A History of Science in World Cultures: Voices of Knowledge by Scott L. Montgomery & Alok Kumar

Author:Scott L. Montgomery & Alok Kumar [Montgomery, Scott L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781317439042
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2015-06-11T23:00:00+00:00

Next, each warrior was painted brilliantly in up to seven colors. Sources for these colors included cinnabar (mercury sulfide) for red, used on the lips and, more lightly, the cheeks; charcoal for black, for eyes, head and facial hair, as well as shoulder and chest armor decoration; azurite (a copper oxide) for blue, added to sleeves and collar; ochre or other iron oxide for dark red or orange, also applied to armor; burnt and powdered bone for white, for sections of clothing; malachite (another copper mineral) for green, applied to clothing decoration and footwear.

One other color was added, mainly for generals: purple. Why is this significant? Because it is manmade. Known as “Han purple,” due to its abundant use during that dynasty, it is one of only two artificial colors created in the pre-Christian era (the other being Egyptian blue). Chemical analyses have shown the composition to be BaCuSi2 O6, a barium-copper silicate, yet the process to make it remains unclear. Given the amount of Han purple needed for the officer corps, Chinese artisans were capable producing it at industrial-scale.

A striking fact: despite their great number, the warrior figures seem to be individuals (Figure 6.3). They have different facial expressions, facial hair, and top knots (hair styles), as well as different ages and emotional states: most appear stern, but others are smiling or wide-eyed and alert. Body shapes vary from young and thin to middle aged and stocky, and even old, pot-bellied veterans. Yet close study proves such individualism a mirage. There are eight types of faces and a similar number of body forms. Another clue is height: soldiers average 1.77 m (5’8”) tall, officers 1.9 m (6’3”), and generals 1.96 m (6’5”), numbers too big for Chinese men at the time and too neatly matched to rank. We are, therefore, dealing with idealized representatives of a military force meant to protect and serve the emperor in the next life. The level of realism and detail, however, reveal that Chinese culture had developed a full appreciation for the powers of observation and the ability to replicate it.

The tomb, meanwhile, was built so that the ceiling bore a portrait of the heavens, while an actual landscape was created in relief on the tomb’s surface. We learn of this from the Shiji:

Palaces and scenic towers for a hundred officials were constructed, and the tomb was filled with rare artifacts and wonderful treasure. Craftsmen were ordered to make crossbows and arrows primed to shoot at anyone who enters the tomb. The hundred rivers, the Yangtze River and Yellow River together with the great sea, were all imitated by means of flowing mercury, and there were machines which made it flow and circulate. Above were representations of the heavenly constellations, below, the features of the land.

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