Terracotta Army - Museum

Xi'an - China

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China facts & history in brief                 My China pages directory     Map of China Terracotta Army Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Terracotta Army (Pinyin: bingma yong; literally "soldier and horse funerary statues") or Terracotta Warriors and Horses is a collection of 8,099 larger than life Chinese terra cotta figures of warriors and horses located near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (Pinyin: Qín Shihuáng líng). The figures vary in height according to their rank; the tallest being the Generals. The heights range is 184-197cm (6ft - 6ft 5in), or more than a full foot taller than the average soldier of the period. The figures were discovered in 1974 near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China. The Terracotta Army was buried with the Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huangdi) in 210-209 BC (his reign over Qin was from 247 BC to 221 BC and unified China from 221 BC to the end of his life in 210 BC). Their purpose was to help rule another empire with Shi Huangdi in the afterlife. Consequently, they are also sometimes referred to as "Qin's Armies". The Terracotta Army was discovered in March 1974 by local farmers drilling a water well to the east of Mount Lishan. Mount Lishan is also where the material to make the terracotta warriors originated. In addition to the warriors, an entire man-made necropolis for the emperor has been excavated. Construction of this mausoleum began in 246 BC and is believed to have taken 700,000 workers and craftsmen 38 years to complete. Qin Shi Huangdi was interred inside the tomb complex upon his death in 210 BC. According to the Grand Historian Sima Qian (145 BC-90 BC), the First Emperor was buried alongside great amounts of treasure and objects of craftsmanship, as well as a scale replica of the universe complete with gemmed ceilings representing the cosmos, and flowing mercury representing the great earthly bodies of water. Pearls were also placed on the ceilings in the tomb to represent the stars, planets, etc. Recent scientific work at the site has shown high levels of mercury in the soil of Mount Lishan, tentatively indicating an accurate description of the site's contents by historian Sima Qian. The tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi is near an earthen pyramid 76 meters tall and nearly 350 square meters. The tomb presently remains unopened. There are plans to seal off the area around the tomb with a special tent-type structure to prevent corrosion from exposure to outside air. However, there is at present only one company in the world that makes these tents, and their largest model will not cover the site as needed. The terracotta figures were manufactured both in workshops by government laborers and also by local craftsmen. It is believed that they were made in much the same way that terracotta drainage pipes were manufactured at the time. This would make it a factory line style of production, with specific parts manufactured and assembled after being fired as opposed to crafting one solid piece of terracotta and subsequently firing it. After completion, the terracotta figures were placed in the pits in precise military formation according to rank and duty. The terracotta figures are life-like and life-sized. They vary in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with rank. The colored lacquer finish, molded faces (each is individual), and real weapons and armor used in manufacturing these figures created a realistic appearance. The weapons were stolen shortly after the creation of the army and the coloring has mostly faded. However, their existence served as a testament to the amount of labour and skill involved in their construction. It is also proof of the incredible amount of power the First Emperor possessed to order such a monumental undertaking as the manufacturing of the terracotta army. It is believed that the terracotta warriors were based on true people as every face has different facial features and expressions. There is evidence of a large fire that burned the wooden structures once housing the Terracotta Army. The fire was described by Sima Qian, who described them as the consequences of General Xiang Yu, who raided the tomb less than five years after the death of the First Emperor, as that the effects of General Xiang's army included looting of the tomb and structures holding the Terracotta Army, as well as setting fire to the necropolis and starting a blaze that lasted for allegedly three months, though no other recorded great fire in history ever lasted more than seven days (other great notable fires: Great Fire of Rome, 1871 Great Chicago Fire, London fire, Fire of Moscow (1812). Because of this, only one statue has survived intact: a statue of a kneeling archer. Despite the fire, however, much of the remains of the Terracotta Army still survive in various stages of preservation, surrounded by remnants of the burnt wooden structures. For a more information about Terracotta Army see Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This page was retrieved and condensed from (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army) see Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, November 2007. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights for details). About Wikipedia Disclaimers This information was correct in November 2007. E. & O.E. Hui Chin and I spent a few very memorable days in Xi'an. We've visited most of the attractionsin and around Xi'an, some of them by conducted tours some of them individually. Terracotta Army Museum complex and Imperial City or Huaqing Palace or Daming Palace or the Huaqing Hot Springs and a few other places we visited with guided tours and while it is a reasonable value for money spent a lot of our time was wasted visiting commercial places like the Terracotta Factory, where we expected to spend some money, so the tour organisers or the bus driver or guide will get some kind of "kick-back", commission or something. During our trips we encountered very many such tours and visiting these commercial places like jewelery factories etc., but only one person, a very likeable Tuk-Tuk driver in Bangkok asked us if we don't mind to stop at a such of place, where he gets some petrol coupons for his Tuk-Tuk, regardless whether we buy anything and we can have a bit of a rest in a air-conditioned place and some free refreshments. These things are usually available at most places and there are no real pressure on us to purchase anything. I mean - 'real pressure', because you will be 'talked to' and 'shown' some merchandise and 'tempted' by huge price 'reductions' 'just for you', but no real pressure is used on you to succumb. They usually have some educational value as well, as someone usually dwells into some explanations about the manufacture of some item and some other things, like the different kind of jades etc. etc. etc. for example. What is not mentioned anywhere is that the Terracotta Army Museum and the Qin Mausoleum set in a very large garden like field with many other exibits all around, like some showing ancient ways of getting water from one place to the other using buried or surface perfectly fitting terracotta pipes, much like today's cities' drainage system. (We've seen the Karez System in Turpan, which is still working right now). 2007 You can click on these photos for an enlargement. 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