Chinese Cultural Relics
Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes – Chinese Culture
The Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, located at southeast of Dunhuang City, were first constructed in the Former Qin Dynasty. It reached more than 1,000 caves till the Tang Dyansty and was constantly built up the following 1,000 years till the Qing Dynasty.
Now more than 2,400 painted sculptures and more than 50,000 squaremters frescos of past dynasties are saved in the 492 existing caves. If they are connected together, that will form a magnificent gallery of 25km.
Dunhuang joss, all painted sculptures made of mud, are divided into single and group ones, and have vivid shapes and different presences with the tallest to 33m and shortest to 0.1 m only.
The Dunhung Mogao Grottoes are the caves that have the most frescos in the world, and the Dunhuang frescos are the main part of the Dunhuang art.
With a grand scale and rich contents, the Dunhuang frescos can be mainly grouped under four heads which are Joss Paintings. By the Change Paintings, Painting of Folk, Tradition and Myth, and Dependents Portraits Paintings.
In Dunhunag’s 492 grottoes, almost every one of them has flying gods. Flying gods in early caves are stocky with a big mouth and big ears, which is evidently influenced by the flying gods in the Indic and Western Region.
However, the artistic image since the Tang Dynasty has completely had the Chinese style, which is without wings and feathers but with flyaway dress and colored ribbons.
The tint of the Dunhuang frescos is magnificent and colorful but not vulgar. With stone green azurite and vermilion, etc. As its main colors, it still keeps ins original flamboyant and clear beauty after thousands of years because of mineral colors’ strong stability.
The Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are the most majestic and well preserved mine of Buddhism art in the world till now and was included into the World Heritage List by UNESCO.
In 2000, the large-scale dance drama Dream of Dunhuang, created on the base of the Dunhuang Fresco, was shown in Beijing.
Ancient Coins – Chinese Culture
China is one of the earliest countries to adopt coins. The round coin with a square hole, which had been circulating for more than 2,000 years, had a far-reaching impact upon some countries and regions of Asia. It led to a monetary system with oriental characteristics.
Before the appearance of coins, people resorted to barter trade. For instance, a sheep was traded for a bag of rice. About 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, ancient Chinese used precious shells as money. As commerce developed, people began to use copper to mint coins.
During the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,000 years ago, there appeared copper coins in the shape of a knife, spade and circle.
In the year of 221BC, Emperor Qinshihuang unified the whole country and adopted a round coin with a square hole in the middle as a unified currency. Such coins should be held together by a string and carried about. Characters cast on the sides of the coin are of high value for archaeology today.
In 118 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty used the wuzhu coin as the national currency. Wuzhu lasted for 700 years.
In 621, Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty adopted coins named tongbao, yuangao, etc. Since then, coins were named after the dynasty code or the year code. The coining time and place, and the value were also caste on the coins. This system continued until the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the early Republic of China (1911-1949), namely, more than 1,000 years.
China is also the earliest country to use paper currency. In the late Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), 16 wealthy merchants of Chengdu of Si-chuan Province jointly issued, the earliest paper currency in China.
Today, ancient Chinese currency has become a precious time for collection.
Chime Bells – Chinese Culture
The chime bells, or bianzhong, are a kind of percussion musical instrument made of bronze.
Chimme bells were divided into group according to their size, temperament, pitch and were hung on a rack. A small hammer or wooden club is used to hit the bell to make a resonanat and agreeable sound.
The chime bells of Yi, are the largest and the most complete ancient chimes existing today in China. There are altogether 64 bells, hung in eight groups on wooden or bronze bars. The rack, 10.79 m long, 2.67 m high, is made of three bars, namely, the upper, middle and lower bars, held up by six bronze warriors and a few round, wooden posts.
The 64 bells weigh 2,500 kg. The largest bell exceeds 1.5 m in height and weight more than 200kg. It is extremely rare to see a set with so many bells of such weight and size.
After excavation of the chime, Chinese musicians created a melody entitled Bianzhong Yuewu, to once again demonstrate the charm of ancient Chinese music.
Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qinshihuang Mausoleum – Chinese Culture
Several kilometers east of Xián, there is a grand terracotta army undergroud which is regarded as the eighth wonder fo the world. This is the Terriors Warriors and Horses of Qinshihuang Mausoieum.
The first empero of the Qin Dynasty, known as Qishihuang, made great achievements in Chinese history. While still alive, he mobilized huge manpower and used a great deal of materials to uild his mausoleum. The Terriors Warriors and Horses were used as burial objects to accompany the emperor in the after world.
The Terriors Warriors and Horses were first discovered in 1974. Archaeologists, from three terracotta figuines pits occupying about 2,000 square meters, have since unearthed some 8,000 life like soldiers and horses. Standing in formation, they indicate the poweful military might of Qin when it unified China.
All the warriors look robust and are physically well-proportioned. Normally, each one is about 1.80m high. They are further divided into infantry, cavalry, archers, generals, etc. Dressed in armor, holding weapons, some lead horses, some ride in carriages, some have one knee on the ground pulling back their bow to release an arrow, while others stand aloof, gazing to the front.
Each clay house is 1.50 m in height and 2 m in length. They all look robust, beautiful and alert as if they are ready to charge onto the battlefield at any moment.
Not very far from the Mausoleum of Qinshihuang, two sets of bronze horse-pulled chariots were found. On each chariot there sits a man drving a chariot pulled by four horses. The size of the bronze chariot is about half size of a true machine.
Such big bronze wares are rarely seen in the world. The terracotta warriors and horses provide important material objects for the research on the history, the military, and the culture of the Qin Dynasty.
Simuwu Ding – Chinese Culture
In ancient China, ding was a symbol of imperial power. Thereofore, ding is often used in phrases and expressions in the Chinese languages to imply authority.
Sumuwi Ding was a very perious cultural relier, found in 1937 in Anyang of Henan Province. It was produced in the late Shang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago. This square-shaped ding is the largest existing bronze ware in the world. It is now housed in the Chinese Historical Museum in Beijing.
Simuwu Ding is 1.33 meters high, 1.10 meters long and 0.78 meters wide, weighting 832.84kg. At that time, it needed 1,000 kg of metal and two to three hundred workers to produce it.
This ding is solid in build, magnificent in appearance and was mde with fine craftsmanship. The four pillar legs are thick and powerful. The motifs on its body are exquisite and clear, symbolic of harvest and auspiciousness. Simuwu Ding represents the highest level of bronze cast technology in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.
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