The Technology of Ancient China by Jason Greenling

Author:Jason Greenling [Greenling, Jason]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC

Ceramics

After unifying the seven warring states, the First Emperor built his capital city in Xianyang in northern China along the banks of the Wei River, a tributary of the Yellow River. Over the centuries, the shifting course of the Wei obliterated most of this ancient Qin capital. Archaeologists carried out a geological survey in 2010, however, that revealed a city laid out along a grid system of intersecting avenues and streets, thought to be the remains of Emperor Zheng’s Xianyang. Archaeologists believe that the primary palace of the new capital was a multilevel structure with pounded earth foundations. The main building was flanked with symmetrical wings.

The new empire got a capital that was grand, luxurious, and built using innovative ceramic technology. The buildings of Xianyang were decorated with brightly colored ceramic tiles. Ceramic pipes were used to construct a central heating system. These pipes carried heated air through the buildings to keep the First Emperor and his court warm and comfortable during the long, cold winters. Plumbing for the buildings was also constructed from ceramic pipes. The bathrooms had ceramic pipes to carry away wastewater and empty it into the Wei River.

Ceramic was also used to create the terra-cotta soldiers in the First Emperor’s mausoleum. Each figure was painted in brilliant colors and equipped with a real weapon made of bronze, including swords, halberds, and crossbows. Chariots were equipped with terra-cotta horses wearing bronze tack.

All these projects required considerable skill in ceramic technology, starting with the building of kilns. These are the ovens used to bake or “fire” clay into pottery. The Chinese had a unique method of construction for these kilns. Unlike kilns in the West that are actually separate structures of brick, the Chinese built their kilns into the sides of hills. This construction technique uses the simple premise that heat rises. In order to take advantage of this principle and achieve higher temperatures while using less fuel, the Chinese built their kilns into the landscape of China itself by making tunnels in the hillside that followed the natural contours of the land. The kilns ran zigzag, with several openings, or mouths, on the side of the hills that could be used for regulating the temperature and firing conditions. The Chinese dubbed these kilns “dragon kilns” because they coiled their way along the natural contours of the earth like a writhing dragon.

This ancient kiln was first used during the Qin dynasty.

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