by China is one of the first countries to use cars.
Cars are generally made of wood.
As a vehicle for human beings, it was invented and created by the legendary Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan about 4600 years ago.
“The Yellow Emperor turned to make cars when he saw the wind blowing.”.
During Xia Yu’s flood control, he used “land vehicles” and appointed Xi Zhong as “Che Zheng” to be responsible for making cars.
Xi Zhong and some skilled craftsmen worked together to design and manufacture all kinds of cars.
By the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the shape of ancient chariots in China had been basically improved, and more perfect from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the spring and autumn and Warring States periods, especially the chariots were responsible for important combat tasks.
In the Qin and Han Dynasties, the vehicle making technology reached its peak and formed a relatively complete culture of vehicle and horse etiquette.
It was not until the Sui and Tang Dynasties that the riding wind was booming and the ox cart, sedan chair and other means of transportation appeared one after another that the ancient vehicles and horses gradually withdrew from the historical stage.
In 1976, two special copper car components of early spring and Autumn period were unearthed in WanDian, Suizhou, Hubei Province.
The shape and size are slightly different.
The animal body copper cart component of the collection of cultural relics is like a curved ruler as a whole.
It is a cylindrical body with a slightly thick lower end and a nearly flat arc at the top.
There is an elliptical arc opening on the front of the middle and a small hole on the back.
The top of the device is embossed with a climbing animal hat, pointed feet and claws, two rear feet grasp the cylinder body, the long neck extends forward, the animal tail curls and is connected with the cylinder body in a ring ear, and a ring is set inside.
Three ring buttons are equally distributed on the side wall of the cap.
The posture of the reptiles on the two devices is different, one is semi squatting; One piece is side rolled.
The cylinder body is plain without decoration, and the top animal, ear and hat are respectively decorated with animal body curl pattern, vortex pattern, cloud pattern, etc.
The artifacts are exquisitely cast and finely decorated.
You can imagine how luxurious the owner’s car was at that time, and you can see the dignity and majesty of the owner.
In ancient times, the car was a symbol of hierarchical status.
There were strict regulations on what kind of person to sit in and what kind of car, that is, the “public opinion system”.
Around the Western Zhou Dynasty, China’s Chengyu system stipulated that cars with five different decorations of “jade, gold, leather, elephant and wood” were used by people of different identities, such as the son of heaven, princes with the same surname, princes with different surnames, border princes and vassal princes.
These ornaments are mainly in eye-catching places such as scales, shafts, shafts and the end of handrails.
These two car decorations are likely to be components on the car, and the volume of the decorated car is large and the grade is high.
Similar components are rarely found and unearthed in high-grade tombs or cart and horse pits.
For example, four similar components were unearthed from the No.
1 chariot and horse pit in Luogang, Yicheng during the Warring States period, which were placed under the No.
3 chariot and were rectangular at four corners.
It is speculated that they are components at the connection of the four corners of the chariot and horse pit.
There are 7 cars and 18 horses in the chariot and horse pit.
Combined with the analysis that the owner of the chariot and horse pit of the No.
2 Tomb of jiuliandun during the Warring States period, which unearthed 7 cars and 16 horses, is a doctor of the Shang Dynasty, The identity of the tomb owner of the Che Ma Keng should be roughly the same, that is, the identity of the owner of the car using similar components belongs to the high nobility.
During the Qin Shihuang period, the halogen thin system was established, which stipulated that when the emperor traveled, he took the “Golden Root vehicle” (a vehicle decorated with gold), and the vehicle and horse honor guards were arranged in an orderly manner, ranging from nearly 100 vehicles to thousands of personnel.
This is the “luanjia” mentioned in the ancient opera.
Of course, in addition to the tools used by princes and nobles to travel, ancient cars were mainly used for war, that is, chariots.
In the pre-Qin era of “national events, worship and war”, the number of chariots was a sign to measure the military strength of a vassal state.
The great poet Qu Yuan described in “Nine Songs of the songs of Chu” that “Wu Ge wears rhinoceros armor, the wrong hub of the car makes the enemy like clouds, the sun is blocked, the short soldiers are connected, the arrows are handed over and fall, and the scholars compete for the first”.
It describes the tragic and tragic scene of the chariot battle of the state of Chu.
The development of ancient cars experienced a process from single pole to double pole.
In the Han Dynasty, cars had great development and changes.
Single pole cars were gradually replaced by double pole cars.
The types of cars increased, and they were mainly used for loading people rather than battlefield.
The unicycle appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms.
It is an economic and practical means of transportation.
It is an important invention in the history of transportation.
According to historical records, Zhuge Liang created “wooden cattle” to transport grain and grass for the army during the northern expedition.
Many scholars believe that the “wooden ox and flowing horse” at that time was a special unicycle.
“Cars are rattling, horses are rustling, and pedestrians’ bows and arrows are at their waist.
Yeniang’s wife is walking to see each other off, and the dust can’t see the Xianyang bridge”.
Whenever we read such a poem, our hearts will inevitably surge.
Although we born in peacetime can’t personally experience the grandeur of the ancient war, the chariots and horses left by me may let us review the scene at that time.
This article is provided by Xiangyang Museum and originally published in Xiangyang Cultural Relics Series “Xiangyang treasure Tour” compiled by Xiangyang Museum,.
