--- SEARCH ---
WEATHER
CHINA
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
CULTURE
GOVERNMENT
SCI-TECH
ENVIRONMENT
SPORTS
LIFE
PEOPLE
TRAVEL
WEEKLY REVIEW
Film in China
War on Poverty
Learning Chinese
Learn to Cook Chinese Dishes
Exchange Rates
Hotel Service
China Calendar
Dialing and
Postal Codes


Hot Links
China Development Gateway
Chinese Embassies

Ancient Chinese Used Sticky Porridge to Cement Wall

The legend that ancient Chinese craftsmen used glutinous rice porridge in the mortar while building ramparts has been verified by archaeological research in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
   
In a recent maintenance to the ancient city wall of Xi'an, the provincial capital, workers discovered that the plaster remnants on the ancient bricks were quite hard to remove, said Qin Jianming, a researcher with the Xi'an Preservation and Restoration Center of Cultural Relics.
   
A chemical test showed that the mortar reacted the same as glutinous rice to the reagent. And infrared spectral analysis also showed that the mortar displayed similar molecule structure to glutinous rice.
   
"Thus we can conclude that the sticky material was in the mortar," Qin said.
  
The use of this sticky material, Qin said, helps explain why many ancient Chinese brick structures are still standing.
   
The walls of Xi'an, the capital of China during several kingdoms and dynasties, were built in the early years of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The construction was based on wall relics of the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907).
   
The 13.74-kilometer, 12-meter high ancient wall, which still encircles central Xi'an, is well preserved today.
  
It is said that ancient construction workers used glutinous rice porridge when building the Great Wall more than 2,000 years ago.
   
Qin said that the new finding is useful in further study of ancient Chinese brick constructions.

(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2005)

 

Planner: Maintain Old Architectural Sites
Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum
What Happened to China's Architectural Heritage?
Print This Page
|
Email This Page
About Us SiteMap Feedback
Copyright © China Internet Information Center. All Rights Reserved
E-mail: webmaster@china.org.cn Tel: 86-10-68326688