this method: step one, pinch a military figurine specimen according to the proportion, and then put it into the kiln to become a sample; The second step is to coat a thick layer of clay around the sample, dry it in the shade, and cut it in half from the head along the ear, leaving the image of a military figure on the clay, which is actually a set of molds; The third step is to fill the fired mold with clay, "two in one", and a military figurine will emerge, and so on, a large number of military figurines with the same shape can be made; The fourth step is to put the stripped military figures into a kiln for baking and molding. This process is simple to say, but it is quite complicated to implement in practice. Some songkhla figurines put their hands forward or up. Some heads are made separately and cannot be combined with the trunk. So craftsmen broke a clay figurine into several parts, made it with molds, and then glued it together. According to experts' calculation, it takes 9 groups of 73 different molds to make a set of different terracotta warriors and horses. What a boring project!
When we walk in front of the Terracotta Warriors, we will find that their expressions are varied and different. Some of them held their heads high, their mouths open, and their bodies leaned back, as if they could not help crying on the ground. One of the two people around him leaned over, and the other tilted his face, as if to comfort and persuade the crying person. Some of them have low heads, furrowed brows and downward corners of their mouths, like introverted and silent melancholy expressions. This is consistent with the overall solemn and quiet military theme. Of course, there are also relaxed and lively young soldiers, perhaps he is a true portrayal of the soul of a sculpture master! In short, through Liao Liao's several strokes, these people's personality characteristics are portrayed in detail and vividly. After these terracotta figures are formed, there is also a process of manual trimming by craftsmen. In this process, the subjective initiative and artistic creativity of craftsmen have been greatly exerted. Some ordinary soil, with their dexterous hands, has been endowed with infinite vitality. It seems that what we see here is not pottery figurines, but a living team coming to you, which fully embodies the superb and outstanding production technology of the working people in Han Dynasty. If you have been to Xi and visited the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Dynasty, you must have enjoyed the magnificent sight of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. Indeed, the realistic terracotta warriors and horses give people a kind of unrestrained strength beauty, but the development of any art has a process from concrete to abstract. The Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Han Dynasty developed on the basis of inheriting the style of Terracotta Warriors and Horses, and changed from realism to freehand brushwork. It does not pay attention to the accuracy of the proportion of characters' lines, but to the inner world and mental outlook of characters. There are three soldiers at the forefront of a team, and craftsmen use different characters and faces to express different age levels and psychological activities. The soldier on the far right is very kind, like a child. Is a fledgling young soldier who is just eager to make contributions. The middle one is hunched and squinting, looking like a battle-hardened veteran. On the left is an image of a self-serious middle-aged soldier. According to historical records, the military service system in the Han Dynasty stipulated that adult men aged 18-55 must serve in the military for two years. In this way, there must be soldiers of different ages in the team, which can be described as an organic combination of the old, the young and the middle. The pottery figurines made by sculptors in the Han Dynasty according to their own lives not only left a lot of valuable information for future generations, but also left an eternal and beautiful chapter for people in the history of China sculpture art with exquisite and more intriguing artistic techniques.
Xuzhou Han Terracotta Warriors Museum is a cultural relic museum in China. Located at the west foot of Lion Mountain in the eastern suburb of Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province. The museum was built on the basis of the excavation of Terracotta Warriors and Horses Pit in May 1985. It was completed in September and opened in June 10.
There are three infantry pits in the east-west direction, 5 meters apart and 28 meters long. The width of the pit mouth is 2.2m, the bottom width is 1. 1 ~ 1.4m, and the depth is 0.4 ~1.1m; About 5.5 meters east of the three infantry pits, there is a north-south guard pit. The pit is 26m long, 1 m wide and 0.15 ~ 0.40m deep. There are two pits for cavalry and chariots, which are located at the northwest125m of the three pits. 198 1 damaged one pit, and the other pit was12.5m long, 3.5m wide and 0.4 ~ 0.6m deep. The statue pit is more than 24 meters away from the site.
At present, two infantry pits and guard pits have been excavated, and the eastern ends of the two infantry pits have been damaged to varying degrees. There are 2393 terracotta figures, including pit No.1 10 16 and pit No.2 1377. These figurines are all made of clay and are blue-gray. Four horses, official figurines 1, and the rest are armor figurines, kneeling figurines, armor figurines, braided figurines, bun figurines, crossbowmen figurines and long-armed figurines. These figurines are painted with powder, and some are painted with ink. From the shape, texture, clothing and other characteristics, it is a work of BC 1 century, and the time is about the Western Han Dynasty.
Introduction to the Tomb of the King of Chu in Shizishan
1984 65438+February, at the west foot of Lion Mountain in the eastern suburb of Xuzhou, more than 4,000 painted terracotta warriors and horses of the Western Han Dynasty were found buried underground for more than 2,000 years. This unit, which symbolizes the defense of the tomb of the King of Chu, is distributed in six pits and consists of infantry, chariots and cavalry. There are tall and capable officials in the infantry, as well as ordinary soldiers in uniform, such as long-arm figurines, crossbowmen figurines and hair figurines; On the chariot, there are armored figurines and emperor figurines driving the chariot; The cavalry is strong and brave, ready to go.
After the discovery of the Terracotta Warriors, archaeologists began a long journey to find the main tomb. After several winters and summers, archaeologists discovered the tomb of the King of Chu in July of 199 1. The tomb of the King of Chu was officially excavated in 1994, and was opened to the public in 1995. The mausoleum is huge and magnificent, hidden in the belly of the main peak of Lion Mountain at an altitude of 54.3 meters, with a total length of 1 17 meters from north to south, a volume of stone carvings of 5 100 cubic meters, and a tomb area of 850 square meters. The mausoleum is divided into two parts, with a unique structure, and the 240-square-meter mound patio is unique and unprecedented.
In May, 2004, the Archaeological Team of Nanjing University and Chu Tomb Management Office used remote sensing technology to explore the area near Lion Mountain. According to the feedback data, there is indeed a large cave on the north side of the Chu Tomb in Lion Mountain, which is preliminarily inferred as a noble tomb.
On September 16, 2004, the mysterious Terracotta Warriors and Horses were found again 50 meters northeast of the Chuwangling Mausoleum in Lion Mountain, Xuzhou. There are two large sacrificial pits, 3.4 meters long and 2.2 meters wide, made of stone. There are many large urns and tiles with a diameter of about 70 cm in the No.1 sacrificial pit, and the No.2 sacrificial pit is much shallower than the No.1 sacrificial pit. 140 More than 40 painted pottery figurines are regularly arranged in the southeast corner of the pit. 10 year 10 On October 20th, archaeologists discovered the No.3 sacrificial pit a few meters away from the No.1 pit. The successive discovery of Terracotta Warriors, the Tomb of the King of Chu, the Tomb of the Noble and the Sacrificial Pit led archaeologists to conclude that the Lion Mountain area is a large cemetery with the Tomb of the King of Chu as the core and surrounded by Terracotta Warriors, the Tomb of the Noble and the Sacrificial Pit.