The Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang are known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World", and when they were unearthed, the world finally got a glimpse of the Terracotta Warriors of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang.
However, most of the terracotta faces that can be seen today, and some still have traces of color, vaguely reminiscent of last year's bright colors.
In general, objects buried deep underground for many years quickly deform, fade, or decay.
This was the case with the Terracotta Warriors of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, whose color disappeared within a few minutes of excavation due to their special craftsmanship.
The archaeological team was able to speed up the excavations, but still failed to maintain the color.
Later, when studying the preservation of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses in the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, a microorganism similar to a white "flower" was found under the microscope.
What is this white "flower"?
Is this related to the "discoloration" of the terracotta army?
What was the original "good color" of the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses?
What research and work have Chinese experts and scholars done in the protection and restoration of the Terracotta Warriors?
The Terracotta Warriors of Qinling have reappeared, and farmers are digging wells to dig up the ruins
In 1974, in the Lintong district of Xi'an City, a villager stumbled upon some "severed limb fragments" of clay figurines while digging a well, when they had only dug two meters deep.
After digging four or five meters, the villagers realized something was wrong, and they dug out bricks and bronze.
Villagers who planned to dig wells here abandoned their jobs and quickly reported the incident to the authorities.
Their position at the time was Terracotta Pit No. 1.
Then, in 1976, Terracotta Craters II and III 1 were discovered 20 metres north of the eastern end of Crater 1.
Pit No. 2 is more than half the size of Pit No. 1 and contains a much smaller number of terracotta warriors, although the variety is more complete.
Pit No. 3 is the smallest of the three pits, with fewer terracotta warriors.
Pit 3 is now widely regarded as the headquarters of the Terracotta Pits 1 and 2.
At this time, the three terracotta pits were all back in the sky.
The Terracotta Warriors and Horses Pit is actually the burial pit of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, and the three figurine pits cover an area of more than 20,000 square meters.
The largest pit, No. 1, buried the most terracotta warriors, about 6,000 pieces.
The terracotta warriors of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin are the size of real people and horses, with an average height of 1.78 meters and an average weight of about 150 kilograms, with vivid images, and each warrior has a different appearance.
The Terracotta Warriors are considered beautiful, but we don't see them anymore.
Over the years, the pottery figurines have changed, through war, water and fire, and the color has begun to fade.
Although they are buried deep underground, creating a relatively stable environment, once excavated, the "stable environment" is broken.
After being exposed to a large amount of air, some of the terracotta warriors that still had painted paintings lost their color in an instant, and some pottery figurines that did not immediately "lose color" also began to lose their paint.
After the terracotta warriors were unearthed, people realized that without good cultural relics protection technology and awareness, it would only cause great damage to the excavated cultural relics.
But at that time, the Qin warrior archaeology team was asked to excavate all the terracotta warriors in the pit as soon as possible.
As a result, excavations of the Terracotta Warriors had to continue.
Due to various circumstances, cultural relics conservation workers can only use very primitive means to protect the terracotta warriors, covering them with plastic film on rainy days and grass mats in winter.
It was not until 1976, after the keen attention and appeal of cultural relics experts and all sectors of society, that the excavation work stopped.
They began to refill the pit with Qin figurines and built a museum on site.
At this time, the remains of the terracotta warriors were long gone.
What is the white "flower" for? Pottery figurine protection is imminent
The times have changed, and with the continuous enhancement of the awareness of the protection of cultural relics on the mainland, the science and technology that can be used to study cultural relics is also constantly advancing.
What kind of microbes like white "flowers" attach to terracotta warriors that researchers observe through a microscope?
This is not a good thing, it is a mold that can cause damage to cultural relics.
Biological diseases have always been the "big trouble" of cultural relics invasion, and microbial diseases are also a big problem.
Among them, lichens and fungi are the most dangerous.
The white "flower" attached to the terracotta warriors is a mold that grows "wildly" at the right temperature and humidity, with white, gray, black and green stains on the clay figurines.
Even if cleaned, the stain cannot be completely removed.
With this in mind, the experts involved in archaeology at that time sighed and regretted it, deeply felt their mistakes, and failed to protect the cultural relics in time.
Only in this way can they become more involved in mold infestation.
In general, temperature and humidity are key to cultivating fungi, and the higher the temperature and humidity, the faster the fungus multiplies.
At the end of 1988, the excavation of Terracotta Pit No. 3 began, and by the spring of the following year, the temperature gradually increased, and the mold in Pit No. 3 began to grow uncontrollably and rapidly.
Mold spots and gray spots began to appear on the walls, floor and surface of the terracotta figurines inside the pit.
Archaeologists began cleaning up the mold as soon as they found it, but soon the mold continued to grow.
After the terracotta warriors were unearthed, the color was difficult to preserve and easier to be covered by mold.
In order to rescue the terracotta warriors in the 3rd pit and prevent mold infestation, experts and scholars have conducted a lot of research and analysis, summarizing the reasons for mold breeding.
One of them, of course, has to do with the temperature and humidity of the air.
The air temperature is 25-30 degrees Celsius, and the relative humidity is above 90% where the mold grows best.
Secondly, the pH value is weakly acidic, which is suitable for mold growth.
Third, there is more organic matter precipitation around pit three, which is good mold.
Fourth, the visitor activity increased the number of microorganisms in the air near Pit Three.
After identifying these points, experts have made a breakthrough in inhibiting mold growth.
They first sampled the mold, identified the species, and found nine species, including Aspergillus niger and Penicillium.
Based on the characteristics of the mold, experts began to select and manufacture mold inhibitors suitable for the Terracotta Army.
Finally synthesized a convenient to use, good anti-mildew effect, no damage to the terracotta army, highly toxic to the human body anti-mildew agent.
The production of this anti-mildew agent is of great significance to inhibit the mildew of cultural relics and protect the terracotta warriors and horses of precious historical cultural relics.
After inhibiting the growth of white "flowers", experts and scholars have not stopped protecting and repairing the terracotta army.
The Terracotta Army has its own true color, what color is that? Archaeological findings show that the pigments used in the Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty were mainly yellow and red. However, over time, these pigments gradually faded, and this problem has also attracted widespread attention from the academic community. Can the prior art maintain the original color without consuming the original color?
The clay figurines once shone brightly, what other reason would make them "lose their color"?
Yuan Zhongyi, a member of the former Qin figurine archaeology team, studied the color of different types and different individuals of samurai figurine clothing.
He found in the Terracotta Warriors the armor of infantry, cavalry and cavalry, presumably issued by the government.
Soldiers of the same rank and rank wear armor of a more uniform shape and color, with uniform brown armor pieces and red armor bands.
However, according to historical records, during the reign of Qin Shi Huang, the Qin State implemented a conscription system, and when soldiers were conscripted into the army, except for the armor uniformly issued by the government, other clothes were provided by the soldiers themselves.
In other words, the clothes of ordinary soldiers can be freely chosen according to personal preferences.
This is also seen by comparing the remaining colors of the terracotta warriors.
Most warriors have tops, bottoms, leg guards, collars, etc., and most warriors have different colors and sleeves.
According to statistics, the terracotta warriors of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang mainly wear green, red, purple and blue, with the most green, the least white and black, and no yellow is found.
It can be seen that craftsmen should pay attention to the overall color matching when fighting the terracotta warriors - if it is green, the pants are more likely to be sky blue, pink purple or red; if it is red, the pants are more likely to be dark blue or light green.
If a soldier wears a long green coat, his collar and cuffs must be scarlet.
As you can imagine, the primary colors of the Terracotta Warriors are very bright.
What causes clay figurines to unearth unearthed when unearthed when they were painted in color and even painted with paint, except for the fact that they changed shape when excavated?
Since 1990, the Xi'an Qin Terracotta Warriors Museum has cooperated with experienced cultural relics protection units abroad to conduct long-term conservation research on the Qin Terracotta Warriors.
After years of extensive experimentation, experts have determined that the main ingredient of the painted clay and brown organic layer is Chinese raw lacquer, while the pigments used by ancient craftsmen to paint pottery figurines are mostly natural mineral pigments, and the painted pigment adhesive is animal glue.
After research, it has been determined that the main reason for the damage and loss of ceramic figurine painting is due to changes in the environment and other factors, the effect of pigment binders has become worse, and the raw paint used to make the underlying raw materials is also sensitive to the loss of moisture, once dried, the primer will shrink sharply, resulting in warp curling, resulting in the entire paint layer falling off.
Through the exploration of historical data, we can also find factors affecting the collapse of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Qinling.
First of all, the Terracotta Warriors had previously been immersed in water, and after the Terracotta Warriors were built, there were many flash floods in Lishan Mountain, and inevitably a large amount of water was injected into the figurine pit, and the terracotta figurines were soaked in water for a long time.
Second, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses were burned, Xiang Yu entered the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, the "Burning Palace", many buildings and floors of the Tomb of the First Emperor were burned, and the Tomb of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the First Emperor was not far from the Qin Tomb and was likely to be burned.
The figurines were flooded, burned, and buried underground for more than two thousand years, so the paintings on the body would never be as good as when they were first molded.
Research on the color restoration of ceramic figurines by experts at home and abroad
In order to avoid further damage to the precious terracotta warriors, no further large-scale excavation of the terracotta pits was carried out.
Today, we can see the Terracotta Warriors of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, as well as the spirit of the Qin Army that unified the Six Kingdoms.
The fact that the terracotta warriors have faded cannot be changed, and all we can do now and in the future is to appreciate, protect and understand.
There is no successful experience and technology in the world to protect the Qin figurines.
In 1999, a breakthrough was made in the protection of clay figurines in mainland China.
At that time, 10 regular kneeling samurai figurines were unearthed at Pit 2, and after experts used newly developed methods to strengthen and protect the terracotta warriors, the colors of the 10 terracotta warriors were actually preserved in a large area.
"Samurai" can be seen moving with pink hair and headbands, pink faces, pink necklines and tops, pink or crimson hands, pink or crimson legs.
There are two main methods of "color preservation" developed by experts: the treatment protection method that combines anti-wrinkle shrinkant and reinforcing agent and the protection mode of monomer permeation and electron beam radiation curing protection.
They combined the two methods and applied them to the clay figurines, and the effect was very good.
Interestingly, among the kneeling figurines unearthed that year, there is a very special "green-faced figurine".
Under the method of painting protection, the strange "shape" of "red pottery and green face" can be preserved and displayed in front of the world.
The "green-faced figurine" has black hair, beard, and eye pupils, but its face is green.
Among the terracotta warriors unearthed, it is the only terracotta warrior with such a unique "green face".
As for why this terracotta army is so unique "appearance", it has not been studied.
Later, some pottery figurines, such as the Hundred Drama Figurines, also adopted this protection method, and its "color preservation" effect was very good.
The successful protection of the painted colors of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang not only reproduces the beautiful colors of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of qinling, but also provides practical information for modern scholars to study the painting process, clothing colors and pigment compositions of the Qin Dynasty.
However, this technique has not yet been fully applied to the newly unearthed terracotta warriors.
Because it takes a lot of money to protect the color figurines with this new color preservation technology.
The terracotta figurines are first reinforced within a few minutes after excavation, and then the surface layer of mud and dirt is quickly transferred to a constant temperature and humidity place for restoration.
The process is detailed and complex, requiring a lot of professionals and time.
When peeling off the surface soil, professionals need to be a little careful, pay attention, and take the soil particles to peel off the surface so that the painted layer does not fall off while separating the soil.
A professional person can only do about an inch a day, while it takes a whole year to make a clay figurine.
Therefore, it is understandable that it cannot exit on a large scale.
However, the research of experts and scholars on the protection of cultural relics has not stopped, and the state's support for the protection of cultural relics has become increasingly strong.
Through cooperation with relevant cultural relics protection units at home and abroad, the exchange of new technologies, the discussion of new developments, and the development of various research and cooperation activities, the steps of cultural relics protection have been improved.
The new concepts and new technologies of painting and protection of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin have always been on the road of science and will continue to be explored.
With the progress of the times and the progress of science and technology, the painted protection technology and theory of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor have been further improved and matured, and more and more Qin figurines have been unearthed and effectively protected.
At that time, people around the world will be able to see the more breathtaking Qinling Terracotta Warriors.