Bronze Chariot and Horse No.1

Bronze Chariot and Horse No.1 in Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang is a “standing chariot”, which is an ancient single-yoke, two-wheeled carriage and is made according to the scale of 1/2 of a real carriage and horse in the Qin Dynasty. The bronze chariot as a whole is cast in bronze, with a large number of gold and silver ornaments weighing over 14 kg and more than 3,000 parts. It was assembled by various processes such as casting, inlaying, welding, sub-buckle connection and living hinge connection. It is the largest, most complex, and most complete ancient carriage in the history of Chinese archaeology, and is known as the “Crown of Bronze”.

Excavation

The bronze chariot and horse of the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum is located 20 meters west of the sealing soil of the tomb of the First Qin Emperor, which is the burial pit of the tomb of the First Qin Emperor. The trial excavation began in November 1980 and ended with the fieldwork in December. The trial excavation was 11.8 meters long from east to west and 3.1 meters wide from north to south, with a rammed earth platform on the east, west and north sides of the pit.

Restoration

The No. 1 bronze chariot and horse was broken into more than 1,360 pieces when it was unearthed, and most of the remnants were deformed to different degrees. All the joints and pins and locks were rusted and immobile, and some small parts were severely corroded.

The restoration experts used different restoration techniques according to the size and location of the parts, the degree of dilapidation, and the presence or absence of color painting. In April 1988, after eight years of hard work, the restoration of the first bronze carriage was completed. The bronze carriage horse reappeared in the world with a beautiful and lustrous image.

Appearance

The No. 1 bronze chariot and horse is 2.25 meters long and 1.52 meters high, weighing 1,061 kilograms. Each horse weighs 230 kilograms and has 3,064 pieces of accessories. The carriage is a horizontal rectangle with a depth of 48.5 cm and a width of 74 cm. In the middle of the chariot, a single round umbrella with a diameter of 1.22 meters is erected, which can not only shade the sun from the rain but also enable the rider to look far into the four directions. The top of the umbrella is round, and the carriage is a horizontal rectangle, which is related to the ancient thinking that the sky is round. Each wheel has thirty spokes, and at that time, thirty days was a month, and the wheels rolled to symbolize the rotation of the sun and the moon. The chariot is a clever way to incorporate the ancient concept of “heaven and earth” and the reincarnation of the sun and the moon in the universe.

The figurine of the imperial official is standing on the right under the umbrella, holding six bridles and wearing a long sword. In addition, there is a bow-bearing device for a bow and crossbow on the left front appendix of the carriage, and a painted bronze quiver on the inside of the front appendix of the carriage. Inside the quiver, there are 50 bronze arrowheads with feathers and 4 bronze arrowheads with feathers, and a bronze shield is placed on the inside of the carriage beside it, all of which were intended to deal with unexpected situations during the journey.

The bronze chariot and horse are painted throughout, with patterns of clouds, geometric patterns, dragons, etc. The red, green, purple and blue colors are brilliant and rich, vividly depicting the splendor and opulence of the royal carriage of the Qin Dynasty. The painted bronze carriages and horses of the Qin dynasty are a true depiction of the public opinion system of the Qin court and are of great academic value to the study of the ancient car system.