文章大意 | 中国兵马俑兵车的构造
The ancient Chinese chariot (simplified Chinese: 战车；traditional
Chinese: 戰車；pinyin: zhan che; literally "war vehicle") was used as an attack and pursuit vehicle on the open fields and plains of Ancient China from around 1200 BCE. Chariots also allowed military commanders a mobile platform from which to control troops while providing archers and soldiers armed with dagger-axes increased mobility. They reached a peak of importance during the Spring and Autumn period, but were largely superseded by cavalry in the Han Dynasty.
Origins
Traditional sources attribute the invention of the chariot to the Xia Dynasty minister Xi Zhong（奚仲）, [1][2][3] and say they were used at the Battle of Gan（甘之战）in the 21st century BCE. However archaeological evidence shows that small scale use of the chariot began around 1200 BCE in the late Shang Dynasty.[4][5]
Contemporary oracle bone inscriptions of the character 車（车）depict a chariot-like two wheeled vehicle with a single pole for the
attachment of horses.
Ancient Chinese chariots were typically two wheeled vehicles drawn by two or four horses[9] with a single draught pole measuring around 3 meters long that was originally straight but later evolved into two curved shafts. At the front end of the pole there was a horizontal draw-bar about one meter long with wooden yokes attached, to which the horses would be harnessed. Wooden wheels with a
diameter of between approximately 1.2 - 1.4 meters were mounted on a three meter long axle and secured at each end with a bronze
hubcap. Wheels of the Shang period usually had 18 spokes, but those of the Zhou period numbered from 18 to 26. Chariot wheels of
the Spring and Autumn period (8th-7th century BCE) had between 25 and 28 spokes. The carriage body was around one meter long
and 0.8 meters wide with wooden walls and an opening at the back to provide access for soldiers.[10][11]
With the arrival of the Spring and Autumn Period (771-476 BCE) improvements had been made to the chariot's design and construction. The angle of the curved draw pole had increased raising the end of the pole. This reduced the amount of effort required by the horse pulling the chariot and increased its speed.
The width of the carriage body had also increased to around 1.5 meters allowing soldiers greater freedom of movement. Key
components such as the pole, hubcap and yoke were reinforced with decorated copper castings, increasing the chariot's stability
and durability. These chariots were variously referred to as “gold chariots” (金车), “attack chariots”（攻车）or “weapons chariots”.
（戎车）[10] |
文章大意 | 动物和人类的区别，以及它会使用工具。 Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, sharing more than 98 percent of our genetic blueprint. Humans and chimps are also thought
to share a common ancestor who lived some four to eight million years ago.
Chimpanzees live in social communities of several dozen animals, and can habituate themselves to African rain forests, woodlands, and
grasslands.
Although they normally walk on all fours (knuckle-walking), chimpanzees can stand and walk upright. By swinging from branch to branch they can also move quite efficiently in the trees, where they do most of their eating. Chimpanzees usually sleep in the trees as well, employing nests of leaves.
Chimps are generally fruit and plant eaters, but they also consume insects, eggs, and meat, including carrion. They have a tremendously varied diet that includes hundreds of known foods.
Chimpanzees are one of the few animal species that employ tools. They shape and use sticks to retrieve insects from their nests or dig grubs out of logs. They also use stones to smash open tasty nuts and employ leaves as sponges to soak up drinking water. Chimpanzees can even be taught to use some basic human sign language.
Females can give birth at any time of year, typically to a single infant that clings to its mother's fur and later rides on her back until the age of two. Females reach reproductive age at 13, while males are not
considered adults until they are 16 years old.
Although chimps and humans are closely related, the apes have suffered much at human hands. These great apes are endangered and still threatened by bush meat hunters and habitat destruction. |
