Qin Shi Huang's terracotta warriors and horses wisdom cracks
The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang is known as one of the few "imperial tombs" in China that has not yet been excavated. The tall mound of sealed soil standing on the Guanzhong Plain has witnessed the vicissitudes of wind and rain for two thousand years, but it has never been successfully excavated by anyone.
The reason is also very straightforward: "It's more difficult than you think". This undoubtedly proves once again the outstanding talent and extraordinary bearing of Qin Shi Huang, who is the "Emperor of the Ages", the most outstanding monarch in Chinese history.
During his lifetime, he ruled the world and was powerful, and even after his death, his prestige remained unrivaled. His mausoleum is also unique and unsurpassed.
Although the technical limitations of large-scale excavation of the Qin Tombs remain, the burial pits that have been unearthed provide a glimpse into the glory of the great emperor Qin Shi Huang during his lifetime.
The underground royal tomb "Qin soldiers" has been underground for more than 2,000 years, but it was still discovered during excavations in 1974 and became part of the world cultural heritage.
In the long river of history, the rise and fall of dynasties is like a white horse, and this land has experienced countless wars and destruction, but what is amazing is that this pit where terracotta warriors and horses are buried has not been excavated on a large scale, as if it is a miracle forgotten by history.
Today, all we see are gray terracotta figurines, which are spectacular and shocking, but they are not what they were when they were first unearthed. Because of the contact with the air, the figurines quickly oxidize, and the original color also falls off and disappears, leaving only the current gray.
However, these gray terracotta figurines still silently tell that dusty history, bringing people endless reverie.
Although the terracotta warriors and horses faded rapidly due to external factors after being unearthed, we can still appreciate the brightness of its colors and the sophistication of the materials, and the overall color matching can be called a miracle.
One of the important reasons why China is unable to further ** the Qin Tombs on a large scale is that it cannot effectively protect the unearthed cultural relics. But from a practical point of view, although this "excavation without preservation" approach seems helpless, it also makes us realize that the significance of protecting cultural relics is far greater than archaeology itself.
Although we can't see it with our own eyes, from the excavated terracotta warrior pits, we can still feel the invincible army of the six countries 2,000 years ago, its majesty and majesty are terrifying.
If we look closely, we will find that despite the size of the army, the faces of each terracotta warrior are different, which makes people wonder how the craftsmen of the time created these soldiers with unique shapes.
Actually, this is not complicated, because the Qin state has a strong army, and the source of soldiers comes from all over the country, and people from every country have it, so these soldiers provide a rich prototype for the craftsmen who make the terracotta figurines, which is enough to meet the production needs.
In the eyes of our modern people, terracotta warriors and horses are already well-known terracotta products, but when they were first excavated, they once caused a suspicion. The lifelike shapes seemed to stop the world from breathing, and people even began to wonder if these realistic terracotta figurines were the product of human sacrifice, otherwise, how could there be such a stunning resemblance?
This speculation caused a heated discussion in the society at that time. In fact, the opinion of experts on this issue is not groundless, because in the pre-Qin period,"Funeral system"It is very common that as long as the emperor and prince die, almost all slaves and living people will be buried, and this kind of behavior is cruel and chilling.
The site of the tomb of the nobles of Yinxu in the late Shang Dynasty of China is the most famous, because a large number of slave burial pits have been found there, some of which numbered as many as thousands, including women, children, old and children.
This phenomenon was not uncommon in the early days of human civilization, and many countries had a tradition of human sacrifice in their early history. As a result, people are skeptical about whether Qin Shi Huang also behaved in this way, as history books record him as a "tyrant" for his bad opinion of the people.
Although experts had tested with instruments, no traces of human tissue were found behind the figurines, which put suspicions aside for the time being.
The cracking of the terracotta warriors revealed a startling truth: the terracotta figurines were all made of clay, the interior was vacuum, and there was no such thing as a "living" burial. The staff was amazed by the skill of the ancients and said, "The ancients are so wise!" ”
From this, we have to admit that Qin Shi Huang was not a "tyrant" as recorded in the history books.
Qin Shi Huang was not misunderstood because he liked to kill innocent soldiers indiscriminately. In fact, he is well aware of the importance of the army to him, and he does not kill people easily. Even in the case of "human slaughter" Bai Qi, it does not prove that all rulers like to kill indiscriminately.
Why do people choose to kill and surrender troops in war? There are two main reasons: one is that there are too many troops and insufficient food, and if they are left, it may have an impact on their own army.
The second is that if these soldiers are released, it is likely that they will fight again in the future. As a result, how to deal with surrendered soldiers has always been a thorny issue and one of the headaches for many military leaders.
Bai Qi is an example of this, although he knows the disadvantages of this practice, he still chooses to use a butcher knife. However, no one would like to kill if it were not a last resort, even emperors, they were human.
At the same time, the Qin State at that time mastered the excellent technology of making terracotta figurines, and the level of craftsmanship was extremely high, and there was no need to use the cruel method of human sacrifice. In ancient times, there has always been a funeral custom of "treating death as life".
From this, we can infer that as the first emperor to achieve great unification, in addition to the terracotta warriors and horses, the scale of the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang must be quite grand. It should be known that the total number of burial pits around the tomb of Qin Shi Huang has been discovered so far is as high as 180, and the terracotta pit is only one of them.
We can imagine the size of that burial pit. If China's archaeological excavation technology can reach the level of protection, we may be able to learn more about the demeanor and momentum of this ancient emperor during his lifetime.