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Hi I am Lee My Chinese name is Li Zirui
I work for xi'an china international travel service
happyapple2008@126.com PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR INFORMATION ABOUT XIAN, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT A FEW THINGS YOU WILL SEE WHEN YOU COME WITH ME TO SEE XIAN. Huaqing
Pool Huaqing Pool is situated
at the foot of Lishan Hill, 35kilometres east of the city of Xi’an.
Historically, during the Westen Zhou Dynasty, a stone pool was named Li Palace.
During the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin ordered the construction of the Hot Spring
Palace, and Emperor XuanZong had a walled palace built around the Lishan
Mountain in 747. it was known as Huaqing Palace. It also named “Huaqing
Pool” because of its location over the hot springs. Huaqing Pool which we see
today was rebuilt on the site of Qing Dynasty structure. Entering the west gate of
Huaqing pool, you will see the Frost Drifting Hall first. The Tang Emperor Xuanzong
and his fravourite lady, Yang Guifei, used to take their home in the frost
drifting hall in winter, for it was very cold in the capital Chang’an. It was
said that the steam from the hot spring pool in front of the hall went straight
up and turned into frost when it met the cold air from the sky, the frost,
flying in the wind overhead, looked very beautiful. Therefore the hall was named
the frost –drifting hall. Here is the nine dragon
pool. It was once the bathing place of Emperor Xuanzong of the tang dynasty. At
that time, there used to be in the pool two rectangular stone bars, on which
were engraved nine dragons on either side, it is said that once when the emperor
was taking a bath, the dragons on the stone bars seemed to be swimming in the
pool. With the movement of the water it is just like live ones! Emperor Xuanzong
was so frightened at the sight that he fell ill. Afterwards, the bars were
removed. The sources of the hot
spring are situated to the east of Huaqing pool. There are four hot springs at
this spa. The one we see here was discovered in the Western Zhou Dynasty 3000
years ago. The total volume of flow is more than 100 tons per hour. The
temperature is 43 centigrade. The water contains nine sorts of minerals
including lime, sodium carbonate, sodium sulphate and others, it is good for
bathing, as well as for curing arthritis and some skin diseases. Climb the steps east of
the source of the hot springs, you will see the five –room hall where Chiang
Kaishek stayed temporarily during “Xi’an Incident”. Xi’an Incident took
place on December 12, 1936, it is also known as the “Double Twelfth
Incident”. After the “Incident of September 18,1931”, the Japanese
aggressors not only occupied the three northeast provinces of China, but also
intensified their invasion of north china, this was the vital moment to the
Chinese nation. Yet chiang Kaishek persisted in carrying out his reactionary
policy “domestic tranquility is a must for the resistance against Japanese,”
and commanded the northeast army and the morthwest army, respectively headed by
Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, to attack the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border
Region, the revolutionary base area of the Chinese Communist Party. Inspired by
the Chinese Communist Party’s policy “stop the civil war and unite to resist
the Japanese aggressors,” those two generals made to Chiang Kaishek the
proposal of forming a united front with the Communist Party for the resistance.
Not only did he reject the proposal, but flew to Xi’an to scheme his reaction
plan himself. Out of patriotism, Zhang and Yang started the famous Xi’an
incident. Very early on the morning
of December 12,1936, Zhang Xueliang, together with Yang Hucheng ordered a squad
of bodyguards to serround the Huaqing Hot Spring. They fought a fierce battle
there, and found Chiang Kaishek hidden himself behind a stone on the middle of
Lishan Hill at last. After that they escorted him to Xi’an. In order to avoid a civil
war and try to establish a national united front for the resistance against
Japan, the Chinese Communist Party sent a delegation headed by Zhou Enlai to
Xi’an, and did a large mount of work. Finally Chiang Kaishek accepted his two
generals’ proposal, and flew back to Nanjing on December 25. The Xi’an
Incident was peacefully settled. The peaceful settlement
of the incident put an end to the internal war and became an important turning
point in modern Chinese history. A pavilion was built in
1946 near the crevice where Chiang Kaishek had hidden himself during the
incident. Now we call it “the Remonstation Pavilion”. In April 1982, on a
construction site, the ruins of the imperial pool in the Tang Dynasty Huaqing
Palace were discovered. After excavation and sorting out the information at
hand, archaeologists found the ruins of the five pools in an area of 4,200
square meters. They proved them to be the Star Pool, the Lotus Flower Pool, the
Crabapple Pool, the Crown Prince Pool and the Shangshi Pool, all of which were
recorded in history. The museum of the imperial pool in the Tang Dynasty Huaqing
Palace was built on their ruins and was opened to public in October 1990. Besides the five pools,
on display in the museum, there are also pottery water tubes, and various types
of tiles. The Forest of Stone Tablets Museum The Forest of Stone Tablets Museum is
courtyard-styled structure. It is situated on the site of the Confucian Temple
on Sanxue Street Xi’an. It served as the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Tang
Dynasty, and later became the Confucian Temple in Song Dynasty. In 1950, it was
extended into the museum that greets us today. The structure ahead of us is called “Pailou”,
which derived from “Paifang”. Paifang was set up to honor men of attainments
in ancient times, and could be seen almost everywhere in china. Jingyun Bell is housed in the eastern pavilion
inside the second gate. It was cast during the second reign of Jingyun; hence
its name. Originally, it was hung inside the bell tower of Jinglong Taoist
Temple in the west street today. It’s said that its clear and beautiful sound
could be heard all over the city. The Forest of Stone
Tablets was originally set up in 1087. The treasure house comprises a large
collection of centuries-old stone tablets. Over 3000 tone tablets from the Han
Dynasty through the Qing Dynasty are preserved. The museum named “Forest of
Stone Tablet” because it houses numerous stone tablets which like a dense
forest. And it was officially named in Qing Dynasty. The museum is not only a
treasure house of ancient Chinese calligraphy, but also a rich collection of
historical documents and stone carving of various styles. This place initially
served to store the stone classics of the Tang Dynasty, including the “Classic
on Filial Piety” in the handwriting of Emperor Xuan Zong in 745 and the
“Kaicheng Stone Classics” engraved in 837. They were originally erected
inside the Imperial Academy, in the area of Wenyi Road, south of the urban
district, in the tang Dynasty. The stone tablets ate now
on display in seven display rooms, six epitaph corridors and one tablet
pavilion. The first display room
houses the “Kaicheng Stone Classics”, including 12 Chinese classics, namely
“The Book of Changes”, “The Book of History ”, “The Book of Songs ”,
“The rites of the Zhou Dynasty”, (“The Book of Ceremonies”, “The Book
of Rites ”,) and so on. The classics, with more than 650,000 characters, were
engraved double-sided on 114 stone tablets. The display room also houses another
classic entitled “mencius”, (with 30,000 characters, which was engraved on
17 stone tablets) in the Qing Dynasty. This Classic and 12 others are called the
“Thirteen Classics”. These 12 classics were the readings required for
intellectuals of feudal society. Printing was quite backward in ancient times.
The classics were engraved on stones as the standard copy so that they could be
well kept and men of letters could avoid errors in copying them. The stone
tablets were then erected in Chang’an Imperial Academy for the proof-reading
of handwritten copies. From the Eastern Han Dynasty onwards, the classics were
engraved seven times. However, only the “Kaicheng Stone Classics” remain
intact today. The second display room
mainly houses the stone tablets of calligraphy written by famous calligraphers
of Tang Dynasty. Up to today, these tablets have served as models for learners
of calligraphy to follow. “The Nestorian
Tablet” provides valuable data for the study of the cultural exchanges between
the Tang Dynasty and other countries. “Da Qin” is an ancient Chinese term
for the Roman Empire. Nestorianism is a sect of Christianity. When introcuced
into China, it got its Chinese name “Jing Jiao”. Nestorianism spread its
influence to Chang’an in 635 AD. The stone tablet was made in 781 AD. It
offers an introduction to the doctrines, rites and influence of Nestorianism,
and the activities of its Chinese believers during the Tang Dynasty. It also
bears the names of many missionaries and records some incidents in the Syriac
language. The third display room
houses the stone tablets that range from the Han dynasty to the Song Dynasty.
They bear a wide variety of Chinese script forms, including seal script,
official script, regular script, running script and cursive script. These stone
tablets show the evolution of the Chinese writing system. The official script
appeared by the end of Qin Dynasty. Compared with seal script, it is simple and
easy to write. The evolution from the seal script to the official script is
generally reckoned to be a dramatic change in the forms of Chinese characters.
The official script became popular in the Han Dynasty. This is a stone tablet
inscribed with characters in regular script, which began in the period of the
Three Kingdoms. It came to maturity and gained popularity during the Sui and
Tang dynasties. The rulers of the successive dynasties all made it a rule that
official documents and imperial examination papers should be written in regular
script. This is called the
1,000-character Stone Tablet in cursive script. It comprises 1,000 different
characters. The stone tablet is said to have served as a primer for children in
ancient times. It was written by the celebrated calligrapher Monk Huai Su in the
Tang Dynasty. His bold and unconstrained style of writing was followed by other
calligraphers in later periods. The fourth display room
houses the poetry works of the well-known calligraphers, tablets of historical
significance in the Ming and Qing dynasties. And it also houses some line
engravings from the Song to Qing dynasties. This stone sculpture
showroom was built in 1963. It houses more than 70 stone sculptures, which were
originally collected from different parts of Shaanxi Province. These pieces of
art are classified into two groups: mausoleum carvings and religious carvings.
They are arranged in a chronological order. These stone relievos date
back to the Eastern Han Dynasty, and they were discovered in Northern Shaanxi. These rilievos, vivid and
true to life, are the microcosm of the social life of the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, they are not only works of art, but historical records as well. They
provide valuable data for the study of the Eastern Han Dynasty. About 500 stone relievos
that date back to the Eastern Han dynasty were unearthed in Northern Shaanxi,
and 133 out of them are preserved at the Forest of Stone Tablets Museum. This piece of stone
carving shows how oxen were used for plowing in the fields in Northern Shaanxi,
and provides us with a general understanding of the country’s level of
agriculture production in ancient times. Such a work of art about ancient
plowing, though simple in style, is rarely seen and very valuable. This is an intact gate to
a mausoleum. Its leaf is decorated with the patterns of the Scarlet Bird, the
Blue Dragon and the White Tiger, and its lower part, with the pattern of the
Tortoise. The four animals were believed to be gods of directions in ancient
times, representing the South, the East the West and the North respectively. The
appearance of such patterns on the door suggested good luck and safety in
ancient times. This stone rhino, 10 tons
in weight, was carved in 635 AD, and initially placed in front of Emperor Tang
Gao Zu’s tomb. It was modeled out of a huge stone after the live rhino that a
foreign envoy sent to the Royal Court in the Tang Dynasty. It is actually a
memento of friendship between China and foreign countries. What we shall see next
are stone carvings based on religion and on Buddhism in particular. Buddhism was introduced
into China from India around the first century AD. During the periods of the Wei,
the Jin, the North and south, different sects of Buddhism appeared in China.
There were many scholars who specialized in Buddhisn and gave lectures on the
religion. Buddhism was at its heyday in the Sui and tang dynasties. Different
sects of Buddhism were developed in China. Idol carving also came to china with
Buddhism, and stimulated the development of Chinese sculpture. This is a statue of Li Er,
the founder of Taoism. The religion originated from the late Eastern Han
Dynasty. The statue was probably created by Yuan Jia’er, a famous sculptor
from the Western regions. This work of art is one of the masterpieces among the
Tang-Dynasty sculptures. Shaanxi
history museum Shaanxi History Museum is
a sizable national museum with a wide range of modern facilities. It is located
one kilometer away northwest of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The entire building
complex assumes the architectural features of the Tang Dynasty. It covers an
area of 70,000 square meters, with a floor space of over 50,000 square meters.
It houses the cultural heritage of Shaanxi province and shows the development of
Chinese civilization. The state government invested 144 million yuan in the
establishment of Shaanxi History Museum. It was completed and open to the public
in June,1991. This is the Preface Hall.
The massive picture in front of us shows the surging and roaring Yellow river
and the vast Loess Plateau, which are reckoned to be the natural habitat of
Shaanxi residents and the cradle of their ancient civilization. Shaanxi History Museum
chiefly displays the historic artifacts excavated in the province. The
exhibition may be divided into seven major sections: the Prehistoric age; the
Zhou; the Qin; the Han; the Sui Tang e.t. All the exhibitions vividly and
systematically depict the history of Shaaanxi Province, ranging from 150,000
years ago to the year 1840. Back in history, 11 dynasties established their
capitals in Shaanxi Province, with a duration of more than 1000 years. Now we are in the first
section of the Prehistoric Age. The Neolithic Culture is different from the
Paleolithic Culture in three major respects: the use of polished stone utensils,
the emergence of settled habitation and primitive farming. Yangshao Culture dates
about 7000-5000 years back. The Zhou dynasty The bronze vessels
represented the system of rite in the slavery society. They were the symbol of
power and social strata. These are called “ding” or tripod, a cooking
utensil of ancient times. They were used for stewing meat. Bronze tripods were
derived from the pottery ones in the primitive society. During the xia, Shang
and Zhou Dynasties, bronze tripods were ritual wares only possessed by slave
owners and aristocrats, and they were mainly used on sacrificial
occasions or at banquets. And the tripod was a
symbol of privileged identity. Bronze utensils made in this period were
elaborately shaped, decorated with various patterns, and in scribed with
“epigraphs”. Some of the epigraphs were as long as 500 characters. They are
valuable data for the study of the history of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty As a result of the
national unification, the Fist Qin emperor enforced a single currency,
standardized units of weight and measure, contributions to the development of
feudal economy and culture in China. Take currency for
example. Before the standardization, currencies of various forms, sizes, face
values and weights had been in circulation, and the calculation system had been
quite difficult. All these caused a serious inconvenience to the people. Once in
power, the First Qin Empeor issued a round coin pierced with a square hole in
the center as the national currency. The later dynasties and the imperial rulers
followed the pattern of Qin’s coins for the next 2,000 years until the Qing
Dynasty. The
Han Dynasty During the reign of
Emperor Wu Di, the Silk Road, which ran across the Asian continent, was formally
opened. It enabled Chinese silk to be exported to various countries in the
Western Regions. In return, horses of fine breeds, plants, music and dance were
introduced into China. At that time, Chang’an became the largest center of
international exchange in Asia. Seeking horses of fine
breeds was one of the important motives for the Han Dynasty to open the Silk
Road. The
Sui and Tang Dynasties The Sui Dynast was
founded in 581 AD. It began to construct its capital Daxing City, the following
year. Yu Wenkai, the master architect of minority nationality, designed and
oversaw the construction of the city. In the Tang Dynasty, its name was changed
to Chang’an. This is the plane figure of the Tang’s Chang’an City. The new
city was built on the basis of Sui’s Daxing City with further improvement and
expansion. As a magnificent and well-planned city, Chang’an was divided into
three areas: the palace city, the imperial city and the outer city. With the
Scarlet Bird Street as the axis, the city was crisscrossed with 11 vertical and
14 horizontal streets, dividing Chang’an into 108 rectangular compounds
known as Fang. This layout of Chang’an has had far-reaching influence on later
dynasties, and has served as a model for capital cities in some other Asian
countries such as Japan and Korea. China began her primitive
porcelain manufacturing in the Shang Dynasty 3000 years ago. In the Tang
Dynasty, Chinaware was exported far away to foreign countries as major
handicraft products. It is well known that China was famed as a “nation of
china”. Here on show are Tang
tri-colored glazed pottery, all being burial objects. In the prime of the
period, the Tang Dynasty produced glazed pottery of brown, yellow and green
colors. Color glaze brought Chinese pottery craft into a new stage. However, the
craft prevailed only in a rather short period in limited areas. Therefore, the
small number of tri-colored glazed pottery is of priceless value today. THE
MUSEUM OF THE FIRST QIN EMPEROR’S TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS AND HORSES In March 1974 when several farmers were sinking a well about 1.5 kilometers east of the First Qin Emperor’s Mausoleum, they came upon many fragments of terra-cotta figures. The results of archaeological excavation showed that it was an oblong pit with terra-cotta figures. Again in 1976, two more pits were discovered 20 meters and 25 meters north of the former one respectively. They were the named Pit 1, Pit 2, and Pit 3 by order of discovery. The three pits cover a total area of 22,780 square meters. The museum was officially open to the public on September 1st 1979. The exhibition hall of Pit 3 was open to the public on September 27th 1989.the Pit 2 was open in 1994. The Museum of the First Qin Emperor’s Terra-cotta Army is one of the top ten places of historical interest in China. And the UNESCO listed it as the world heritage about a decade ago. Pit 1 takes an oblong shape. It is 230 meters long, 62 meters wide and five meters deep. There are five sloping entrances on the eastern and western sides respectively. Inside the pit are ten earth-rammed partition walls, across which huge and strong rafters are placed. The rafters are covered with mats and fine -earth. The floor is paved with bricks. The terra-cotta warriors and horses in Pit 1 are arrayed in battle formation. In the long corridor to the east end of the pit stand three rows of terra-cotta warriors facing east in battle robes, 70 in each, totaling 210 altogether. They constitute the vanguard. The ten rammed partition walls divided pit 1 into 11 latitudinal corridors where stand 38 columns of warriors facing east with horse-drawn chariots in the center. According to the density of the formation in each trial, it is assumed that more than 6,000 terra-cotta warriors and horses could be unearthed from Pit 1, most of which are infantrymen. Pit 2 is located 20 meters to the north of the eastern end of Pit 1. The pit is L-shaped and consists of four different mixed military forces in four arrays. It is estimated that there are over 1,000 terra-cotta figures, 500 horse-drawn chariots and saddled horses. The four arrays are closely connected to constitute a complete battle formation and can be divided up to act independently, capable of attacking and defending and quick response. Three of the four arrays in pit 2 have charioteers. This shows that charioteers were still the principal fighting forces in the Qin Dynasty. Pit 3 is located 25 meters to the north of Pit 1 and to the west of Pit 2. To its east there is a sloping entrance, 11.2 meters long, 3.7 meters wide, opposite which is a stable. On both sides of the stable, there is a winging room. 64 terra-cotta figures were unearthed from it. They stand in two rows opposite to each other along the walls. Its arrangement is different from the warriors in Pit 1and Pit 2 which are placed in battle formation. Even the weapons held by the warriors in Pit 3 ate different from those in Pit 1 and Pit 2. The latter were armed with real weapons such as spears and swords. Only one kind of weapon called “shu” was found in Pit 3. This kind of weapon had no blades and is believed to be used by the guards of honor. Some deer-horn and animal bones were also found. This is probably the place where sacrificial offerings and war prayers were practices. Judging by the layout of Pit 3, this is most likely the headquarters directing the underground army. The floors of both Pit 1 and Pit 2 were covered with a layer of silt, 15 to 20 centimeters thick. The remains of crossbeams and logs burnt to ashes can be clearly seen and most of the relics remain fragmented. All these show that the 2 pits were destroyed after a fire. According to historical records, four years after the First Qin Emperor’s death, Xiang Yu came, “burnt the palaces and dug up the Emperor’s grave”. The pits are only 1.5 kilometers away from the mausoleum, so it was perhaps destroyed together with other structures around the tomb area by Xiang Yu. After the terra-cotta warriors were readily made, they were put into kilns to be fired. In order to prevent the warriors from deforming or exploding, one, two or even three small holes were made in the body of the warriors and horses. After the horses were fired, the small holes in the body were covered with terra-cotta cakes of the same size. Most of the terra-cotta heads were fit in the body after being fired, so the necks of the terra-cotta warriors were naturally ventilation holes. Thus the air stream produced in the firing process could escape, and the figures would not explode. The clay figures were carefully painted with colors after they were baked. As the terra-cotta figures have been burnt and gone through a natural process of decay, we can’t see their original gorgeous colors. However, most of the figures bear the traces of the original colors, and a few of them are still as bright as new. The pits are located to the east of the First Qin Emperor’s Mausoleum, symbolizing the main defending force that guarded the Qin capital, Xianyang. All the terra-cotta figures in the pits face east with practical weapons. These show that the first Qin Emperor would never forget his great ambition to conquer the six states and to unify the whole nation. The weapons can be classified into four categories: long-shafted weapons, short weapons, long-range weapons and weapons for guards of honor. They were delicately made and enjoyed a high level of casting technology. The most arresting among the weapons is a bronze sword, which still glitters in metallic luster without being rusty. In December 1980, two sets of large painted bronze chariots and horses were unearthed 20 meters west of the First Qin Emperor’s Mausoleum. The first qing emperor named ying zheng. He came to the throne of the Qing state at 13, and seized the helm of the state at 22. By 221BC, when he only 39 years old, he had conquered the other six kingdoms and established the first feudal empire in Chinese history. After that, he ordered to standardize the coinage, weights, and measures, the legal codes, the span of car axles, and the written script. He consolidated and extended the various sections of the Great Wall. All these measures played important role in strengthening the unification of the whole country. From Ying Zheng ascending the throne to his death, it took 37 years to complete his tomb. In “The Records of the Historian”, Sima Qian recorded, “The outer coffin was cast in molten copper, and the burial chamber was complete with palaces, halls and towers. Fine utensils, precious stones and other rarities were everywhere. Automatic crossbows were fixed to protect the tomb from robbery. The mercury lakes and waterways were built to represent the Huanghe River, the Changjiang River and even the vast ocean. The ceiling was decorated with pearls and gems to symbolize the celestial body, including the Sun and the Moon. The entire underground palace was presumably brightly lit by whale oil lamps for ever. ”
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