CHINESE CLAY FIGURES 



PART I 



PROLEGOMENA ON THE HISTORY OF 

 DEFENSIVE ARMOR 



I. HISTORY OF THE RHINOCEROS. 



An extensive collection of ancient clay figures gathered in the 

 provinces of Shen-si and Ho-nan during the period from 1908 to 19 10 

 is the basis of the present investigation. As the character of this 

 material gives rise to research of manifold kinds, it has been thought 

 advisable to publish it in two separate parts. Many of the clay statu- 

 ettes which form the nucleus of our study are characterized by the wear 

 of defensive armor, hence this first part is devoted to an inquiry into the 

 history of defensive armor, — a task of great interest, and one which here- 

 tofore has not been attempted. It will be recognized that this subject 

 sheds new light on the ancient culture of China and her relations to 

 other culture zones of Asia. The second part of this publication will 

 deal in detail with the history of clay figures, the practice of interring 

 them, the religious significance underlying the various types, and the 

 culture phase of the nation from which they have emanated. 



Before embarking on our subject proper, a preliminary question 

 must be decided. It is the tradition of the Chou period that the 

 cuirasses l employed at that time were manufactured from the hides of 

 two animals designated by the words se (No. 10,298) and si (No. 

 4218). 2 It is imperative to have a clear understanding of what these 

 two animals were in the early antiquity of China. As this problem is 

 still pending, and as a close and coherent investigation of the matter has 

 never been made, I have decided to treat it from the very beginning by 

 means of all accessible methods, with the possible hope of a final solution. 



The present state of the problem is as follows: Edouard Biot, 3 



1 "Cuirass" or "cuirbouilly" is the right term for this kind of armor, as these 

 words (like French cuirasse, Italian corazza) go back to Latin coratium ("a breast- 

 plate of leather"), derived from the word corium ("leather"). 



2 These figures refer to the numbers of the Chinese characters in the Chinese- 

 English Dictionary of H. A. Giles. 



3 Le Tcheou-li, ou Rites des Tcheou, Vol. II, p. 507 (Paris, 1851). 



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