The art of clay figure modeling in China boasts a long history that dates back to the Neolithic Age (about 4,000 to 10,000 years B.E). For instance, some pottery pigs and sheep have been discovered at the 6,000 to 7,000-year-old Hemudu site in Zhejiang Province. And the life-size terra cotta warriors and horses unearthed in 1974 from the mausoleum of the First Emperor (259-210 BC) of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) have been referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World." In fact, archaeologists have excavated a great number of pottery figurines, animals, chariots, and boats from the tombs of the following Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). Naturally, the funeral custom of burying figurines and objects with the dead gave impetus to the development of clay sculpture at that time.
在将近上千年的时间里,中国无论在经济上还是文化上,都遥遥领先于世界其他国家,以至于伏尔泰曾经这样赞颂中国:“中国人在道德和政治经济学、农业、生活必需的技艺等等方面已臻境地。”古人所取得的巨大成就,既是中国人无上的荣誉,也成了中国人甜蜜的负担。事实上,几乎后来所兴起的任何一种新的思想,都可以在更早的古人那里找到类似的说法,甚至在很多时候,古人说得更为清晰和透彻。这种独特的情形,逐渐造就了中国人重继承而不重开创的品格。中国的人文学者,更看重“言必有据”,“字字皆有出处”,强调自己的思想是溯源于古代的某位学者,而轻视那种标新立异、违背古人原则的理论。当贵古贱今成为一种社会风气时,即使要阐述一种全新的思想,也往往要先披上一层古人的外衣,借助于对古代典籍的再诠释而实现。也正因为如此,