Our Family Trip to China, Part Four
If you’re ever in China and have the opportunity, I encourage you to visit the well-known Terra-cotta Museum and the Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of Chinese history.
On Day-5 of our trip, we toured the Museum, located on about 50-acres in the Lintong District of Shaanxi. We saw an amazing collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. It is a form of funerary art that was buried with the emperor in 210 to 209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his afterlife. The figures were discovered in 1974 by local farmers and include thousands of warriors, chariots, and horses.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Here is my family coming down the stairs of the museum with our guide. There are usually many, many people visiting the museum on a daily basis, but this day was very cold, and we were lucky – no crowds at all.
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- One of the first things we saw was this chariot display. In 1980, archaeologists discovered a large pit holding two sets of painted bronze chariots and their horses. These figures were found in thousands of pieces. It took eight years of painstaking restoration to complete them.
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- The chariots are said to have been the emperor’s deluxe “sedans” for use in his afterlife. They were modeled after his real chariots, horses, and drivers, but were half the size. They are made out of bronze with gold and silver ornamentation.
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- Emperor Qin Shi Huang began the construction of the army in 246 BC after he ascended the throne. Construction ended in 206 BC – four years after Qin’s death when the Han Dynasty began. All the figures had amazing details, showing exactly how they would have appeared during the emperor’s reign.
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- The Army is currently located in three main areas – Pit 1, Pit 2 and Pit 3. The terracotta warriors are arranged in practical battle formations.
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- These figures are in Pit 3. This is the smallest pit and was discovered in 1976 with only 68 pottery figures and one chariot. Here are the charioteers behind the horses.
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- And here is a view of the horses.
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- Here, the figures were arranged with their backs to the wall with others face to face suggesting that they were the guards.
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- Once the warriors were all arranged within the corridors, the entrances were sealed showing a united army formed to guard the emperor’s underground palace.
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- The craftsmanship of these warriors is very delicate and surprisingly, no two figures are exactly alike. It took more than 700,000 laborers working around-the-clock for approximately 40-years to complete the terracotta army and tomb complex.
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- This shows an excavated site in one of the pits.
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- These figures show the individualized facial characteristics and gestures of the terracotta warriors.
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- This is one of seven “generals” found in the terracotta pits, The height, clothing, and headgear show his high rank. His clothing includes double-layered robes under fish-scaled armor and high headgear. His gesture and size give him a very majestic presence.
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- This is a middle-ranking officer with a double-layered flat hat, also with armor.
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- This is a standing archer, dressed in an unarmored battle robe. It was unearthed in Pit 2. Its pose shows that this archer was ready to shoot.
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- And this is a cavalryman with his saddled war-horse. There were 116 similar fighters found in Pit 2. Horses were specially selected and well trained. This figure is wearing a knee-length robe and an armored vest and tight-fitting trousers. He holds the horse’s reins in one hand and a crossbow in the other.
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- There are still many fragments to be unearthed and restored. Many of the statues take several months to be completely mended.
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- Some statues are marked, but most of them are not, making the restoration project very difficult. If a worker is able to match one piece in a day, that is considered a good day.
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- These warriors were found in Pit 1, the largest of the three, which measures more than 750 feet long by 62-feet wide and about 16-feet deep.
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- All three pits were built in a similar fashion. They were about 20-feet below ground level with the terracotta figures in corridors divided by earth rammed partition walls. The floors were also rammed with earth more than two-feet thick and paved with bricks.
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- Rows of infantrymen stand in their original positions.
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- Here is another section in Pit 1.
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- Within Pit 1 alone, it is assumed that more than 6000 pottery warriors and horses will be unearthed when all is complete.
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- Restorers work hard to keep everything from flaking and fading once they are exposed to the light. They are covered to keep the paint on the figures from creasing.
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- Temporary restoration sites at one end of Pit 1 is where the pieces are restored and tagged with where they were found.
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- The Terracotta Army is regarded as one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century and is known as the eighth wonder of the world. Since its discovery, more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots, and 670 horses have been uncovered. Please visit it if you can.
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