Ｍｏｒｅ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　Ａｒｔ　ｏｆ　Ｂｒｉｃｋｓ　ａｎｄ　Ｔｉｌｅｓ.docVIP

Ｍｏｒｅ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　Ａｒｔ　ｏｆ　Ｂｒｉｃｋｓ　ａｎｄ　Ｔｉｌｅｓ 　　 　　THOUGH bricks and tiles are ordinary building materials judged by today’s standards, centuries ago commoners mostly built their houses with sun-dried adobes and thatch. Back then, bricks and tiles implied wealth and dignity, in much the same way as marble, steel and glass do today. This was particularly true of bricks and tiles featuring ornamental designs for imperial use. The most representative of these aristocratic building blocks were the bricks and tiles of the Qin and Han dynasties. These were later followed by other ornamental brick carving techniques. 　　 　　Qin-Han Bricks and Tiles 　　 　　Kilning bricks and tiles as building materials started in the Zhou Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. After Emperor Qinshihuang united China and put an end to the chaos of the warring states in 221 B.C., he led the country into a period of economic and cultural development, and a massive construction program. No less than 300 imperial palaces, both large and small, were built around the country, not to mention the 5,000-km Great Wall that stretched from Gansu’s Lintao in the west, to the coast of Liaoning Province in the east. After the Han Dynasty succeeded the Qin in 206 B.C., it continued the economic, social and technological progress at an even faster pace. As a result, the scale of kilning and firing technology during these two dynasties surpassed any previous period. 　　The Qin imperial court built its main projects, such as palaces and mausoleums, using bricks and tiles made of submerged sediment clay. Such bricks were not only solid and durable, but also heavy, so they were also known as “lead bricks.” 　　In the early Han Dynasty, Prime Minister Xiao He was in charge of capital construction in Chang’an. As a townsman and friend of Emperor Liu Bang, Xiao followed him from the beginning of Liu’s revolt against Qinshihuang and was his most trusted aide during the fight against the Qin and the establishment of the Han Dynast