| Imagine it is the year 1974. You and your friends are digging up a well in Lintong County, outside Xi’an (西安) province. All of a sudden, you discover life sized figures made out of clay with armour and weapons. Too good to be true? Well, this incredible story was actually a reality for farmer Yang Zhifa. Zhao Kangmin, an archeologist, was invited to investigate the area and was one of the first to work on putting back the fragments back together. What his team was about to find was the world’s largest group of pottery figures. They discovered 8,000+ life sized terracotta warriors who were anywhere between 175cm to 200cm tall, with more than 550 horses and 130 chariots. This army was the creation of Qin Shi Huang, the Emperor of China who was known to have intentions to conquer death. Now it serves as a historic monument for thousands of visitors every year who visit the area, which is the size of a football pitch. However, as the dry air of Xi’an is known to corrode clay in mere minutes, the tomb remains unopened.  Quick History Lesson The first Emperor was known to be a great conqueror whose most notable accomplishment was the unification of the states into one nation. This resulted in the founding of the Qin dynasty (秦朝). He went by the name of Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) which also means the first emperor. The construction of the Terracotta Warriors began in 246 BCE when the first emperor ascended the throne, then aged just 13. The construction was done in parts. The arms, legs, and body were made separately and then pieced together afterwards. The burial is a real depiction of Qin Shi Huang’s real army. Towards the front, the generals are taller and have armour with weapons and as the ranks go lower the height of the warriors also becomes lower. One can also see horses and chariots in the same position they would have stood in the real army. At the corners of the pits there are musicians, painters and dancers who can be seen performing as they did back in the day. Sima Qian 司馬遷, a historian from 145 – 90 BCE, also claimed there was heavy use of precious stones like jade, emerald and ruby draped across the king and other important terracotta warriors. The Qin Dynasty 秦朝 Known as one of the first dynasties in China, the Qin dynasty ruled for a short period from 221 – 207 BCE. This was actually at a time when China was not a nation, instead it was a group of warring states. The Qin Dynasty, under the rule of Qin Shihuang, unified the warring states and combined them into one nation. He is known as the conqueror who strived to conquer death. The Qin Dynasty is known for introducing standardized currency, weights, education, and writing systems in order to streamline the whole commercial sector. The same dynasty also was involved in different projects like building walls to connect the northern border which resulted in construction of the present day Great Wall of China. After the death of the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, two of his advisors wanted to take over the throne. In a dramatic twist, this resulted in both of their deaths, further weakening the Qin Dynasty. The leadership then fell into the hands of Xiang Yu 項羽, a Chu general who ultimately founded the Han Dynasty 漢朝. |
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