Reconstruction Research Of Qin Chariot In The Spring And Autumn Period

A large amount of shape information about Qin chariot has been provided by the excavation of over 30 Qin chariot pits since 1937.Among all the discoveries,altogether 8 well preserved single-shafted Qin chariots unearthed from 4 chariot pits(K1002,K201,K202,K203)at Maojiaping Site,Gangu County,Gansu Province between 2012 and 2014,have provided especially considerable detailed information about structure and dimension of Qin chariot after being meticulously uncovered.Based on that excavation information of Qin chatiot,consulted previous research on Shang and Zhou chariot reconstruction and history documentation,this paper aims to reconstruct the single-shafted Qin chariot in the Spring and Autumn Period.While Qin and all the other states east of Qin in the Spring and Autumn shared a same chariot structure of two wheels and single draught pole(called shaft),as well as an axle connecting the two wheels,a carriage with criss-crossing barriers(called Ling)around,and a wood block(called Fu or Futu)fixing the carriage on the axle,Qin chariot also had some real distinct features such as no crossbar(called Shi)in the carriage but very high front barriers with handrail,and saddle-concaved side barriers,which provided a new method to identify Qin culture other than by recognizing the mausoleum layout,interment manner and burial artifacts.Those distinct features of Qin chariot were apparently not culturally inherited from the Western Zhou Dynasty or Shang Dynasty,but were probably borrowed from the west.Thus it could be an evidence supporting the existence of interaction between oriental and occidental cultures during the pre-Qin Period.