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UT Knoxville ARTH 183 - Qin-Dynasty China
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ARTH183 1st Edition Lecture 12Outline of Last Lecture I. Shang-Dynasty China BronzesA. “Jue;” form, styleB. “Ding;” form, stylea. Zoomorphic formsb. Taotiec. Thunder patternC. “Tripod Wine Vessel (Jia);” form, usage, styleD. “Wine Vessel (Guang) in Form of Composite Animal;” form, style, unusual aspectsE. Tomb of Lady Haoa. “Owl-Shaped Wine Vessel (Zun);” form, style, unusual aspectsII. Bronzes at SanxingduiA. Culture outside of Shang kingdomB. Site at Sanxingdui; what was founda. “Standing Figure;” significance, form, style (extreme abstraction), possible usageb. “Head;” formc. “Mask with Hooked Cloud Ornament;” form, style (hooked forms, tensile energy)C. Unique aspect of Sanxingdui pitsOutline of Current Lecture I. Qin-Dynasty ChinaA. Qin Dynasty history; role of the 1st Qin emperora. Means of unificationb. Xi’anB. Tomb complex of 1st Qin emperora. Tumulus; written description of tombC. The emperor’s terra-cotta army; discovered where and holding how manya. “Infantry Pit (Pit 1)”*Description of figuresb. “Kneeling Archer”*Unusual feature; examples of high level of detailc. “Officer”; how he is identifiable as such*Hieratic scaled. “Cavalryman and Saddled Horse;” significance re: Chinese historyThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.e. Technique for creating figuresf. Symbolic function of terra-cotta armyD. End of Qin Dynasty and beginning of Han DynastyCurrent LectureQin-Dynasty ChinaInner China was not united and consisted of multiple kingdoms in the period before the Qin; the period immediately before the Qin is called the “Warring States Period.” The Qin emerge out of this era of conflict as the 1st imperial dynasty of China. The 1st Qin emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, gives us the Chinese term for “emperor” and creates a model later rulers will try to match or do better than in unifying areas of China; he also standardizes weights, currencies, writing, and creates the first Great Wall to try and keep out raiding nomadic tribes-Qin capital was at the modern city of Xi’an; there were multiple palaces, but no substantial remains exist-The main site associated with the 1st Qin emperor’s reign is his large, walled tomb complex; the tomb itself hasn’t been excavated for fear of damaging artifacts*Tumulus=a large mound of earth marking a burial site*There is a description of the building of the tomb included in the 1st written history of China-says that 700,000 people were conscripted into working on this project,that the empire was recreated as a topographic map with mountains, flowing rivers of mercury, and model palaces within the tomb (not sure if this is true or a legend-To the east of the tomb a large ceramic army was found buried in pits on the compound (an accidental discovery). The largest pit contains over 6,000 figures; the total number of figures including the smaller pits is around 8,000-“Infantry Pit (Pit 1).” Tomb complex of the First Emperor of Qin. Qin Dynasty, ca. 210 BCE: Most figures are static, standing, frontal, and stiff; horse figures would have originally pulled wooden chariots (now disintegrated)*Figures were all originally coated with lacquer and painted in bright colors, which would have helped identify what division they served in*All the soldiers would have originally had weapons made of the appropriate real material; some figured hand positions show they were once resting on a sword pommel*Faces are fairly individualized, but not all one-of-a-kind-“Kneeling Archer.” Tomb complex of the First Emperor of Qin. Qin Dynasty, ca. 210 BCE: One of the more unusual figure types, has more of a sense of movement because of kneeling posture; shows high level of detail and relative naturalism present in figures, careful creation of costume/armor elements to suggest what it is made of and how it can be adjusted, lots of attention to the hair (braids, topknots, ornaments, suggestion of individual strands)*Even the sole of the shoe has representation of treads for traction-“Officer.” Tomb complex of the First Emperor of Qin. Qin Dynasty, ca. 210 BCE: Identifiable by more elaborate uniform and headgear, wrinkles and beard suggesting a more advanced age, use of hieratic scale (soldiers with a higher rank were physically taller, with officers being the tallest)-“Cavalryman and Saddled Horse.” Tomb complex of the First Emperor of Qin. QinDynasty, ca. 210 BCE: Shows China was transitioning from chariot to cavalry warfare. Originally had real bridles and riding accoutrements; human figure is typically frontal and stiff, while the horse shows some rendering that hints at underlying bone structure but also a level of abstraction-Technique: The figures were made in pieces on an assembly line with individual segments made separately by different, specialized workers. Forms tended to be simplified-tubular legs, non-draping clothing…some areas are more naturalistic than others (i.e. faces), butall show a lot of surface detail. Firing was a careful, difficult process where you had to leave open areas in the clay to let expanding air escape or else there would be an explosion*Heads are made from molds of about 8 different “types” that an artist would then come along afterwards and individualize a bit-they are not one-for-one portrait likenesses of real soldiers-Function: After the Shang Dynasty and by the time of the Qin, human sacrifice ofpeople to accompany the dead to the afterlife is considered unethical and abandoned and the use of symbolic substitutes like sculpture is adopted; it no longer has to be the real thing*Allowed the king to have an army with him in the afterlife without needing to kill themThe Qin Dynasty didn’t last long because the emperor conscripted so many people into public works projects that they eventually rebelled. His successor, head of the rebel army, was Liu Bang, who established the 400-years-long Han Dynasty. It is split into 2 parts: Earlier/Western Han and Later/Eastern Han, based on where the capital was. The kingdom was comparable to and actually a little bit bigger than the Qin area of


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UT Knoxville ARTH 183 - Qin-Dynasty China

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