fluktor -|||- study - office - newsletter February 20, 2003

the new york times, February 18, 2003

Terra-Cotta Army From Early Han Dynasty Is Unearthed
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD

The Chinese have raised another army of remarkable dimensions, hundreds of
foot-tall terra-cotta warriors, along with horses and chariots, that come
from the depths of a tomb site south of Beijing.

The discovery was made late last year in the province of Shandong, near
Weishan Mountain, and the first pictures have just been made available in
the United States.

[image] Hundreds of terra-cotta warriors and horses from the Han dynasty
have been found in a tomb south of Beijing. The 2,000-year-old figurines may
spread over as much as 10,000 square feet.

Archaeologists and conservators are working overtime to preserve the
colorful painted decorations of the 2,000-year-old figurines as they are
being exposed to air and removed from the ground.

This is not the first or the biggest such find. The most famous one,
excavated in the 1970's at a imperial tomb outside the city of Xian,
included 7,000 terra-cotta figures of soldiers, all of them life-size. A
second company of clay soldiers, including farm animals, was found in 1990
in the vicinity of Xian.

But archaeologists and art scholars say the new discovery suggests that the
Chinese in the Qin and Han dynasties probably made a regular practice of
burying their royal and noble dead with a symbolic military escort into the
afterlife.

The Weishan site, as archaeologists are calling it, may spread over as much
as 10,000 square feet, Archaeology magazine reported in its current issue.
If so, excavators predicted, the site may hold several thousand of the
figurines, an impressive funerary display indicating that this was the
burial place of a nobleman or close relative of a ruler of the Han dynasty,
one of China's longest and most powerful, extending from 206 B.C. to A.D.
220.

Experts said the tomb appeared to date from the first half of the Han rule.

Similar burial customs have not been found associated with the latter Han
period.

The impressive life-size figures at Xian came from the tomb of a powerful
Qin emperor in the third century B.C., and the second find has been linked
to the tomb of a Han emperor and empress from the second century B.C.

Although excavators have found a coffin with a body in the Weishan tomb, the
magazine said, they doubt that these are the remains of the tomb complex's
owner.

"Exactly who gets these underground armies at their tombs is not clear," Dr.
David A. Sensabaugh, curator of Asian art at the Yale University Art
Gallery, said in an interview last week.

"This tomb has to be for someone of a very high level, probably a prince, a
son of the emperor, who ruled in that region."

The first experts to examine the site were impressed by the organization of
the military figurines. At the forefront were cavalrymen followed by highly
decorated chariots and their red horses, then the ranks of infantry.

Alongside them were several musicians, one with a brightly painted drum next
to him.

Some experts interpreted this as the first archaeological evidence for a
typical Han battle formation. Others said they believed the figures were not
combat soldiers, but a kind of honor guard.

Dr. Sensabaugh said the order of the troops appeared to be similar to those
shown in Han paintings and described in documents for "touring formations."
These were the occasions, he said, when a prince went out with his chariots
and soldiers in a display of pomp and a show of power, not a march to war.

The magazine report noted that Han funeral practice "was strict and
specified that only generals could be buried with combat warriors and
horses." So the nature of the terra-cotta army and its significance in
ancient Chinese burial practices, the magazine concluded, "will not be
resolved until the owner of the tomb complex is identified."

(http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/18/science/18WARR.html?ex=1046149200 &en=f6588ae3ec65277c&ei=5062)

____________________

Matthias Arnold M.A.
Digital Resources
Institute of Chinese Studies
University of Heidelberg
Akademiestr. 4-8
69117 Heidelberg
Germany

Phone: ++ 49 - (0) 62 21 - 54 76 75
Fax: ++ 49 - (0) 62 21 - 54 76 39

http://www.chinaresource.org
http://www.sino.uni-heidelberg.de

www.fluktor.de
www.zhaomo.de.vu


	February 20, 2003: Terra-Cotta Army From Early Han Dynasty Is Unearthed

	the new york times, February 18, 2003 Terra-Cotta Army From Early Han Dynasty Is Unearthed By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD The Chinese have raised another army of remarkable dimensions, hundreds of foot-tall terra-cotta warriors, along with horses and chariots, that come from the depths of a tomb site south of Beijing. The discovery was made late last year in the province of Shandong, near Weishan Mountain, and the first pictures have just been made available in the United States. [image] Hundreds of terra-cotta warriors and horses from the Han dynasty have been found in a tomb south of Beijing. The 2,000-year-old figurines may spread over as much as 10,000 square feet. Archaeologists and conservators are working overtime to preserve the colorful painted decorations of the 2,000-year-old figurines as they are being exposed to air and removed from the ground. This is not the first or the biggest such find. The most famous one, excavated in the 1970's at a imperial tomb outside the city of Xian, included 7,000 terra-cotta figures of soldiers, all of them life-size. A second company of clay soldiers, including farm animals, was found in 1990 in the vicinity of Xian. But archaeologists and art scholars say the new discovery suggests that the Chinese in the Qin and Han dynasties probably made a regular practice of burying their royal and noble dead with a symbolic military escort into the afterlife. The Weishan site, as archaeologists are calling it, may spread over as much as 10,000 square feet, Archaeology magazine reported in its current issue. If so, excavators predicted, the site may hold several thousand of the figurines, an impressive funerary display indicating that this was the burial place of a nobleman or close relative of a ruler of the Han dynasty, one of China's longest and most powerful, extending from 206 B.C. to A.D. 220. Experts said the tomb appeared to date from the first half of the Han rule. Similar burial customs have not been found associated with the latter Han period. The impressive life-size figures at Xian came from the tomb of a powerful Qin emperor in the third century B.C., and the second find has been linked to the tomb of a Han emperor and empress from the second century B.C. Although excavators have found a coffin with a body in the Weishan tomb, the magazine said, they doubt that these are the remains of the tomb complex's owner. "Exactly who gets these underground armies at their tombs is not clear," Dr. David A. Sensabaugh, curator of Asian art at the Yale University Art Gallery, said in an interview last week. "This tomb has to be for someone of a very high level, probably a prince, a son of the emperor, who ruled in that region." The first experts to examine the site were impressed by the organization of the military figurines. At the forefront were cavalrymen followed by highly decorated chariots and their red horses, then the ranks of infantry. Alongside them were several musicians, one with a brightly painted drum next to him. Some experts interpreted this as the first archaeological evidence for a typical Han battle formation. Others said they believed the figures were not combat soldiers, but a kind of honor guard. Dr. Sensabaugh said the order of the troops appeared to be similar to those shown in Han paintings and described in documents for "touring formations." These were the occasions, he said, when a prince went out with his chariots and soldiers in a display of pomp and a show of power, not a march to war. The magazine report noted that Han funeral practice "was strict and specified that only generals could be buried with combat warriors and horses." So the nature of the terra-cotta army and its significance in ancient Chinese burial practices, the magazine concluded, "will not be resolved until the owner of the tomb complex is identified." (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/18/science/18WARR.html?ex=1046149200 &en=f6588ae3ec65277c&ei=5062) ____________________ Matthias Arnold M.A. Digital Resources Institute of Chinese Studies University of Heidelberg Akademiestr. 4-8 69117 Heidelberg Germany Phone: ++ 49 - (0) 62 21 - 54 76 75 Fax: ++ 49 - (0) 62 21 - 54 76 39 http://www.chinaresource.org http://www.sino.uni-heidelberg.de www.fluktor.de www.zhaomo.de.vu