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Huo Qubing

Huo Qubing
霍去病
Born140 BC
Linfen, Shanxi
Died117 BC (aged 23)
Resting place34°20′29″N 108°34′53″E / 34.34139°N 108.58139°E / 34.34139; 108.58139
Other namesMarquis Jinghuan of Guanjun (Champion) (冠军景桓侯)
Occupation(s)Military general, politician
ChildrenHuo Shan
Parents
  • Huo Zhongru (father)
  • Wei Shao'er (mother)
RelativesHuo Guang (half-brother)
In this Chinese name, the family name is Huo.

Huo Qubing (140 BC – c.October 117 BC,[1] formerly Ho Ch'ii-ping) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emperor Wu's wife), and a half-brother of the statesman Huo Guang.[2] Along with Wei Qing, he led a campaign into the Gobi Desert of what is now Mongolia to defeat the Xiongnu nomadic confederation, winning decisive victories such as the Battle of Mobei in 119 BC. Huo Qubing was one of the most legendary commanders in Chinese history, and still lives on in Chinese culture today.

Early life

[edit]

Huo Qubing was an illegitimate son from the love affair between Wei Shaoer (衛少兒), the daughter of a lowly maid from the household of Princess Pingyang (Emperor Wu's older sister), and Huo Zhongru (霍仲孺), a low-ranking civil servant employed there at the time.[3] However, Huo Zhongru did not want to marry a lower class serf girl like Wei Shaoer, so he abandoned her and went away to marry a woman from his home town instead. Wei Shaoer insisted on keeping the child, raising him with help of her siblings.

When Huo Qubing was around two years old, his younger aunt Wei Zifu, who was serving as an in-house singer/dancer for Princess Pingyang, caught the attention of the young Emperor Wu, who took her and her half-brother Wei Qing back to his palace in the capital, Chang'an. More than a year later, the newly favoured concubine Wei Zifu became pregnant with Emperor Wu's first child, earning her the jealousy and hatred of Emperor Wu's then empress consort, Empress Chen. Empress Chen's mother, Grand Princess[4] Guantao (館陶長公主), then attempted to retaliate against Wei Zifu by kidnapping and attempting to murder Wei Qing, who was then serving as a horseman at the Jianzhang Camp (建章營, Emperor Wu's royal guards). After Wei Qing was rescued by fellow palace guards led by his close friend Gongsun Ao (公孫敖), Emperor Wu took the opportunity to humiliate Empress Chen and Princess Guantao by promoting Wei Zifu to a consort (夫人, a concubine position lower only to the Empress) and Wei Qing to the triple role of Chief of Jianzhang Camp (建章監), Chief of Staff (侍中), and Chief Councillor (太中大夫), effectively making him one of Emperor Wu's closest lieutenants. The rest of the Wei family were also well rewarded, including the decreed marriage of Wei Shaoer's older sister Wei Junru (衛君孺) to Emperor Wu's adviser, Gongsun He (公孫賀). At the time, Wei Shaoer was romantically engaged with Chen Zhang (陳掌), a great-grandson of Emperor Gaozu's adviser Chen Ping. Their relationship was also legitimized by Emperor Wu through the form of decreed marriage.[5] Through the rise of the Wei family, the young Huo Qubing grew up in prosperity and prestige.

Military career

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Huo Qubing exhibited outstanding military talent even as a teenager. Emperor Wu saw Huo's potential and made Huo his personal assistant.

Huo Qubing's campaign against Xiongnu is shown in red

In 123 BC, Emperor Wu sent Wei Qing from Dingxiang (定襄) to engage the invading Xiongnu, and appointed the 18-year-old Huo Qubing to serve as the Captain of Piaoyao (票姚校尉) under his uncle,[6] seeing real combat for the first time. Although Wei Qing was able to kill or capture more than 10,000 Xiongnu soldiers, part of his vanguard forces, a 3,000-strong regiment commanded by generals Su Jian (蘇建, father of the Han diplomat and statesman, Su Wu) and Zhao Xin (趙信, a surrendered Xiongnu prince) was outnumbered and annihilated after encountering the Xiongnu force led by Yizhixie Chanyu (伊稚斜單于). Zhao Xin defected on the field with his 800 ethnic Xiongnu subordinates, while Su Jian escaped after losing all his men in the desperate fighting. Due to the loss of this detachment, Wei Qing's troops did not earn any promotion, but Huo Qubing distinguished himself by leading a long-distance search-and-destroy mission with 800 light cavalrymen,[7] killing the Chanyu's grandfather and over 2,000 enemy troops, as well as capturing numerous Xiongnu nobles. A very impressed Emperor Wu then made Huo Qubing the Marquess of Guanjun (Champion) (冠軍侯) with a march of 2,500 households.[8]

In 121 BC, Emperor Wu deployed Huo Qubing twice in that year against the Xiongnu in the Hexi Corridor. During spring, Huo Qubing led 10,000 cavalry, fought through five Western Regions kingdoms within 6 days, advanced over 1,000 li over Mount Yanzhi (焉支山), killed two Xiongnu princes along with nearly 9,000 enemy troops, and captured several Xiongnu nobles as well as the Golden Man idol used by Xiongnu as an artifact for holy rituals.[9] For this achievement, his march was increased by 2,200 households.[10] During the summer of the same year, Xiongnu attacked the Dai Commandery and Yanmen. Huo Qubing set off from Longxi (modern-day Gansu) with over 10,000 cavalry, supported by Gongsun Ao, who set off from the Beidi Commandery (北地郡). Despite Gongsun Ao failing to keep up, Huo Qubing travelled over 2,000 li without backup, all the way past Juyan Lake to Qilian Mountains, killing over 30,000 Xiongnu soldiers and capturing a dozen Xiongnu princes. His march was then increased further by an additional 5,400 households for the victory.

Tomb of Huo Qubing, statue of a horse stomping a Xiongnu warrior, with detail of the head of the vanquished Xiongnu warrior.[11][12]

Huo Qubing's victories dealt heavy blows to the tribes of the Xiongnu princes of Hunxie (渾邪王) and Xiutu (休屠王) that occupied the Hexi Corridor. Out of frustration, Yizhixie Chanyu wanted to mercilessly execute those two princes as punishment. The Prince of Hunxie contacted the Han government in autumn of 121 BC to negotiate a surrender. Failing to persuade his fellow prince to do the same, he killed the Prince of Xiutu and ordered Xiutu's forces to also surrender. When the two tribes went to meet the Han forces, Xiutu's forces rioted. Seeing the situation changed, Huo Qubing alone headed to the Xiongnu camp. There, the general ordered the Prince of Hunxie to calm his men and stand down before putting down 8,000 Xiongnu men who refused to disarm, effectively quelling the riot. The Hunxie tribe was then resettled into the Central Plain. The surrender of the Xiutu and Hunxie tribes stripped Xiongnu of any control over the Western Regions, depriving them of a large grazing area. As a result, the Han dynasty successfully opened up the Northern Silk Road, allowing direct trade access to Central Asia. This also provided a new supply of high-quality horse breeds from Central Asia, including the famed Ferghana horse (ancestors of the modern Akhal-Teke), further strengthening the Han army. Emperor Wu then reinforced this strategic asset by establishing five commanderies and constructing a length of fortified wall along the border of the Hexi Corridor. He colonised the area with 700,000 Chinese soldier-settlers.

After the series of defeats by Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, Yizhixie Chanyu took Zhao Xin's advice and retreated with his tribes to the north of the Gobi Desert, hoping that the barren land would serve as a natural barrier against Han offensives. Emperor Wu however, was far from giving up, and planned a massive expeditionary campaign in 119 BC. Han forces were deployed in two separate columns, each consisting of 50,000 cavalry and over 100,000 infantry, with Wei Qing and Huo Qubing serving as the supreme commander for each.

Emperor Wu, who had been distancing Wei Qing and giving the younger Huo Qubing more attention and favour, hoped that Huo would engage the stronger Chanyu's tribe and preferentially assigned him the most elite troopers. The initial plan called for Huo Qubing to attack from Dingxiang (定襄, modern-day Qingshuihe County, Inner Mongolia) and engage the Chanyu, with Wei Qing supporting him in the east from Dai Commandery (代郡, modern-day, Yu County, Hebei) to engage the Left Worthy Prince (左賢王). However, a Xiongnu prisoner of war confessed that the Chanyu's main force was at the east side. Unaware that this was actually false information provided by the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu ordered the two columns to switch routes, with Wei Qing now setting off on the western side from Dingxiang, and Huo Qubing marching on the eastern side from the Dai Commandery.

Battles at the eastern Dai Commandery theatre were quite straightforward, as Huo Qubing's forces were far superior to their enemies. Huo Qubing advanced over 2,000 li and directly engaged the Left Worthy Prince in a swift and decisive battle. He quickly encircled and overran the Xiongnu, killing over 70,000 men, and capturing three lords and 83 nobles, while suffering a 20% casualty rate that was quickly resupplied from local captives. He then went on to conduct a series of rituals upon his arrival at the Khentii Mountains (狼居胥山, and the more northern 姑衍山) to symbolize the historic Han victory, then continued his pursuit as far as Lake Baikal (瀚海), effectively annihilating the Xiongnu clan and allowing conquering tribe such as the Donghu People to retake back their land to establish their own confederacy to declared independent from Xiongnu Overlord following the subjugation for over a few decade.[13] A separate division led by Lu Bode (路博德), set off on a strategically flanking route from Right Beiping (右北平, modern-day Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia), joined forces with Huo Qubing after arriving in time with 2,800 enemy kills, and the combined forces then returned in triumph. This victory earned Huo Qubing 5,800 households of fiefdom as a reward,[14] making him more distinguished than his uncle Wei Qing.[15] At the height of his career, many low-ranking commanders previously served under Wei Qing voluntarily transferred to Huo Qubing's service in the hope of achieving military glory with him.[16]

Death and legacy

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Tomb of Huo Qubing in 1914, Shaanxi, China, photographed by Victor Segalen (1878–1919). The "Horse Stomping Xiongnu" statue appears in front.
The "Horse Stomping Xiongnu" statue at Huo Qubing's tomb

Emperor Wu offered to help Huo Qubing build up a household for marriage. Huo Qubing, however, answered that "the Xiongnu are not yet eliminated, why should I start a family?" (匈奴未滅，何以家為？),[17] a statement that became an inspirational Chinese patriotic motto. Though Huo Qubing was recorded as a quietly spoken man of few words, he was far from humble.[18] Sima Qian noted in Shiji that Huo Qubing paid little regard to his men,[19] refusing to share his food with his soldiers,[20] and regularly ordering his troops to conduct cuju games despite them being short on rations.[21] When Emperor Wu suggested him to study The Art of War by Sun Tzu and Wuzi by Wu Qi, Huo Qubing claimed that he naturally understood war strategies and had no need to study.[22] When his subordinate Li Gan (李敢, son of Li Guang) assaulted Wei Qing, the latter forgave the incident. Huo Qubing, on the other hand, refused to tolerate such disrespect towards his uncle and personally shot Li Gan during a hunting trip. Emperor Wu covered for Qubing, stating that Li Gan was "killed by a deer".[23]

When it came to military glory, Huo Qubing was said to be more generous. One story about him told of when Emperor Wu awarded Huo a jar of precious wine for his achievement, he poured it into a creek so all his men drinking the water could share a taste of it, giving the name to the city of Jiuquan (酒泉, literally "wine spring").

Huo Qubing died in 117 BC at the early age of 23. After Huo Qubing's death, the aggrieved Emperor Wu ordered the elite troops from the five border commanderies to line up all the way from Chang'an to Maoling, where Huo Qubing's tomb was constructed in the shape of the Qilian Mountains to commemorate his military achievements.[24] Huo Qubing was then posthumously appointed the title Marquess of Jinghuan (景桓侯),[25] and a large "Horse Stomping Xiongnu" (馬踏匈奴) stone statue was built in front of his tomb,[26] near Emperor Wu's tomb of Maoling.

Huo Qubing was among the most decorated military commanders in Chinese history. The Eastern Han dynasty historian Ban Gu summarized in his Book of Han Huo Qubing's achievements with a poem:

The Champion of Piaoji, fast and brave.
Six long-distance assaults, like lightning and thunder.
Watering horse at Lake Baikal, conducting rituals at Khentii Mountains.
Conquering the area west of great river, establishing commanderies along Qilian Mountains.
票騎冠軍，猋勇紛紜，長驅六擧，電擊雷震，飲馬翰海，封狼居山，西規大河，列郡祁連。

Huo Qubing's half-brother, Huo Guang, whom he took custody away from his father, was later a great statesman who was the chief counsel for Emperor Zhao, and was instrumental in the succession of Emperor Xuan to the throne after Emperor Zhao's death.

Huo Qubing's son, Huo Shàn (霍嬗), succeeded him as the Marquess of Jinghuan but died young in 110 BC. So Huo Qubing's title became extinct. His grandson Huo Shān (霍山, later Marquess of Leping) and Huo Yun (霍云, later Marquess of Guanyang) were involved in a failed plot to overthrow Emperor Xuan of Han in 66 BC, resulting in both of them committing suicide and the Huo clan being executed. It is presumed that no male descendants of Huo Qubing or Huo Guang survived, as during the reign of Emperor Ping of Han, it was Huo Yang, a great-grandson of Huo Qubing's paternal cousin, who was chosen as the descendant of Huo Guang to be the Marquess of Bolu.

Huo Qubing and monumental statuary

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Mogao Caves 8th-century mural depicting Emperor Wu of Han worshipping "golden man" statues brought back from the Xiongnu by General Huo Qubing.[27]

The Book of Han records that in 121 BCE when General Huo Qubing defeated the armies of King Xiutu (休屠), in modern-day Gansu, he "captured a golden (or gilded) man used by the King of Xiutu to worship Heaven".[28][29] This golden statue was unlikely Buddhist, as the Xiongnu were unrelated to this religion.[30]

The statues were later moved to the Yunyang 雲陽 Temple, near or in the royal summer Ganquan Palace 甘泉 (modern Xianyang, Shaanxi), which had also the capital of the Qin Empire.[28][31] In Cave 323 in Mogao caves (near Dunhuang in the Tarim Basin), Emperor Wudi is shown worshipping two golden statues, with the following inscription (which closely paraphrases the traditional accounts of Huo Qubing's expedition):[28]

漢武帝將其部眾討凶奴,並獲得二金(人),(各)長丈餘,刊〔列〕之於甘泉宮,帝(以)為大神,常行拜褐時
Emperor Han Wudi directed his troops to fight the Xiongnu and obtained two golden statues more than one zhàng [3 meters] tall, that he displayed in the Ganquan Palace and regularly worshipped.

— Inscription of Cave 323 in the Mogao caves

The Han expedition to the west and the capture of booty by general Huo Qubing is well documented, but the later Buddhist interpretation at the Mogao Caves of the worship of these statues as a means to propagate Buddhism in China is probably apocryphal, since Han Wudi is not known to have ever worshipped the Buddha, and Buddhist statues probably did not exist yet at this time.[27]

First monumental stone statues in China

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The horse statue at Huo Qubing's Mausoleum (117 BCE), the first known monumental stone statue in China: it depicts a horse trampling a Xiongnu warrior.[32]
See also: Chinese art

There are no known examples of monumental stone statuary in China before the stone sculptures at Huo Qubing's Mausoleum.[33] In particular, his mausoleum was adorned with a monumental stone statue depicting a horse trampling a Xiongnu warrior.[32] In literary sources, there is only a single 3rd-4th century CE record of a possible earlier example: two alleged monumental stone statues of qilin (Chinese unicorns) that had been set up on top of the tomb of the First Emperor Qin Shihuang.[34] Huo Qubing must have been influenced by stone statues he saw during his campaigns in the west.[35] The cultural tradition of monumental stone sculpture too seems to have followed a process of West-East diffusion, starting from Egypt and Babylonia to reach Greece, until finally reaching India with the Pillars of Ashoka (268-232 BCE) and China around the 2nd century BCE. The stone carvings of the tombs of Huo Qubing and Zhang Qian may have been influenced by their contact and experiences with Western Asian cultures (Central Asian culture and other culture diffused by the silk road). [36][37]

The Mausoleum of Huo Qubing (located in Maoling at 34°20′28″N 108°34′53″E / 34.341214°N 108.581381°E / 34.341214; 108.581381, near the Mausoleum of Han Wudi) has 15 more stone sculptures. These are less naturalistic than the "Horse trampling a Xiongnu", and tend to follow the natural shape of the stone, with details of the figures only emerging in high-relief.[38]

[edit]

Huo Qubing is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei.

Huo Qubing was played by Li Junfeng (李俊锋) in the popular 2005 historical epics TV series The Emperor in Han Dynasty (汉武大帝).

Huo Qubing was played by Eddie Peng (彭于晏) under the name of Wei Wuji (卫无忌) in the popular romance Chinese drama Sound of the Desert (风中奇缘) derived from the book Da Mo Yao/Ballad of the Desert (大漠谣) by famous novel writer Tong Hua.

Huo Qubing is also mentioned in the blockbuster film Dragon Blade, where the main character, played by Jackie Chan, is said to have been raised up by him. Actor Feng Shaofeng portrays the general in brief flashbacks.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ 9th month of the 6th year of the Yuan'shou era, per Emperor Wu's biography in Book of Han. The month corresponds to 10 Oct to 8 Nov 117 BCE in the proleptic Julian calendar.
  2. ^ B.C., Sima, Qian, approximately 145 B.C.-approximately 86 (1993). Records of the grand historian. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-08164-2. OCLC 904733341.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ 霍去病，大將軍青姊少兒子也。其父霍仲孺先与少兒通，生去病
  4. ^ Lee, Lily; Wiles, Sue, eds. (2015). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women. Vol. II. Routledge. p. 609. ISBN 978-1-317-51562-3. An emperor's [...] sister or a favorite daughter was called a grand princess (zhang gongzhu); and his aunt or grand-aunt was called a princess supreme (dazhang gongzhu).
  5. ^ 及衛皇后尊，少兒更為詹事陳掌妻。
  6. ^ 大將軍姊子霍去病年十八，幸，為天子ヰ中。善騎射，再從大將軍，受詔與壯士，為剽姚校尉。
  7. ^ 與輕勇騎八百直棄大軍數百里赴利，斬捕首虜過當。
  8. ^ 剽姚校尉去病斬首虜二千二十八級，及相國、當戶，斬單于大父行籍若侯產，生捕季父羅姑比，再冠軍，以千六百戶封去病為冠軍侯。
  9. ^ 票騎將軍率戎士逾烏韡，討脩濮，涉狐奴，歷五王國，輜重人眾攝讋者弗取，几獲單于子。轉戰六日，過焉支山千有余里，合短兵，鏖皋蘭下，殺折蘭王，斬盧侯王，銳悍者誅，全甲獲丑，執渾邪王子及相國、都尉，捷首虜八千九百六十級，收休屠祭天金人，師率減什七
  10. ^ 益封去病二千二百戶
  11. ^ Qingbo, Duan (January 2023). "Sino-Western Cultural Exchange as Seen through the Archaeology of the First Emperor's Necropolis". Journal of Chinese History. 7 (1): 52. doi:10.1017/jch.2022.25.
  12. ^ Maenchen-Helfen, Otto; Helfen, Otto (1 January 1973). The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture. University of California Press. pp. 369–370. ISBN 978-0-520-01596-8.
  13. ^ 票騎將軍去病率師躬將所獲葷允之士，約輕繼，絕大幕，涉獲單于章渠，以誅北車耆，轉擊左大將雙，獲旗鼓，歷度難侯，濟弓盧，獲屯頭王、韓王等三人，將軍、相國、當戶、都尉八十三人，封狼居胥山，禪于姑衍，登臨翰海，執訊獲丑七万有四百四十三級，師率減什二，取食于敵，卓行殊遠而糧不絕
  14. ^ 以五千八百戶益封票騎將軍
  15. ^ 自是后，青日衰而去病日益貴。
  16. ^ 青故人門下多去，事去病，輒得官爵
  17. ^ 天子為治第，令驃騎視之，對曰：「匈奴未滅，無以家為也。」
  18. ^ 驃騎將軍為人少言不泄，有氣敢任。
  19. ^ 然少而侍中，貴，不省士。
  20. ^ 其從軍，上為遣太官繼數十乘，既還，重車余棄粱肉，而士有饑者。
  21. ^ 其在塞外，卒乏糧，或不能自振，而去病尚穿域蹋鞠也。事多此類
  22. ^ 上嘗欲教之吳、孫兵法，對曰：「顧方略何如耳，不至學古兵法。」
  23. ^ 李敢以校尉從驃騎將軍擊胡左賢王，力戰，奪左賢王鼓旗，斬首多，賜爵關內侯，食邑二百戶，代廣為郎中令。頃之，怨大將軍青之恨其父，乃擊傷大將軍，大將軍匿諱之。居無何，敢從上雍，至甘泉宮獵。驃騎將軍去病與青有親，射殺敢。去病時方貴幸，上諱云鹿觸殺之。
  24. ^ 天子悼之，發屬國玄甲軍，陳自長安至茂陵，為冢象祁連山。
  25. ^ 謚之，并武與廣地曰景桓侯。
  26. ^ Grousset, Rene (1970). The Empire of the Steppes. Rutgers University Press. pp. 35. ISBN 0-8135-1304-9.
  27. ^ a b Whitfield, Roderick; Whitfield, Susan; Agnew, Neville (2000). Cave Temples of Mogao: Art and History on the Silk Road. Getty Publications. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-0-89236-585-2.
  28. ^ a b c Dubs, Homer H. (1937). "The "Golden Man" of Former Han Times". T'oung Pao. 33 (1): 4–6. ISSN 0082-5433. JSTOR 4527117.
  29. ^ 武帝元狩中，票騎將軍霍去病將兵擊匈奴右地，多斬首，虜獲休屠王祭天金人。(...) "本以休屠作金人為祭天主，故因賜姓金氏云。" (HS 68:23b9) in "《漢書》（前漢書）:霍光金日磾傳第三十八 數位經典". www.chineseclassic.com.
  30. ^ Dubs, Homer H. (1937). "The "Golden Man" of Former Han Times". T'oung Pao. 33 (1): 1–14. ISSN 0082-5433. JSTOR 4527117.
  31. ^ 《地理志》：左冯翊云阳有休屠金人及径路神祠三所 in Hanshu HS28:I,i,30a
  32. ^ a b Qingbo, Duan (January 2023). "Sino-Western Cultural Exchange as Seen through the Archaeology of the First Emperor's Necropolis". Journal of Chinese History. 7 (1): 48–49. doi:10.1017/jch.2022.25. ISSN 2059-1632. Before the appearance of the large-scale stone sculptures in front of the tomb of Huo Qubing 霍去病 (d. 117 BCE) of the middle Western Han period (see Figure 9), no monumental works of sculptural stone art like this had ever been seen in Qin culture or in those of the other Warring States polities.
  33. ^ Qingbo, Duan (2022). "Sino-Western Cultural Exchange as Seen through the Archaeology of the First Emperor's Necropolis". Journal of Chinese History 中國歷史學刊. 7: 48–50. doi:10.1017/jch.2022.25. ISSN 2059-1632. S2CID 251690411. Before the appearance of the large-scale stone sculptures in front of the tomb of Huo Qubing 霍去病 (d. 117 BCE) of the middle Western Han period (see Figure 9), no monumental works of sculptural stone art like this had ever been seen in Qin culture or in those of the other Warring States polities.
  34. ^ Qingbo, Duan (2022). "Sino-Western Cultural Exchange as Seen through the Archaeology of the First Emperor's Necropolis". Journal of Chinese History 中國歷史學刊. 7: 48–50. doi:10.1017/jch.2022.25. ISSN 2059-1632. S2CID 251690411. quoting the anonymous 3rd-4th century CE "Miscellaneous Notes on the Western Capital" (西京雜記): "There were two stone statues of qilin [Chinese unicorns]. The flanks of each animal bore carved inscriptions. These once stood atop the tomb mound of the First Emperor of Qin. Their heads stood one zhang and three chi in height [approx. three meters]"
  35. ^ Liu, Qingzhu (24 February 2023). A History of Un-fractured Chinese Civilization in Archaeological Interpretation. Springer Nature. p. 293. ISBN 978-981-19-3946-4.
  36. ^ Qingbo, Duan (January 2023). "Sino-Western Cultural Exchange as Seen through the Archaeology of the First Emperor's Necropolis". Journal of Chinese History. 7 (1): 48–49. doi:10.1017/jch.2022.25. ISSN 2059-1632. Looking at materials from along the route of the classic "Silk Road," the techniques of stone inscriptions and stone sculpture shows signs of having diffused from the West to the East. The practice was first transmitted from Egypt and Babylonia to Greece, and then throughout the Mediterranean islands and coastal areas. After that, from the territory of the Persian Empire, it spread to India during the Mauryan dynasty in the time of Ashoka, to Pakistan and Afghanistan, and finally arrived in China.
  37. ^ Liu, Qingzhu (24 February 2023). A History of Un-fractured Chinese Civilization in Archaeological Interpretation. Springer Nature. p. 293. ISBN 978-981-19-3946-4.
  38. ^ Qingbo, Duan (2022). "Sino-Western Cultural Exchange as Seen through the Archaeology of the First Emperor's Necropolis". Journal of Chinese History 中國歷史學刊. 7: 48–50. doi:10.1017/jch.2022.25. ISSN 2059-1632. S2CID 251690411. The sixteen large stone sculptures in front of the tomb of the Han general Huo Qubing 霍去病 (ca. 117 BCE), are mostly sculpted following the form of the original stone (see Figure 9). They employ techniques such as sculpting in the round, raised relief, and engraved intaglio lines to carve stone sculptures of oxen, horses, pigs, tigers, sheep, a fantastic beast eating a sheep, a man fighting a bear, a horse trampling a Xiongnu warrior, and other images. It is hard to find any evidence in China for this type of crude but concise lifelike rendering before these monuments.

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