Statues of Warriors and War Horses of the Han Dynasty

Terracotta statues of warriors and war horses represent a type of sculpture from ancient burials. They are an important part of the system of objects buried together with the deceased during the Han dynasty (the so-called Mintsi). Yun, the most characteristic funeral figurines which archaeologists find especially in the region of the Chu kingdom of the pre-Qin period, began to appear during the Chunqiu and the Warring States periods. The burial of statues of soldiers together with the deceased carried an authentic meaning connected with the burial of living warriors during the Shang dynasty. Terracotta statues of warriors and war horses in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang were completed in a very short time and mainly reproduced the figures of people and soldiers on high alert before the start of a military campaign. Despite the fact that the Han Dynasty succeeded the Qin Dynasty in the administrative system, it also drew some lessons, to varying degrees, regarding martial arts, as evidenced by the location combinations of the terracotta statues and horses. In 1965, a large burial place of the ancestor of Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han dynasty, was discovered in the Shaanxi province north of Xianyang in Yangjiawan village. In history, it was known as Zhoushitsuy or Mound of Zhou Ancestors. The size and Ill. 1. National architectural monument. Han Dynasty. Mausoleum Han Yang Ling. Ill. 2. Grave pits in the Hanyangling Museum depth of the pits are not the same, the number of ceramic statues found is also various and of different shapes and sizes; however, most of the statues have a bright colour and a perfectly regular shape. These excavations of the Han terracotta statues have historical significance due to the fact that this is the first finding of terracotta statues of the Han period since the founding of New China.