As one of the "Eight Wonders" of the world, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses itself has matchless artistic value and mellow and profound cultural accumulation.
Since its excavation in Xi'an, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses have attracted the attention of the world and are still at the forefront of world culture and are praised.
The wisdom and craftsmanship of the ancients have reached the pinnacle of perfection, and the terracotta warriors created have become the objects of countless people's competition.
Relevant scholars have restored the color of the terracotta warriors, and once caused a sensation, the original color of the terracotta warriors is more worthy of attention than its own value.
1. Mausoleum of The First Qin Emperor
The world knows that the Terracotta Warriors are cultural treasures, but they do not know that they were also colored. When the terracotta warriors were first unearthed, they had a variety of colors.
It is divided into purple, pink, pink blue, orange black, etc., there are about a dozen kinds. So why is what is presented in the eyes of everyone unified as earth yellow?
This is because the terracotta army has been buried deeply underground for more than two thousand years, the black flying rabbit has gone, the years are like shuttles, after thousands of years, the pigments that were originally applied to the terracotta warriors have been oxidized at the moment of excavation.
In less than ten seconds, it has turned into white ash.
As for the terracotta warriors seen by the world, they can only be seen in their remaining painted traces. According to the famous historian Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty in the "Records of History", Liu Bang once agreed with Xiang Yu and Emperor Yi at the same time that whoever arrived in Xianyang first could be crowned king.
At that time, Xiang Yu was expected by everyone, and his own military strength value was also the first among the emperors in history, and the folk were known as the legend of "the king is not hegemonic, but the li".
However, Xiang Yu did not expect it, and the Yi Emperor Chu Huai sent him to fight against the famous Qin general Zhang Handan to alleviate the imminent disaster of the State of Qi. So Liu Bang took the lead and entered Xianyang and became the King of Han.
After Xiang Yu received the news, he was furious, and after entering Xianyang, he directly burned the Qin Palace and dug the grave of Qin Shi Huang. This fire also made Xiang Yu a "black history" criticized by posterity.
According to other wild histories, Xiang Yu also stole the treasures from the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and used a large number of manpower and material resources to transport them away.
Although there is no actual evidence for this statement, it also proves that the destruction of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and Xiang Yu are inseparable.
2. Terracotta Warriors
According to archaeologists, Xiang Yu also burned the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang after burning the Afang Palace, and it was at this time that the Terracotta Warriors suffered damage.
Later, after some weather and environmental influences, it is not surprising that the color of the terracotta warriors themselves fell off.
Some scholars have also proposed to paint the exterior of the terracotta warriors to create a lifelike and colorful terracotta army, but in fact, because the terracotta army was born too long ago.
The adhesion sprayed on the terracotta warriors became very poor, and the forced application would only stick to the clay of the terracotta warriors themselves, forming a picture that could not be seen.
Even so, at the moment when the Terracotta Warriors were first unearthed, their own colors were recorded by experts. The most frequent use of terracotta warriors and horses related clothing is four colors: pink green, ochre red, pink green and pure blue.
At that time, the craftsmen of the Qin Dynasty made according to the preferences of Qin Shi Huang, and these colors were also the main colors popular in the era.
After further investigation, experts found that the ochre red color was made of lead dan. Made of ochre, the main raw material of green is malachite, and the blue is copper ore, which itself is composed of blue.
The main ingredient full of mysterious purple is also azurite. Together, these colors form an indescribable cloak that creates a unique and glamorous color for the brilliant terracotta warriors.
Even with incomparably brilliant colors, it turns out that no matter how dazzling the luster, it can only be a "flash in the pan" in the face of oxidation.
After the terracotta army faded the lead, it became a well-known appearance, even if it lost its own color, it is still a treasure that the world has looked after, and the years have left traces on its body, but it can never erase its own value and significance.
Relevant scholars have also begun to try to paint the warriors in order to restore their charm.
In order to deal with these invaluable Qin figurine paintings more perfectly, the staff of the relevant venues began to try to cooperate with foreign countries in 1979.
Until 2001, the "Qin Figurine Painting Protection Technology Research" was finally identified by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and it was determined that this technology was at the top level in the world.
The raw paint on the warriors is well integrated, the water absorption is also extremely high, and it is perfectly integrated with the terracotta warriors.
Third, the color that cannot be restored
Although most of the colors have been successfully restored by people, there is a color that is always the "meaning of the difficulty" in everyone's heart, and it is the famous "Chinese purple".
Chinese Purple was dissected from the pottery and bronze ware of the Han Dynasty in China in the 1980s by Elizabeth, a famous American research institute.
Their most important component is copper barium silicate, and in the subsequent archaeology, many archaeologists also discovered its presence in the Terracotta Army.
Over time, China Purple has invisibly advanced the degree of progress. The most important feature of Chinese purple is that it is artificially made, mixing many raw materials, and then placing them at a high temperature of up to one thousand degrees, under a variety of chemical reactions, Chinese purple was born.
Although there have been successful cases, the manufacturing process is not only complex, but also extremely failed. Because the uncertainty of copper barium silicate itself is extremely high, instability is almost synonymous with it.
And the requirements for the proportion of raw material formulas are also very strict, with the current science and technology, it is still very difficult to restore Chinese purple 100% perfectly.
According to historical records, Chinese purple first appeared in the Warring States period, and after Qin Shi Huang unified the world, it became a color circulating in the Qin State. It was passed down to the Han Dynasty, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was still very fond of this color, so it often appeared in the buildings and costumes worn by princes and nobles.
But for some unknown reason, this technology eventually disappeared into the world, and it has only appeared in books and people's mouths ever since.
Historians have analyzed that it is likely that it was because in the last years of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, and at that time it was in a chaotic world, and this technology gradually disappeared into the world with the era of wars and horses.
In any case, the contribution of the Terracotta Army to the world is huge and indelible, and its existence not only carries the history of China for 5,000 years, but also makes Chinese culture stand tall in the world.
4. Summary
If you search online, you can still see the terracotta warriors with colors. Whether it is colored or yellow-white terracotta warriors, they have a unique charm, they stand quietly, silently telling the story of a thousand years ago and the joys and sorrows.
The Great Wall is still there, and Qin Shi Huang was not seen. No matter what kind of royal hegemony, it has dissipated into the world with the passage of time.
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