What is Terracotta Army?
The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures
representing the army of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a
form of funeral art buried with the emperor in 210-209 BCE (Before Common Era)
in order to protect the emperor in his afterlife.
Where is Terracotta Army?
Now called Terracotta Warriors or Terracotta Army,
the figures are located in three pits near the city of Xi’an in China’s Shaanxi
province.
Interesting Facts
1. They were discovered accidentally.
The Terracotta Army was discovered by a group of
farmers on 29 March, 1974. Yang Zhifa, his five brothers and neighbour Yang
Puzhi – who were digging a well approximately 1.5 kilometres east of the Qin
emperor’s tomb at Mount Li.
This discovery encouraged Chinese archaeologists,
including Zhao Kangmin, to investigate and revealed the largest group of
pottery statues ever found. The museum complex has since been built on the
area, the largest hole covered by a roof structure.
2. It was built more than 2,200 years ago.
The Terracotta Army was built by China’s First
emperor, Qin Shi Huang. He began the construction of the army in 246 BC after
he (then aged 13) ascended the throne.
3. There are no two statues that look exactly same.
If a large number of terracotta soldiers don't
surprise you, you must pay attention to them. You will be amazed at the smooth
and surprised skills of workers found that there are no two figures who are
exactly the same.
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| By Peter Morgan from Nomadic - Source: Wikimedia Commons |
Every soldier has unique facial features. Infantry,
archers, generals, and cavalry are different in their expression, clothing, and
hairstyles.
4. The figures were actually painted when built.
The figures were painted with – ground precious stone, extremely fired bones (white), malachite (green), charcoal (black), cinnabar (red), iron oxide (dark red), cinnabar barium copper silicate mix (Chinese purple), tree sap from nearby sources (brown).
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| By Charlie - Source: Wikimedia Commons |
However, in the dry climate of Xi'an, many layers of
colour will peel in less than four minutes after removing mud around the army.
5. More than 700,000 workers took nearly 40 years to complete the figures.
The construction of the terracotta army began in 246
BC, when Qin Shi Huang took the throne of the state of Qin, and ended in 206
BC, 4 years after Qin's death, when the Han Dynasty began.
By BrokenSphere - Source: Wikimedia Commons
More than 700,000 workers worked all the time for
about 40 years to complete the tomb complex and terracotta army.
6. The Terracotta Army museum mainly consist four pits and exhibition.
·
Pit 1: It is the
largest (230 metres long and 62 metres wide) among all the pits. There are more
than 6,000 figures of warriors and horses.
·
Pit 2: This is
the spotlight of pits and reveals the mystery of ancient army array. It has the
most units with archers, chariots, mixed troops and cavalry.
·
Pit 3: This is
the smallest, but very important. There are only 68 terracotta figures, and all
are officials. It represents the command post.
·
Pit 4: However
it is empty. Maybe left unfinished by its constructors.
·
Exhibition: The
bronze chariot exhibition hall contains the largest and most complicated
ancient bronze artifacts in the world. Each chariot has around 3,400 parts and
1,234 kg. There are 1,720 pieces of gold and silver ornaments, weighing 7 kg,
on each chariot.
7. It is reported as “The Eighth Wonder of the World”.
In September 1987, the Terracotta Warriors were
praised as the eighth miracle of the world by former French president Jacques
Chirac.
He said: "There were Seven Wonders in the
world, and the discovery of the Terracotta Army, we may say, is the eighth
miracle of the world. No one who has not seen the pyramids can claim to have
visited Egypt, and now I'd say that no one who has not seen these terracotta
figures can claim to have visited China."
8. The Terracotta Army is taller than modern Chinese.
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| By Ovedc - Source: Wikimedia Commons |
The average height of the 8000 terracotta warriors
dug was 6 feet. According to official statistics, the average height of modern
Chinese men is 5.6 feet and women are 5.2 feet; the terracotta army is 0.5 feet
slightly taller than modern people. Why? The main reasons are:
1.
In Imperial
China, the main form of battle is a close battle; Emperor Qin will choose tall
and strong people to join the Army for consolidating his strength.
2.
First Emperor
Qin wants to advocate military power and still dominate the underworld after
death, he ordered to build large troops of high terracotta army to protect him
in his afterlife.
9. Emperor Qin’s mausoleum has not been excavated yet.
Mausoleum of the first Emperor Qin is actually a
luxurious underground palace. According to historical records, this contains a
large amount of property, such as varnish, silk, ceramics, paintings, bronze
ships, valuable jewellery, etc. However, due to natural and human factors, the
tomb of the emperor itself has not been dug up yet. There are three main
reasons for this:
1.
The state Administration
of Cultural Heritage has set a long time to not take the initiative to explore
the emperors’ tombs.
2.
The tomb of the
Emperor Qin is a large labyrinth of the pits. More than 180 burial pits were
found. The Terracotta Warriors are only in one part of these pits, and there
are many other unknown parts. This is a difficult long term mission that
demands a careful step-by-step planning.
3.
Third, the
protection and excavation of the tomb is a subtle project. In the absence of
local and peripheral knowledge, coupled with the immaturity of preservation
techniques in cultural heritage that was excavated and the ability of research,
we could not be sure to enter the tomb without destroying some of its contents.
10. It is the biggest tourist attraction in China.
The Terracotta Army is one of the biggest tourist’s attractions
in China. According to a report, the museum received more than 9 million
tourists in 2019 by setting a record of 114,000 daily visitors.
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