New Museum to Showcase Jin War Chariots

With all of the spectacular archaeological finds made in China since the 1980s it is difficult to choose the most important - and the finds just keep multiplying each year. I have been fortunate to have seen a traveling exhibit of the terracotta warriors and hope to see them in situ one day. Now it looks like I need to plan to include this new museum showcasing the fabulous Jin war chariots of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1120-781 BC), like the one shown here, in my itinerary!

[Image - life-size model of a Zhou Dynasty "4 Horses 3 men" War Chariot in the China's People's Revolutionary Military Musuem in Beijing]

In the remote village of Yangshe on the banks of the Yellow River, Chinese archaeologists are little by little bringing an ancient culture back to life after nearly 3,000 years. The vast cemetery they are excavating belonged to the rulers of the Jin state, which is finally emerging in all its remarkable diversity in what is now northern China's Shanxi Province. It is a discovery that in most countries would excite the entire scholarly community, but in China it is just one in a string of startling finds.

At the Yangshe dig, the outstanding feature is a large pit containing 48 chariots and 105 horses that were buried with a Jin ruler particularly noted for his military campaigns during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1120-781 BC).

The find is the largest horse and chariot pit dating from the Shang and Zhou dynasties (1600-256 BC) so far found in China and predates the terracotta warrior tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shihuang, by more than 600 years, Ji said.

Among the finds are ceremonial carriages exquisitely painted with red lacquer and which include finely crafted doors with bronze hinges. Armoured war carriages protected by bronze plates are also among the finds.

"We believe the chariots and horses were the actual cavalry used in the military campaigns of the Jin leader," Ji said. "So far we have counted at least 105 horses, which we believe were drugged and buried alive as some of their heads were erect and others had their legs bound," he added.

The state of Jin existed as part of the Zhou Dynasty, which was divided into western and eastern periods.

The Jin cemetery was first discovered in 1992, but funding for major excavations only began in 1996.

Since then all 19 tombs have been excavated with the dig of the largest horse and chariot pit alone taking four years, Ji said.

Coinciding with the discoveries, archaeologists in China are seeing funding on a scale they could only have dreamt of a few years ago. "The Museum of the State of Jin, which begins construction in March, will sit on top of the horse and chariot pit and is expected to be opened by 2010," he said.

The 100-million-yuan (13-million-dollar) museum will house a treasure trove of bronze and jade artifacts from all 19 tombs of the early Jin rulers and their wives.

 You can learn more about he Qing (Jin) dynasty in this YouTube video:



      

U. S. Cavalry Museum

Fort Riley, Kansas (USA)

Originally called Camp Center, Ft. Riley was established in the 1850s to provide protection to immigrants migrating westward on the Oregon and Sante Fe Trails.

[Right: A cavalryman of the U.S.-Mexican War (1846 - 1848)]

Its cavalry units policed the Kansas Territory during the pro and anti-slavery bloodshed that preceded the Civil War and it was the last home of General George Armstrong Custer before he met his fate at the battle of the Little Big Horn.

The museum includes exhibits of cavalry activities from their early beginnings in the Revolutionary War up to their modern deployment in the Persian Gulf. It also features the work of outstanding military artists in both oil and bronze.

IMPORTANT: Ft. Riley is a secured military compound. To gain admittance to the base you must first stop and obtain a visitor's pass. You will be required to provide photo ID. Admission to the museum is free but donations are gladly accepted.

This statue (left) reminds me of "Comanche", the only representative of the U.S. Army left wounded but alive at the site of Custer's defeat near the Little Big Horn River in present day Montana.

I read a book about Comanche when I was a young girl and, being an avid animal lover, found the book very heart wrenching.

"You felt like you were somebody when you were on a good horse, with a carbine dangling from its small leather ring socket on your McClelland saddle, and a Colt army revolver strapped on your hip; and a hundred rounds of ammunition in your web belt and in your saddle pockets. You were a cavalryman of the Seventh Regiment. You were a part of a proud outfit that had a fighting reputation, and you were ready for a fight or a frolic." - Sgt. Charles Windolph in I Fought with Custer.

The famous Gatling Gun, designed by the American inventor Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861 and patented in 1862, was cranked by hand and could feed up to 1500 rounds per minute.

"Each barrel fires a single shot as it reaches a certain point in the cycle after which it ejects the spent cartridge, loads a new round, and in the process, somewhat cools down. This configuration allowed higher rates of fire without the problem of an overheating single barrel. The Maxim gun, invented in 1884, was the first self-powered machine gun. The first Gatling gun relied on a hand crank for external power. Some time later, Gatling-type weapons were invented that diverted a fraction of gas from the chamber to turn the barrels. Later still, electric motors supplied external power." - Wikipedia

In addition to weapons and firearms, the museum has an outstanding collection of period uniforms such as this panoply of a dragoon of 1833, who wielded the first "recognized"major cavalry sword produced in the early United States. It was patterned after an 1820 British saber.

Light Horse Harry" Lee, father of the famous Civil War General Robert E. Lee, led his cavalrymen, dressed like the soldier at right, in lightning swift raids during the American Revolutionary War. His unit captured over 400 British Soldiers in an attack on Paulus Hook, New Jersey.

I was surprised by the formal military attire of Apache scouts that included a horsehair topped helmet. Hollywood movies typically show them with castoff military jackets and bandana headwear resembling the portraits of Geronimo.

"Apache scouts (U.S. Army Indian Scouts) came from different Apache tribes or bands. Most of their service was in the Apache wars of the 1870s to 1890s, where they were the eyes and ears of the US military and sometimes the cultural translators for the various Apache bands and the US military. As was the custom in the US Military, scouts were enlisted with Anglo nicknames or single names.

"Chiricahuas were the most subordinate, energetic, untiring and, by odds, the most efficient of their command" (Crook Resume of Operations quoted in Conquest of Apacheria p 364). These scouts were sent to Florida by General Miles, along with those who they tracked for 16 months (1885-86), as if these Apache Scouts were hostiles to be punished. They were kept captive under nominal arrest as prisoners of war, along with the the rest of Geronimos band whom they'd helped the Army track down, for 26 years before finally being released." - Wikipedia