XI'AN: THE TERRACOTTA WARRIORS

The Terracotta Warriors (or Army) are quite famous.  Everyone must know about them.   People who have been to China say the Warriors are not to be missed, and indeed they are wonderful.   Spanning an area larger than a football stadium, the warriors fill up what once must have been a huge hall or palace, where they were placed to accompany the first Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who had unified China by conquering the neighboring states.

Lucas, my guide, told me that the emperor heard there was a potion that promised eternal life to the east, so he sent some monks in search of the potion.  There were instructed to bring it back under pain of death.  Of course, they found no such guarantee of eternal life, and frightened for their own lives, the used Chinese medicine to create or potion for the emperor to take, which he did on a regular basis.  Ultimately, containing mercury, the potion he believed would give him eternal life killed him.

The emperors orders were for the army to be killed when he died, so that they would accompany him and protect him in the other world.   A wise adviser suggested to him that the flesh of the dead soldiers would rot, but if he built an army of terracotta warriors they would survive in the after-life.   And thus this army of warriors was born about the 3rd century BC.

 Lucky for me it was a rainy day.  In fact this day and the following day were rainy, and thus much cooler than the usual day temperatures of Xi'an which can range in the 90s, I am told.

There are several pits, which hold the various figures.  The first one we entered was the largest and held the arm itself.

The pits were discovered in 1974 by four farmers, who became famous and wealthy.

They met Bill Clinton in China and were invited to the White House, but have since passed away.

When we walk into the first pit, the sight of the warriors is breathtaking.   They are so finely put together, and then it's easy to see how they are dressed by rank, and positioned accordingly.  Even more interesting is that rather than having been made from the same mold, each person has an individual face, no two are exactly alike!

Lucas tells me that each worker signed the individual warrior he worked on, and that those whose work did not meet the standard were not kept on--or kept alive.












In the photo below, perhaps you can see the individual characteristics of each face.  You notice, too, that there are some missing parts.

Apparently, the warriors were not found whole in most cases.   In the next few photos you will see a warrior hospital, where skilled workers piece together parts of the remains and repair portions that need doctoring.

 

Within this pit, there were several sections in various stages of discover.   In addition, apparently the colors on the warriors fade in the air, so there are sections that will not be uncovered until someone discovers a way to preserve the colors.

                                 

Yes, there were horses and chariots included in the funeral party.

As we walked along, Lucas pointed out some vacant spaces in the uncovered portions of the pit.  Perhaps, he said, these are evidence that others had dug in this area before the farmers had, and used it for burials or other purposes, but did not report or did not recognize that they were digging into the huge preserve.

In the last pit, we found some fully preserved specimens on display.   Here we were able to get a close up and to see the detail in each of the warriors.   He pointed out how the hair indicated something the the person's rank. So also did the uniform.    The warrior below was originally holding a weapon.

And below, we see some of the color that is fading on the uniform, and interestingly, the tread on the bottom of the shoe!

The hair style of the warrior below tells us something of his rank or duty, but I have forgotten.  The curl of the points of the shoes also tells us something about the person's rank.

The above figure is a general.  He's larger than the other soldiers, heavy, and stronger.   His uniform and hair style are different.   In addition the toes on his shoes curl more.

A calvary man with his horse.

These two pictures pretty obviously depict an archer.

The museum store had replicas for sale, of course.
After lunch at the museum store (a restaurant best described as "ma ma hu hu,"  we went to the last pit.

 Before paper, there was bamboo for books,   (I remember seeing these in a film on Confucius), a bit awkward to transport, and maybe even to write on.

The sign on the wall proclaims this to be a World Heritage site.

On our way out to find the driver and travel to the next site,  the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, we pass these horses caught in a moment of running and leaping.