Xian was the capital of China for some thousands of years from Zhou Dynasty to Tang Dynasty. Thats some 1000 over years of history located in this city alone. Beijing was capital only from the later dynasties of Ming and Qing.
For ancient history, go visit Xian. For more recent history, Beijing's the place to be.
However I'd highly recommend reading a little of ancient history before visiting the terracotta warriors to appreciate the majesty and madness of Emperor Qin. Alternatively hire a local guide for RMB 40 or so to tell you the story. ( quality not assured though )
Neat lines of the terracotta warriors neatly restored. Notice their hands are all clasped? Well they were originally holding on to weapons ready for warfare.
When the enemy of Emperor Qin discovered the tomb, they plundered all the weapons, hence the state we see today.
Nice neat rows all beautifully restored. Note - these were all painfully restored for us tourists. The photo below shows what it really looks like upon discovery.
It takes approxinately 6 months to restore a terracotta warrior assuming all pieces are intact. Like making a huge jigsaw puzzle, just a lot more expensive.This is an archer in bowed position ready to draw his arrows, which of course were plundered with his bow. Notice he's got color on his ass? Well yea, the terracotta warriors actually were colored when they were made! Now that's news!
As the colors were all made of natural dyes, all the colors oxidised upon excavation rendering them in their original clay states. That's also why the excavation works have stopped to maintain the terracotta warriors in their original state until new technology can be found to maintain the climate and color of these ancient artefacts.
Below shows the original state of colors when they were first discovered. The colors all oxidised between 3-30 min upon contact with our atmosphere.
This photo of the standing warrior above is that of a high ranking general from the costume he wears and that he has a bit of a belly. Ie better food = better life = heavier stature as compared with the regular soldiers who are skinnier and smaller in stature.
See this guy? He's frontline - unarmed combatant. The youngest and fittest and bravest of the lot. Hence he's much leaner than the older guy above who's a high ranking official. Often these unarmed combatants are the first to die in combat. Those who survive get rewarded and hence promoted.
Below photo is a warrior of slightly higher rank than the unarmed combatant. He's a rider and the tethers to the Qin horse is made of jade. ie that chain you see. Notice the lack of a pot belly.
Of the thousands of terracotta warriors unearthed, no one has the same face. Ie no twins either. These warriors were made with their head and bodies separate and then joined at a later stage. Many of the heads were not joined with the bodies upon discovery, hence a high chance that many of the heads may not match the bodies given the amount of destruction / damage weathered by Time.
Some random shots outside the compound.
The 20 min movie is quite worth a watch. I shall not spoil the fun for those who might want to visit the place personally.
Now the question of why the terracotta warriors were built?
At the age of 13, Emperor Qin ascended to the throne. At 21 he took control of the court and military. From the time he was 21 he started planning for his death. Fiercely superstitious and suspicious, he consulted 50 geomancers who all selected the current site of the terracotta warriors for his burial.
From then he set forth to build an army that would accompany him and his soul upon eventual death. He feared death and loneliness.
His massive project took over 4 decades and was not complete even upon his death at 56. He died of fatique. Records have it that he travelled far and wide in search of the elixir of life that the journeying too a toll on his health. He died in his carriage on one of such expeditions which often included sacrificing virgin boys and girls to whatever mountain and whatever sea.
Upon his death, his second son took over the throne. Like his father, he indulged in the pursuit of pleasure, and was unable to rule the country his father has united. Eventually the Qin dynasty
was ousted in the hands of his son, leaving beind a lasting legacy of Emperor Qin - the first emperor who united China, built the Great Wall and an army of terracotta warriors. He also united the faith of all his people, burning all other forms of faith and beliefs such as Confucianism as he could not tolerate deviation from his own.
was ousted in the hands of his son, leaving beind a lasting legacy of Emperor Qin - the first emperor who united China, built the Great Wall and an army of terracotta warriors. He also united the faith of all his people, burning all other forms of faith and beliefs such as Confucianism as he could not tolerate deviation from his own.
The act of burning literature was probably one of the worst misdeeds to lose thousands of years of Chinese literature and culture. Oh well. History only repeated itself in the 1950s with the cultural revolution under Chairman Mao. As they say, the world is round.
Imagine how China would possibly have been different if such events had not taken place? The world would all speak Mandarin instead of english I think!
Interesting to note also that the actual burial site of emperor Qin is about 1.5 km from the terracotta warrior site. That's cos for the whole stretch of ground beneath from this museum compound to the burial site, it's terracotta warriors dude!!
The sheer size and scale of Emperor Qin's terracotta warrior army is breathtaking!! Well it just that all excavation works have halted till technology can be found to maintain the original color and condition of these artefacts before further excavation will take place.
I hope it will be in my lifetime - I would love to see the other inventions and advances the first emperor had in his time. If there is an opportunity, go see, to see the ingenuity of the chinese people. What they had invented were so advance in that time, and so beautifully done. Simply breathtaking.
