Half a century has passed since March 1974, when the Qin Terracotta Warriors, which had been sleeping underground for more than 2,000 years, were discovered. Generations of archaeologists have passed through the dust and smoke of the years, pieced together and restored the original appearance of history from the broken fragments, and used these terracotta figurines that had intersected with Qin Shi Huang's eyes as a medium to carry out a dialogue between ancient and modern times through thousands of years!
How many secrets are still hidden in the burial pits and imperial tombs that are still buried in the ground of tens of thousands of square meters? Are the interior of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang really brightly lit and mercury as rivers? When will excavation and research be carried out? These questions still arouse people's infinite reverie.
Have you ever seen painted terracotta warriors?
In the Qin State in the 3rd century BC, an "underground army" was born, and thousands of terracotta warriors and horses were neatly lined up, responsible for protecting the safety of the first emperor for eternity.
They are dressed in colorful clothing, and today, they are the most fashionable "dopamine outfits"! There is even more unexpected, the purple color on some terracotta figurines is artificially synthesized copper barium silicate, that is to say, as early as 2,200 years ago, the ancient "chemists" synthesized "Qin Zi", and the degree of advanced technology is beyond imagination.
However, after the baptism of the years, the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang has suffered military disasters, floods, burned and flooded, and when it is opened again in modern times, most of the colorful paintings on the terracotta warriors and horses are gone.
Wu Yongqi, a cultural relics restoration expert known as the "guardian of the Qin figurines", told Lu Jian: "During the excavation, some of the terracotta figurines buried in the silt still had colorful paintings on their bodies, but after coming into contact with the air, they quickly peeled off. ”
Since the 90s of the 20th century, Wu Yongqi, an expert in cultural relics restoration, led a team to cooperate with German experts, and after more than ten years, finally developed a "secret recipe" against time, so that the terracotta figurines can be painted "freeze".
When the painted terracotta warriors are found, the terracotta warriors are first "atomized" with deionized water, and then a moisturizing and plasticizing mask is applied, this small molecule essence is composed of polyethylene glycol and polyurethane emulsion, etc., and when it gradually penetrates into the skin of the pottery fetus, it can ensure that the color of more than 2,000 years ago can safely "travel" through time and space.
(Restored colored terracotta warriors)
In 2023, an intermediate military figurine was unearthed in Pit 1, and it is currently enjoying professional "skin care".
When it was first unearthed, restoration experts in the province of Rand immediately used instruments to analyze and test the painted paint on its surface, and found that there were many cracks, and some painted layers had fallen off and fell onto the clods. The expert removes the color that floats on the painted clods and reattaches them to their original position through the wire mesh reinforcement method.
Imagine: when today's cultural relics restoration experts walk in here and approach the terracotta warriors, they are stepping on the same land with a certain craftsman more than 2,000 years ago to "makeup" the same terracotta figurines, and this dialogue through the millennium is a miracle in itself!
To dig the mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin or not to dig?
The Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang are known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World", receiving more than one million overseas tourists every year, and more than 200 foreign heads of state and government have visited and visited nearly 50 countries and regions.
So far, there are still tens of thousands of square meters of burial pits and imperial tombs buried deep underground. Is the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang really as bright as recorded in the history books, and the mercury is a river? Next, should we take the initiative to excavate? Cultural relics restoration experts give suggestions on this:
"I think that unless it's a salvage protection excavation, if you can't dig it, don't dig it. Especially the emperor's mausoleum, don't move it in the future, there is no need to move. Wu Yongqi said that the underground cultural relics are very fragile, especially plant fibers and animal fibers, if they are opened rashly, it will have a very big impact on it, and some will be bad at that time.
"The ancestor is sleeping well here, but he has to dig it out, there is no reason for this. In the future, we will have more advanced technology that will allow us to understand the contents of the mausoleum without opening it, without disturbing the old man who has slept for more than 2,000 years. ”
He said that at present, it has been measured through geophysical means that there is indeed mercury in the emperor's mausoleum, and the mercury content of the sealed soil is more than 70 times that of the earth itself. "It's often the things that you don't get that are the most beautiful. So, let's think about it with doubts, the process is better than the get. ”
Source: @CCTV4