Another good article from National Geographic about the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang – Gansu province. Click here to view the article. We were there last November and felt like we had the province to ourselves which was wonderful – you can click here to see our blog entry. One of our photos from the Mogao Caves below.
From the China Daily:
A company of Terracotta Warriors – most painted in rich colors – have been unearthed at the largest pit within the mausoleum complex of the emperor who first unified China.
A total of 114 Terracotta Warriors have been found at No 1 pit, one of three, where excavation started in June last year, said Xu Weihong, head of the excavation team.
“The total area of the excavation was some 200 sq m and we were pleasantly surprised to find rich colors on Terracotta Warriors,” he said.
Photos of the new find are expected to be released later this month.
The clay warriors, ranging in height from 1.8 m to 2 m, had black hair; green, white or pink faces; and black or brown eyes, the archaeologist said.
“It was hard work to restore the clay warriors as they were broken into pieces. It took us at least 10 days to restore one,” Xu said.
The latest excavation also showed that the pit had seven layers, said Liu Zhanchang, director of the archaeology division of the Museum of Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses.
Also, traces of burns on the clay warriors and the walls prove that the pit had been set on fire, Liu said, adding more studies were needed for details.
A number of other relics including weapons, chariots, drums and painted wooden rings were also found during the excavation.
Qin Shihuang (259-210 BC), also called the First Emperor of China, was the founder of China’s first unified feudal empire, the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).
The pit – located in Lintong district of Xi’an, capital of Northwest China’s Shaanxi province – was discovered accidentally by farmers in March 1974.
On Oct 1, 1979, the Museum of Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses was opened to the public. It attracts millions of visitors from home and abroad every year.
The pits contain funerary objects for the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, which is located some 1.5 km west of the pits. The clay warriors and horses are believed to represent the emperor’s army.
The discovery of the Terracotta Warriors is considered one of the most spectacular finds in the annals of archaeology and described as one of the wonders of the world.
Note that these are not the new discoveries above but the original find you can now see in Xian.
For art lovers out there a Chinese wiki – ArtSpeak China – dedicated the the local art scene and China and describing itself as “a bilingual, online resource devoted to contemporary Chinese art.” Hopefully it will develop over time so one to bookmark.
Hat tip to the Beijinger for bringing this to our notice.
Giant Chairman Mao
This extraordinary Mao statue has been built near Changsha in central China. The statue measures 32 meters high and 83 by 41 meters on the ground and is made of granite. All pretty amazing but what I think is interesting is that it shows a young Mao rather than the usual depiction of the Chairman which covers the elder statesmen look exhaustively.
Danwei has an interview with Xie Liwen, a professor at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts who was on the creative team.
He says “This design isn’t all that strange. The Mao statues people typically see are mostly of him standing and waving, or else fairly formal and serious. During the creation of this statue of a seated, young Mao Zedong, we were particularly concerned with differentiating it from past images,” said Xie Liwen.
The design of the seated, young Mao statue was hatched in 2006. “Our first concern was uniqueness and artistry,” said Xie. He said that at the suggestion Li Ming, president of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and another lead designer, they collected images of Mao at different stages of his life, ultimately selecting Mao at 32. “That was the year he wrote ‘Changsha,’ and besides, we wanted the design to capture the expansive abandon of the poem.”
For the torso of the young Mao Zedong statue, the creative team chose the form of a mountain: “It expresses Mao’s magnificence, and also shows that he came out of Shaoshan.”
A range of photos of a more elder Mao’s is below. Which do you prefer?
Chinese Revolutionary Art is coming up for sale in London for the first time – what would Mao think? Looking at this article from the the UK’s Telegraph newspaper he might be surprised to find what original posters are now worth. I found this interesting as some of the prices quoted are not too far off what I have seen them for sale at in Beijing’s Panjiayuan market. In this market there is a largely reproduction goods for sale to tourists but there is one building which houses furniture on the ground floor and upstairs a whole section dedicated to the real communist era’s memorabilia. Here you will find original posters priced at many thousands of Yuan each.
Starting August the 15th in Beijing is the 798 Biennale – a celebration of Chinese contemporary art held in the increasingly commercial enclave of Dashanzi in the north east of Beijing. The commercialization isn’t welcomed by all and in the usual Beijing way another gallery area is hoping to fill the void a short distance away at Caochangdi.
Read more about the Biennale here and about Caochangdi here (in Chinese only). The Beijing supplies some comment on the rivalry here
And for those who can remember the original Dashanzi (aka Dangdai) International Art Festival there are some photos below from way way back in 2006 – an eon ago in China time!
