Bronze weapons of the Qin terracotta warriors: standardisation, craft specialisation and labour organisation

Abstract

Over 40,000 lethal bronze weapons were discovered with thousands of terracotta warriors in the tomb complex of the Qin First Emperor (259-210 BC). This book presents the first systematic and comprehensive study on these weapons to investigate the mass production and labour organisation in early imperial China. The research draws upon extensive measurements, typological analysis and related statistical treatment, as well as a study of the spatial distribution of the bronze weapons. A combination of metrical and spatial data is used to assess the degree of standardisation of the weapons' production, and to evaluate the spatial patterns in the array of the Terracotta Army. Integrating these insights with inscriptions, tool marks, and chemical analysis, this is a study of mass production, the behaviour of craftspeople, and related imperial logistical organisation in the Qin Dynasty.