¶ … Chinese First Emperor as with the Egyptian pharaohs, the tomb was a microcosm of the world that they knew in life, and filled with the objects that they would use in the afterlife. In early times, servants, soldiers, concubines and entertainers were even put to death so they could serve the monarch in the next world, although later these were mostly represented by statues and replicas. For the First Emperor of China, the tom was an elaborate "analogue of life," reportedly constructed by 700,000 men over many years -- far more than the number of workers used by the Egyptian pharaohs to build their tombs and pyramids (Rawson, 2007, p. 123). He even had a terracotta army with cavalry, archers, chariots and thousands of troops buried in pits to defend him from his enemies in the next world, along with stone armor to protect against evil spirits. Pit 1 had a terracotta army of 6,000 men and 160 chariots, all standing at attention. Although their individual features were unique and likely modeled from live soldiers, they had clearly been assigned eternal guard duty and were "forbidden to move unless directed to do so by superiors" (Rawson, p. 143). This was a far larger number of statues than was ever buried in any of the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs, and indicates that the First Emperor of China fully planned to continue his military duties after death -- and so would his troops. Of course, the pyramids were also guarded against evil spirits, most spectacularly with the form of the sphinx, with the body of a mighty lion and the head of a king. Like the Egyptian pharaohs, the First Emperor also intended to enjoy the various pleasures of life, which is why gardens were constructed for his diversion and amusement, along with statues of concubines, entertainers and acrobats, as well as the bodies of birds, horses and wild animals. Obviously, he did not plan to be engaged in purely military operations all the time in the afterlife, since the tomb was "his palace, his whole court, his army and an entire universe centered on himself" (Rawson, p. 128). Although this image of an immortal,...
God is the "source from which gods and sages emerge" and "whoever knows me as the Unborn, the Beginningless, the great Lord of all worlds -- he alone sees truly and is freed from all harm" (Mitchell 2000). Everything that exists, whether animate or inanimate, comes from God, who has an infinite number of manifestation and supports the entire universe, while being infinitely greater than it. To me, this conception of God as eternal, omnipotent and omniscient is not all that different from monotheistic conceptions in Judaism, Islam and Christianity -- although all of these reject the idea that lesser gods and sub-deities exist. These other religions also assert that God is the creator of the entire universe and its ruler, and that those who do not believe this cannot find salvation.
learn so little about these ancient Eastern civilizations? Ancient Greece and Rome are often called the cradles of modern, Western civilization. Greece 'gave birth' to democracy and major philosophic and scientific ideas spanning from the concept of atoms to geometry. Once upon a time, all roads famously lead to Rome, reflecting the importance of Rome in shaping the landscape of the modern globe. But simply because these civilizations were so
The dead Emperor's right to exist undisturbed is more important than an unwelcome, common intruder's right to live. Kesner's central thesis, that the effort to create a 'real' world in terracotta sculpture to create a 'real' world for the Emperor in death that fully encompasses reality is intriguing. "One substantial implication of regarding representation as merely the expression of some belief or idea, rather than as complete on its own
Chinese History Zhou (or Chou) dynasty, arising to power after defeating the Shang Dynasty in China in the mid-1000's BC, was the first dynasty to move the people groups which lived in the area currently known as modern china toward a common civilization. Under the Shang, the Chinese people were no more than a collection of family tribes scattered throughout the region. At the beginning of the Chou dynastry, the region still
Art Over the past several thousand years, the Chinese have contributed some of the world's most significant technological tools and inventions. Most of these inventions have had a tremendous impact on human history and it is hard to imagine life without any of them. Among the most influential of Chinese inventions include gunpowder/explosives; paper; moveable type; the magnetic compass; tea; noodles; matches; and silk. Of these eight inventions, the four most
Fashion History of Fashion The history of fashion can be dated back to the development of the fashion industry in different time eras. Fashion was taken and applied in different forms depending on the situation of that era. It has been noted that clothing from the Roman and the Ancient Greek times is more dependent on the mere purpose of clothes rather than the style that was present. As it would be
Both Spartan men and women exercised together in the nude, and both were "encouraged to improve their intellectual skills" ("Women in Ancient Greece"). Being a woman in Sparta certainly ensured a greater sense of gender equality -- but that does not necessarily mean Sparta was the preferred residence of women in Greece. After all, Sparta did without a lot of the creature comforts that other city-states like Athens took
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