VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Houston Museum of Natural Science presents a special lecture entitled  Warfare in Early China and the Pottery Army of the Qin.

Albert E. Dien, Ph.D., Stanford University, emeritus
Tuesday, September 22, 6:30 p.m.

The Qin army, represented by the pottery figures featured in the exhibition, was the culmination of a long period of development in weapons, armor, discipline and organization. Because its army was superior in these many ways, the Qin was able to conquer all of its enemies and to unite China under its rule. Thus able to muster the resources of the entire country, the Qin emperor could have built for himself a mausoleum that has never been surpassed in later times.

The pottery army further represents an enormous advance in the development of figural representation in Chinese art. Up until the time that these pottery warriors were manufactured on such a vast scale, there was no indication that Chinese artists and craftsmen were able to produce anything but crude representations of the human figure. Interestingly, once the Qin mausoleum was completed, this sort of realistic sculpture was not to be seen again for several centuries.

The emergence of the mighty Qin army and its unusual representation underground presents many questions that have yet to be answered conclusively, one reason why this pottery army has been termed one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Dr. Albert Dien’s primary field of research is the Early Medieval period in Chinese history. He is professor emeritus at Stanford University.

Pictured:  Armored General. Qin dynasty (221-206 BC). Clay. Height 195 cm, Width 186 kg. Excavated in 1976 from Pit 1. Museum of the Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang, Lintong. No. 002830. Photo © Wang Da-Gang.