雙語科技百科(手工業) 第72期:秦始皇陵銅車馬
The Bronze Chariots and Horses of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum
In December 1980,two sets of large painted bronze chariots and horses were unearthed 20 meters west of the mount of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum. They were listed as No. 1 and No. 2 respectively according to their discovery. They were then enclosed in a wooden coffin and buried in a pit seven meters deep. When excavated, the chariots and horses were seriously damaged due to the decayed wooden coffin and the collapse of earthen layers. No. 2 bronze chariot and horses were found broken int0 1,555 pieces when excavated r two and a half years of careful and painstaking restoration by archaeologists and other experts, they were formally open to the public on October l, 1983. No. 1 bronze chariot and horses were also open to the public in 1988. The bronze chariots drawn by four horses, with a single shaft, were placed one before the other vertically. The front chariot, i. e. No. 1 Chariot, was supposed to be " High Chariot" in the ancient time. The back chariot, i. e. No. 2 Chariot, was named "Security Chariot". It has a front room and a rear room, between which there is a partition. The front room is for the charioteer and the rear one for the master. In the rear compartment, there is a window on either side of the carriage as well as in the front with a door at the back. The windows and doors could close and open easily. The small holes on the windows were used for ventilation. On top of the chariot, there was an elliptical umbrella-like canopy. The chariot was colour-painted against a white background. No. 2 Chariot was fitted with more than l,500 pieces of silver and gold and other ornaments, looking luxurious, splendid and graceful. Probably it was used for Emperor Qin Shihuang's soul to go out on inspection. No.1 Chariot was equipped with crossbows, arrow heads, shields and the charioteer wore a hat, which shows that this chariot was employed to protect the No. 2 Chariot be- hind. The bronze chariots and horses were the earliest and most exquisitely made bronze valuables. They enjoy the highest class and have the most complete harnessing wares. They are also the largest bronze ware discovered in the history of world archaeology. The excavation of the bronze chariots and horses provides extremely valuable material and data for the textual research of the metallurgical technique, mechanism of chariots and technological modeling of the Qin Dynasty.
1980年12月在秦始皇陵西側20米處，發掘出土了兩乘大型彩繪銅車馬，按照發現的順序，被編爲一號和二號銅車馬。當時皆被埋在7米深的坑裏，外面用一個木槨裝着。出土時，因木槨腐朽，土層塌陷，兩輛銅車馬都殘破嚴重，其中二號銅車馬已碎成1555片，經過考古工作者和各方面專家兩年半細心艱苦的修復，二號銅車馬於1983年10月1日正式對外展出，一號銅車馬也於1988年正式展出。這兩乘車都是四馬單轅，呈前後縱向排列，前面的一號車應爲古代的“高車”。二號車叫“安車”，分爲前御室和後乘室。兩室之間隔以車牆。趕車的人坐在前御室，主人坐在後乘室。乘室前面及左右兩側有三個車窗，後面留門，門窗都可以靈活啓閉，窗上的小孔可以調節空氣。車上有橢圓形傘狀車蓋。此車通體施以白色爲底色的彩繪，二號車配有1500餘件金銀構件和飾物，顯得華麗富貴？它可能是供秦始皇出遊時乘坐的。一號車上配備有弓弩、箭頭、盾牌，駕車者帶有官帽，這說明此車是用來保護後面二號車的安全的。銅車馬是我國時代最早，駕具最全，級別最高，製作最精的青銅器珍品，也是世界考古發現的最大青銅器。它的出土，爲考證秦代冶金技術、車輛結構、工藝造型等提供了極爲珍貴的實物資料。
