Every Treasure Tells A Story: Qin Bronze Chariots And Horses - The Road To Eternity

There is a message from National Treasures. Please check it. Not even the mightiest among us can escape death. Though China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, certainly had elaborate plans to do so. In the winter of 1980, just west of the Great Tomb Mound at Xi'an that houses the emperor's final resting place, two bronze models of a horse and chariot team were unearthed. The first, chariot number one, is a high chariot, faithful in every detail to a life-size example. including carriage, four horses, carriage ornaments, and a standing driver. The main parts of the model are made of bronze, while the ornaments are made from gold and silver. In many places, it is finely painted. These are the most complete and detailed representations of how the elite aristocracy lived and traveled, ever found by archaeologists. The extravagant use of metals is characteristic of a ruler who felt that nothing was beyond his command. Chariot number one is 152 centimeters tall and 225 centimeters long, a half-size scale model of a real chariot. The reduction in size distinguishes the chariot from other funerary objects, but as a model it doesn't lose any detail. It weighs more than a ton and is made of more than 3,000 separate parts. The larger parts were made by hollow casting, while the wide or thin pieces are forged metals. The many complex components were split into simple parts, which were assembled by hinges, buckles, rivets, and rings. The independent parts are precisely matched to each other, indicating the high quality of craftsmanship available to the Qin. When Ying Zheng, king of the state of Qin, established himself as ruler of all China in 221 BC, he gave himself a new title, Qin Shi Huang, a title which went further than simply first emperor, since it implied a unique authority to parley with heaven. Qin Shi Huang set about unifying his domain by reorganizing its government into commanderies directly responsible to his central government, standardizing the written language and the system of weights and measures, including even the width of carriage tracks. Qin Shi Huang made five tours of inspection around his empire he died in 210 BC during the fifth tour aged 49 his body had to be brought back to the capital secretly in a closed carriage with incense burnt to hide the smell of decay but his magnificent bronze chariots were there to await him ready to travel west to the land of the setting sun and life eternal