Anti-lost, accessible by elevator
Safety Island newspaperman Liu Yadong A
Source: Mechanical Front
The recent epidemic in Xi'an has made many netizens worry, and the major media have also reported more, we will not talk about the epidemic today, to talk about the monuments in Xi'an -
Two netizens chatted, one of them said that in Xi'an Street photographed a certain brand of luxury cars, this should be the most expensive car in Xi'an, right?
The other party immediately responded, no!
The most expensive car in Xi'an should be it-
For the people of the ancient city of Xi'an, compared with the hundreds of millions of luxury cars, Xi'an's "copper carriages and horses" are priceless.
In 1980, in a funerary pit 20 meters west of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang in Lintong, Shaanxi, China, two large funeral bronze carriages and horses were unearthed, one in front of the other and one after the other. It was made as late as the time of the mausoleum, before 210 BC.
But when buried in a pit, they look like this—
Even people with no archaeological experience can easily see components such as horse heads and legs. After the inventory, more than 3,000 large and small bronze fragments were excavated.
At that time, the State Administration of Cultural Relics immediately organized bronze cultural relics restoration experts, and after nearly 8 years of intense restoration, it was finally restored intact and reappeared more than 2,000 years later.
Image from the Digital Museum of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
Previous archaeological discoveries of the car are wooden, excavated when excavated, and the excavation of copper carriages and horses allows us to clearly see the true face of the ancient royal car.
The bronze carriage and horse were made according to the proportion of one-half of the subordinate cars in the Qin Shi Huang imperial convoy, and the lid and the inside and outside of the carriage were painted with exquisite patterns; the gold and silver ornaments on the two-passenger copper carriage horse weighed 14 kilograms, showing the noble rank of the bronze carriage horse.
The bronze carriage horse is the earliest discovered, the largest shape and the most complete preservation of the copper cast carriage horse, which is of extremely important historical value for the study of the ancient Chinese carriage and horse system, carving art and smelting technology.
QinLing No. 1 Copper Carriage Horse Qin Dynasty Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Museum Collection
Let's take a closer look at the details of this car horse.
The Qinling copper carriage and horse have been excavated in two ways, the front is called Gao Che, and the back is called An Che.
The bronze carriage horse, numbered No. 1, is a carriage of pack horses, one of which has a 22 cm high dào (a large flag in the ancient army) on its head, symbolizing the imperial carriage. The whole car is made of copper, from war horses and riders to costumes, ornaments to reins, arrows, crossbows, etc., all of which are realistic and exquisite. If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that the technology of more than 2,000 years ago was so advanced.
Due to the different riding modes and uses of the two cars, the shape of the carriage and the umbrella cover on the car are very different.
They do not look as dazzling as gold and silverware, however, the historical knowledge and scientific and technological content hidden behind the umbrella cover are a dazzling highlight in the Qinling copper car, even if it is put into a modern high-tech perspective, it can also be described by the word "against the sky".
Diagram of the connection between the umbrella bar and the umbrella seat of the No. 1 car
Umbrella originated from the ancient "barrier", is the ancient emperor travel, in order to cover the sun and the dust on the road and set up a large shield, and later evolved into a ritual, we can often see in film and television dramas, the ancient emperor behind the palace women holding a huge umbrella-shaped ornament.
The role of this umbrella on the bronze cart of Qin Shi Huang is mainly to shade the sun and avoid dust, but if you have been to the museum and listened to the explanation of the docent, you will understand that this umbrella is not simple. The so-called shading and dust shelter are only the surface, and they also have a hidden function, which is very powerful.
First look at the design.
Qin Shi Huang copper carriage horse between the umbrella seat, between the umbrella handle is a self-locking locking structure, the umbrella base includes a live hinge, crank pin type lock, there is a dark groove, can be locked, can also be easily opened; in order to stabilize the umbrella handle, the umbrella handle also has a buckle lock bar, the pole has a live buckle, a bit like today's circular type active latch, can lock the middle of the umbrella handle, in case the umbrella handle breaks during strenuous movement.
At the top of this umbrella, at the junction with the canopy, is a gear. Yes, it is a bronze gear, which is said to be the first copper gear in Chinese history. The role of the gear is to undertake the umbrella cover and connect with the umbrella bone, which can ensure that the umbrella cover pressure is evenly borne, after all, the umbrella cover is also made of copper.
Copper gears
Look again at the features.
It is reasonable to say that an umbrella is only a fixed one, why should it be freely disassembled? In fact, this is precisely where the First Emperor was clever.
Before his death, Qin Shi Huang liked to patrol, and if there is a record, he has made five tours in succession. On one occasion, he was almost killed by the Hercules hired by Zhang Liang. Therefore, Qin Shi Huang was very thoughtful about the security aspect. This umbrella was taken apart not for anything else, but for defense. Imagine what it looks like when the handle is separated from the lid?
That's right, after the separation is a spear and a shield. The umbrella cover can defend against enemies, and the umbrella handle can attack enemies. You must know that Qin Shi Huang's parade was with a large army, but not just himself and a coachman. If even Qin Shi Huang had to fight with an umbrella cover, it was estimated that it would be an extreme situation. Of course, this umbrella can also be taken down in its entirety, holding a shade to cover the dust.
However, since it can be considered as a backup weapon, it is also extremely dangerous to want to come to Qin Shi Huang to tour.
Hanging to the left of the crossbow is the bronze cage (fú), which is the instrument that holds the crossbow arrows.
So, to explain the basic function of this umbrella in simple words, that is:
The handle of the umbrella is hollow, hiding sharp weapons. Multi-mechanism at the bottom of the handle, through the combination of push and pull, you can flexibly control the handle sliding on the cross base, so that the umbrella cover can adjust the appropriate tilt direction according to the different directions of the sun.
The irregular connection allows the copper umbrella to be removed after opening the bracket, and inserts its tip into the soil, which can also shelter the owner who rests on the side of the road in the field;
In the event of an Assassin attack, the umbrella cover is used as a shield, and the handle and the hidden blade can be used to defend themselves.
I have to say that this can be described as a god's work!
Even such a giant as the bronze carriage and horse is only the tip of the iceberg of wealth when the First Emperor slept with the dream of eternal life, and it is believed that one day in the future, the world will once again focus on more treasures in his tomb.