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POTTERY
FIGURES UNEARTHED IN YANGLING MAUSOLEUM |
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The II emperors
of the Western Han Dynasty were all buried
in a hilly area near Xi'an. According
to the customs of the Western Han, once
an emperor succeeded to the throne, each
one had to build his own mausoleum called
"longevity mausoleum". It was
decided that the size of the mausoleums
would be around 47 hectares, a mound of
earth shaped in a |
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square with a flat top. Each mausoleum included
a chamber for the coffin, a side chamber and a
temple for sacrificial ceremonies. Today, the
II Western Han mausoleums are no more than deserted
mounds of earth. |
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| The
reign of Emperor Han Jingdi (156-141 B.C.) saw
a period of prosperity during the early Western
Han Dynasty. When he died, he was buried in Xianyang
on the northern bank of the Weihe River, an area
containing nine known emperors' mausoleums. In
the summer of 1990, archaeologists discovered
24 pits containing pottery figures in the ruins
of the large mausoleums and attached tombs. The
unearthed pit area is 320 meters long and 300
meters wide, occupying 9.6 hectares. The 24 pits
are arranged in a neat formation, some 20 meters
apart, each in the shape of a south-to-north rectangle.
More than 10,000 objects, such as pottery figures,
bronze and iron weapons, farming tools, dress
decorations and coins have already been found. |
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| Colored
pottery figures of human beings have also been
unearthed. They are about 62 centimeters tall,
or roughly one-third the size of a real person.
There are approximately 40,000 such figures, the
number having been estimated by the density of
their arrangement. These well-proportioned figures
are sculpted in a realistic way with smooth and
vigorous lines. Some look mature, some innocent,
others bold and unconstrained, but all of them
show the expertise attained by Han artists. |
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Fax:0086-29-85257619
Postcode:710061
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Add:No.52 Xiaozhai East Road,Xi'an,China.
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