Colored Painting Bronze Chariots and Horses in the Tomb of Emperor Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty
3 min readTerracotta warriors in the tomb of Emperor Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty were discovered in Lintong County, Shaanxi, in 1974, including an underground army made up of 8,000 terracotta warriors. At the end of 1980, two sets of painted bronze chariots and horses, half the size of real ones, were unearthed seven meters underground to the west of the tomb. The archeological discovery brought people directly acquainted to the large-sized bronze ware of the Qin Dynasty for the first time.
Qin. No.1 Bronze Chariot and Horse Painted with Color 225cm long. Excavated from the tomb of Emperor Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty in 1980. Kept in the Museum of Qinshihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses.
When the two-wheel bronze chariots pulled by four horses and a single shaft were unearthed, one was in front of another. High-level officials are driving the chariots, and the principal seats are empty. The large umbrella covers are thin, curved castings. An official driver stands in front of the chariot, while bows, arrows and shields are inside the chariot. This chariot is the leading one, and is also named an erected chariot, tall or Rong chariot. The back one is called An or Wenliang chariot. When Emperor Shihuang traveled through the countiy, he rode in this kind of chariot. The two chariots have more than 7,000 components and accessories, and 3,010 pieces were unearthed. It took archeologists eight years to recover them.
The two painted bronze chariots reflect the chariot system of the Qin Dynasty and embody supreme imperial powers. The smelting, casting, mechanical processing and painting technologies used on the chariots were incomparable at that time.
Qin. No.2Bronze Chariot and Horse painted with Color 317cm long. Excavated from the tomb of Emperor Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty in 1980. Kept in the Museum of Qinshihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses.
The No.2 Bronze chariot(An chariot) is 328.4cm long, weighs 1,241kg, and is made up of 3,462 gold, silver and bronze parts and accessories. The bronze chariot, horses and the official driver are lively with colors painted on them. The color of white prevails, and vermilion, pink, purple, blue, green, black and brown patterns give out shinning and magnificent effect. The driver sits in the front chamber, and wears a hat, gown, waistband and sword. The official’s face is pink, and the beard and eyebrows are engraved. The horses’ bodies are purewhite, and their tongues and nostrils are vermilion. Gray lines can be seen on horses’ backs. The chariot is equipped with complete harnesses. The halters and chaplets are made of gold and silver. The light blue chains around the necks are made of very thin brass wires. The heads of the outside horses turn slightly outward, producing the vivid effect in an orderly team.A small banner is erected on the head of the rightmost horse.
There are painted boards in colors in the front chamber of the chariot. Windows on the left and right walls ofthe back chamber are engraved with flowers. Cloud patterns were painted on the interior oval chariot cover, and a silk cloth covers the chariot’s roof. It’s surprising to see the complicated structure and sophisticated casting.
