China Puzzle #20

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The water and light show in the Xi'an public square at the foot of the landmark Golden Goose Pagoda.

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China Part XV (cont.)

The First Emperor, The Man Who Made China. 

 

Emperor Chin or Qin Shi Huangdi [246-210 BC]

This documentary film, produced by the Discovery Channel, depicts the life of the man responsible for uniting China, constructing the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army for his mausoleum.

Here are links to the film. It is in 9 parts.

Select the desired part and click on the link to view the film.

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

Part 4  Part 5  Part 6

Part 7  Part 8  Part 9

The Terracotta Warriors are often cited as the eighth wonder of the world, and a symbol of China's national pride and power.

10 Interesting Facts About the Terracotta Warriors

by Sean Williams 08/14/2009

1. We've only uncovered a small fraction of the total 'army' of figures: experts currently place the entire number of soldiers at 8,000 – with 130 chariots, 530 horses and 150 cavalry horses helping to ward of any dangers in the afterlife. So far only just over 1,000 soldiers are on display at the emperor's famous mausoleum, near the ancient capital of Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

2. In fact, archaeologists have just recently begun to excavate the third of the three burial pits containing the warriors. Work commenced on Saturday, June 6th this year and is expected to proffer at least hundreds more of the famous figures. This time, however, experts are keen to keep the vivid colours, found on all terracotta warriors thus far, intact. All previous soldiers have turned an oxidised grey when exposed to air.

3. The Chinese historian Sima Qian wrote in the 2nd century BC - a full hundred years after the Emperor's death - that over 700,000 men took 36 years to create his terracotta army. Modern historians feel Sima may have been slightly economical with the truth, and argue as few as 16,000 men could have done the job in just two years.

4. The First Qin Emperor didn't just want an army to protect him in the afterlife: a 1999 excavation at the site uncovered eleven terracotta acrobats and strongmen. Popular performers 2,000 years ago, the acts would have been meant to entertain the emperor in his journey through the afterlife.

5. 'The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army'  at London's British Museum, held between September 2007 and April 2008, comprised 120 of the warriors and was the most successful event in the museum's history. It even surpassed the feverish popularity of King Tut's 1972 appearance.

6. The First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, was terrified of death and was constantly searching for the so-called 'elixir of life'. After allegedly sending 8,000 people on expeditions to find his cure unsuccessfully (they never returned, knowing they'd be killed without the elixir – legend says they founded Japan), Qin relied on mercury tablets in increasing doses, until they killed him aged 50. How ironic.

7. The Emperor was extremely proud of his cavernous tomb. So proud, in fact, that he promptly murdered its creators to sustain a resounding enigma which endures to this day. Only recently have probes entered the giant subterranean complex, which contains high levels of mercury – appearing to confirm the above legend.

8. Though each terracotta warrior is unique, experts believe a set number of facial molds were actually used, before workmen added clay to make each one distinct. Each limb and the head was created separately before being fixed to the torso.

9. The poor old warriors had a torrid 2008. Not only were seven of those in China damaged by a huge earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, but two being paraded in London became unwitting political protesters. Martin Wyness and Mark Trepte, from Hereford, England, placed placards on the soldiers bearing the messages 'China Stop Killing Tibetans' and 'Boycott the Chinese Olympics'. The soldiers were unavailable to comment.

10. You won't just find terracotta warriors in the middle of China, or the world's biggest museums. The living terracotta warrior, or Chi Chang to his friends, has been sent out onto the streets of Washington, DC ahead of the city's National Geographic Museum's terracotta warriors exhibition. You can keep tabs on Chi's progress on the National Geographic's Facebook profile, if you're not already alerted by a trail of screaming locals.

China Puzzle #19

Here is your next puzzle challenge.
Grandma at he 'hostile and warlike' best.

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China Part XV, Xi'an and The Terracotta Warriors

The Terracotta Warrior Museum

Once we had left the factory behind we scurried off and boarded the bus again and  headed for the Terracotta Warriors.

The Terracotta Army is located at North Qinling Road, Lintong District of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China.

Before long we arrived at the Museum.

 

This is the Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Terracotta Army Museum. It was opened to the public in 1974 near the ancient capital of Xi'an.

History was made when some farmers happened to dig up what turned out to be a large-scale pit with terracotta soldiers and horses, belonging to the Emperor Qin Shi Huang, or the Founding Emperor of the Qin. After 2,200 years, the Emperor's tremendous army stood as though living again before people's eyes.

The figures that the farmers found were approximately life size. The pit was in Shaanxi Province, Lintong County, Jiangzhai xichang Village. It was roughly one mile, from the east side of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb mound. Although his reign lasted only 35 years Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di is one of the most important figures in Chinese history. His impact on China was monumental. He was the first to unify numerous warring, feudal, kingdoms into what we now know as China. (Read more...)

The Chinese Cultural Relics Administrative Department immediately organized its forces and carried out an investigation of the newly discovered terracotta figures. After further excavation they actually found that the area of the discovery was a great deal larger and that inside this area were buried some 6,000 terracotta figures of horses and soldiers. As investigations continued archaeologists discovered a second and then a third pit of horses and soldiers: the first discovery was called pit #1, nearby in test excavations they discovered pits #2 and #3. Linked together, the three pits covered an area of 20,000 square meters and included around 8,000 figures.


There are four pits (we visited three) associated with the dig about 1.5 km east of the burial ground and are about 7 meters deep. The outside walls of the tomb complex are as if placed there to protect the tomb from the east, where all the conquered states lay. They are solidly built with rammed earth walls and ground layers as hard as concrete. Pit one, 230 meters long, contains the main army, estimated at 8,000 figures. Pit One has 11 corridors, most of which are over 3 meters wide, and paved with small bricks with a wooden ceiling supported by large beams and posts. This design was also used for the tombs of noblemen and would have resembled palace hallways. The wooden ceilings were covered with reed mats and layers of clay for waterproofing, and then mounded with more soil making them, when built, about 2 to 3 meters higher than ground level. Pit two has cavalry and infantry units as well as war chariots, and is thought to represent a military guard. Pit three is the command post, with high ranking officers and a war chariot.

• Terracotta Warriors Pit #1

The largest number of warriors are inside a huge hanger like building which protects Pit #1. From the outside it is difficult to grasp the size of this building or the vastness of the excavations of warriors and horses. 

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(Above photo by Noel Tock)

It was so large that we put 'Grandma' in a wheelchair to save her a lot of walking and Henry drove her around on her own private tour.

 Most all of the figures fit into one of the following types:

The Terracotta Warriors and Horses are one of the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at the site.

Qin Shi Huang was only 13 years old when he ascended to the throne and  started work on his mausoleum. Many treasures and sacrificial objects, it is speculated, were buried to accompany the emperor in his after life. It took 11 years to finish.


According to historian Sima Qian (145-90 BC), construction of this mausoleum began in 246 BC and involved 700,000 workers.  He specifically stated that no two soldiers were to be made alike, which is most likely why he had construction started at that young age. Sima Qian, in his most famous work, Shiji, completed a century after the mausoleum completion, wrote that the First Emperor was buried with palaces, scenic towers, officials, valuable utensils and "wonderful objects", with 100 rivers fashioned in mercury and above this heavenly bodies below which he wrote were "the features of the earth." Some translations of this passage refer to "models" or "imitations," but he does not use those words. 

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The countless hours required to make all of these figures is nothing short of staggering.

Consider also the time and labor to dig the pits, to place the warriors in the pits and then bury them, now that takes a lot of dedication, perhaps it takes a little mania, maybe a lot of it.

It is difficult to describe the majesty of this exhibition, photographs don't really do it justice. 
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It is amazing...simply amazing.

 
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It is all the more incredible when you contemplate the mind boggling fact that although the bodies are duplicates made from molds that each and every head is different, each has its own facial characteristics. It is alleged that each and every one was an actual representation of one of the emperor's living warriors.

(Above 2 photos by Noel Tock)

 

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No two alike, similar but not identical.

 
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This is how many of the figures look as they first see the light of day.

Imagine trying to piece things together out of this mess.
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They do a pretty good job of it though.

The warriors, as you can see, are in various degrees of restoration.
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When the figures are unearthed they are colored but almost immediately begin to change first to a dark blue then almost black and then to the earthen color of terracotta.The UN convinced the Chinese archeologists to cease excavating the warriors until they can come up with a method of preserving the colors. It is believed that there are thousands more waiting to be unearthed.

 
We walked the perimeter of the building, amazed by the entire scope of this supreme accomplishment.

 
Here Alicia Richmond, our Beijing shopping guide, and her daughter Chloe chat with Henry as he escorts Mom/Grandma around  the museum.

Dee Anna wonders what it would be like to be a Charioteer.

 
The pit is fairly deep, the figures are not just under the surface.

 
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Imagine how impressive they would all look in their original state with natural coloring and wielding their weapons.

 
Raylene is impressed by so many well behaved, quiet men.

The Cinema

Next door to Pit #1 was a Cinema-in-the-round. Where we would go to see a film about the founding of the Qin Dynasty.
 
We waited outside for the film to start in a beautiful tree-lined promenade.

Dee Anna and the Petersens scored some benches to take a breather. On the right is the outside wall of the Pit#1 building.

Inside the Cinema building was a souvenir shop where books were available chronicling the discovery of the warriors by some farmers digging a well. One of the four surviving farmers was there to autograph the souvenir books. I got one for mom and had him sign it for her. Pretty cool. We also scored some Magnum ice cream bars that we enjoyed while watching the film.

• Terracotta Warriors Pits #2 and #3

Pit 2 is located 22 yards to the northeast of Pit 1. Covering an area of 7,176 square yards, Pit 2 is L-shaped, measuring 136 yards from east to west, 107 yards from north to south, and sixteen feet deep. Compared to Pit 1, the combat formations in Pit 2 are more complex, and the units of armed forces are more complete. There are over 80 war chariots, about 1,300 terracotta warriors and horses, and thousands of bronze weapons. It is quite an experience to first discover the terracotta general... 

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...the warrior with saddled horse

 

...and the kneeling archer in pit #2. Looking closely on the back of the archer there is a little trace of the original, albeit faded, red pigmentation.

 
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There are two slopping entrances on the northern side, and four on both ends of the eastern and western sides. The pit can be divided into four sections.

• Section 1: Lying in the eastern corner of the pit, this section has a square shape. There are four corridors around the four sides where 60 crossbowmen are in standing posture. In the center of the square, there are four east-west passageways where 160 crossbowmen are aligned in squatting position.

• Section 2: Lying in the right of the pit, section 2 measures 57 yards from east to west and 52 yards from north to south. Sixty-four war chariots make up a combat formation, which is divided into eight rows. Each of the chariots is pulled by four life-sized terra-cotta horses. Three warriors are side by side behind the chariot, with the middle one driving the carriage and the others standing on either side.

• Section 3: In the center of the pit, is a rectangular combat formation made up of 264 foot soldiers and eight cavalrymen, as well as 19 war chariots. There are three clusters. One cavalryman stands in front of a horse with one hand drawing a bow and the other hand holding the rein. Additionally, there are between eight and thirty-six foot soldiers standing in each chariot.

• Section 4: In the left of the pit, there are three east-west passageways where all the cavalrymen are aligned. The section measures 55 yards from east to west and 25 yards from north to south. The four sections make up an impregnable fortress. Next to the pit, there is a large exhibition hall which has the most complete range of functions and is where visitors can directly witness the excavation work in Pit 2.

The bronze swords unearthed in Pit 2 measure 86cm (34 inches) long and are carved with eight symmetrical facets. Buried for over 2,000 years, they are still very sharp and smooth. What is more surprising is that the pliability of these bronze swords is extraordinarily good. One of the swords was found bent with a 331 pound terracotta warrior on top of it. When the heavy warrior figure was removed, the sword slowly returned to its original shape.

The swords were analyzed by scientists using modern methods. They concluded that the surfaces of these Qin swords were coated with an oxide film 10 microns thick which contained 2% chrome. This is especially noteworthy since the chrome oxidation technology wasn't actually mastered until recent times and requires both complex equipment and processes. How did the Qin people do it more than 2,000 years ago? It's a pity that their secret recipe was not been passed down to today. We can only marvel at the extraordinary casting technique and artistic standards during that period, and at the same time do our best to unveil the mystery. Terracotta Warriors and Horses Pit 3 Situated about 25 meters west to the Pit 1, the Pit 3 of the Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum is a concave structure covering an area of 520 square meters. Since there is no combat formation in the Pit 3 but only 68 warriors and one chariot, archeology experts speculate that it is very likely to be the command of the whole army. 

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These are the charioteers from the above photo...

 
...and their horses.

 
Many of the heads are lost because during the peasant revolt when the tomb was sacked they purposely destroyed the heads. 
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The bodies lay strewn around like so many corpses in the aftermath of a battleground defeat.  gruesome
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• The Museum

 

This building houses numerous artifacts relating to the Emperor's tomb.

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The first thing you see as you enter the museum are these huge marionettes of a warrior and a school girl. 
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Bob gives Raylene a tushie pat as she gawks at the giant puppets.

Downstairs on the lower level there were Chariots, about half-life size as well as many other impressive artifacts.

 
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 I found it interesting that there were lots of design elements found here that reminded me of Mayan glyphs and art. Note the designs underneath the black sign in the photo below. 
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Next: Visit to an Orphanage