I get asked this question a lot, and if we're talking about the favorite thing I saw, my answer is the Terra Cotta Warriors. I had seen a traveling exhibit of the warriors in Birmingham some years ago, so I was familiar with them before my trip to China. Maybe that laid the groundwork for my fascination with the warriors. I've mentioned in a previous post that the scale of the excavation site in Xi'an is staggering. Seeing what an enormous undertaking the project is and will be for years to come makes quite an impression. Reflecting on the manpower, labor and craft that went into creating the army, it's hard to come up with anything of a similar nature, except maybe...the Great Wall. As our traveling companion Jason said "Texas ain't got nothin' on China." They go BIG in China.
Paige has kindly lent me her June issue of National Geographic which has an article about the warriors, as well as the rather hefty book she purchased at the site's gift shop and hauled back to the States. After perusing them, I offer these highlights for your consideration.
Emperor Qin (China's first emperor to unify China under a single dynasty, ruled from 221-210, and gave the source for the English name for the country -- Qin is pronounced "Chin," hence "China") believed that life underground after death was a continuation of life on earth. Therefore he wanted those things he valued most to be buried with him in his mausoleum. Construction of Qin's mausoleum took 38 years. He ordered exact replicas of his army to be installed in the mausoleum, placing the artists who created them under the threat of death if any two warriors were found to be alike.
Believing it to prolong life, Emperor Qin drank mercury. We now know it will make you crazy or kill you, or both. Qin's grave, as yet unexcavated, is reported to be surrounded by a river of mercury.
Mass graves have been unearthed in a village southwest of the mausoleum containing over a hundred human skeletons. Evidence suggests that some of them were buried alive. These are thought to be the remains of laborers killed during or after the construction.
Emperor Qin died at the relatively young age of 50. Upon his death, his son and successor ordered all of Qin's wives who had no children into the grave with their Emperor. I was going to get on my feminist platform and say that China was not a good place for a woman during this time, but really China was not a good place for anyone other than the emperor during this time.
In 1985 when a Chinese worker stole a warrior's head from the excavation site, he was executed.
Despite the cruel conditions under which the Terra Cotta warriors were created, their beauty and finely detailed execution are undeniable.
- Peggy
1 comment:
I will have to agree Peggy. The "warriors" were certainly among my top 3 awe-inspiring China events. Seeing the actual artifacts of this historical event in person was certainly impressive to say the least. I felt so fortunate to be standing in those hangers watching the workers put the pieces together, reconstructing and making history come alive for us. And I certainly will never forget watching the elderly Chinese farmer who discovered the soldiers on his land in 1974 sign my book!
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