4 • ISSUE May 2012
Volume 18, No. 8
DYNASTIC MARVELS
HMNS hosts ‘Warriors, Tombs and Temples: China’s Endearing Legacy’ Story by Andrew Strange
AN EMPEROR HAS MANY servants in life. Some are meant to protect, some to entertain or to perform other services that create a life of leisure and safety for their leader. Many ancient rulers also wanted to ensure their life of leisure and safety continued in the afterlife. This is true of King Zheng, later known as Qin Shihuangdi (“The First Divine Emperor of the Qin Dynasty”), who had an entire kingdom of stone and terra cotta warriors, servants and entertainers,
Figure of Kneeling Archer with Green Face, Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.E.), earthenware, with Visible Pigment: h. 128 cm. Unearthed from Pit 2 of Tomb Compound of Qin Shihuangdi at Lishan near Xi'an. Museum of the Terra Cotta Army of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi.
horses and chariots, livestock and fowl, all constructed to be buried with him upon his demise. In a follow-up to the 2009 exhibit “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor,” The Houston Museum of Natural Science is hosting “Warriors, Tombs and Temples: China’s Enduring Legacy” through Sept. 3. The exhibit follows only the Qin, Han and Tang dynasties in China shedding light on the historical, cultural, and technological impact of China. Dirk Van Tuerenhout, HMNS curator of anthropology, said the “Warriors, Tombs and Temples” exhibit gives visitors a broader look at ancient Chinese history than the previous “Terra Cotta Warriors” exhibit. “The objects in the exhibition are drawn from three of the greatest and most important dynasties in Chinese history, the Qin, Han and Tang dynasties,” he said. “What visitors will see in this exhibit differs from our earlier exhibit, Terracotta Warriors (hosted in 2009) in two significant ways. This exhibit displays objects from three — rather than one — dynasties. The time period covered is therefore also more extensive. Instead of reviewing 20 years of history, this exhibit spans 1100 years. Moreover, some of the Qin-era Terracotta Warrior statues shown in our current exhibit are recent discoveries; they were excavated while our previous show was here. Noteworthy is also the preservation of paint on one of these newly discovered Warrior statues.” The sight in Xi’an, where the artifacts were found in the 1970s, began to be excavated rather hastily, which led to rapid deterioration of precious historical artifacts. The excavation was brought to a halt until modern preservation technics could be used to preserve the ancient objects. A large mural decorates the entry hall to the exhibit that gives a timeline for the artifacts therein. The timeline follows the Qin (221-206 B.C.E.), Han (206 BCE-220 C.E.) and Tang (618-907 C.E.) dynasties of China along the Silk Road and names a few world events along the way to give these dynasties an historical world context. It was during these dynasties that China became united, West and East, North and South, as well as adopted a unified weights and measurement system, religion and currency. It was the unifications that occurred during these Dynasties that led to the uniting of exterior protection walls that would become the Great Wall of China. The exhibit opens to a gallery room guarded by a large chariot horse standing at attention, ears raised
and ready for battle. Behind him stand four terra-cotta Qin warriors — kneeling archers, one of which still bore a surprising amount of its original color including a mysteriously green face, officers, and armored warriors, each positioned to hold a weapon that fell away long ago. It is believed that the thousands of warriors found were made in an assembly-line fashion with different stations making the limbs, head and trunk. Despite this method that would seem to lend towards thousands of identical statues, there were apparently enough variations among the molds to mix and match them so to give each warrior has his own rank, belly-bulge, hairknot or other features which make each warrior unique. Surrounding the warriors were weapons found at the sight such as arrows, swords, shields and crossbows. Much of the technology, particularly weapons technology, the Qin possessed would not reach Europe for thousands of years. The ancient Chinese developed hard and sharp metal swords, accurate arrows and crossbows with trigger mechanisms, as well as metal plating. The artifacts are displayed in a logical historical chronology as one moves through the exhibit, giving
