4ever Discovering
THE TERRACOTTA ARMY
ONE OF THE 8TH WONDERS OF THE WORLD
OK- I’m going to start by saying this blog is long, and very informative. I spent lots of time preparing the information in order to present it to you without giving too much. (teachers…)
The main reason people to go Xi’an is to see this impressive part of history. The main reason some people go to China is to see the Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Army.
First, I have to say how grateful I am to have been to both. You don’t realize how cool something really is- until you talk about it or write about it. Here goes…
We arrange a tour with our hostel, since the Terracotta warriors are a little out of the city, it can be tricky to make it up by yourself. During our trip to China, we were also short on time so booking a tour to ensure we got to see the warriors was the best option for us.
There was only 4 of us on this tour so it was pretty private. And the tour was in English!!! :D
We arrived at the World Heritage site in the morning and since it was “off” season, it wasn’t too busy. I could not imagine this place in the summer time, it would be filled with people.
Pit 1
A little history about the army. (warning: I should not say little because this will probably be my longest blog EVER) I’m no historic, I will do my best to share all the information I receive, but I am not a reliable source to put in your thesis paper...sorry.
The tomb was discovered by a farmer in 1974. The farmer was digging a water well when he happened to hit something hard and discovered the head of a terracotta warrior. How crazy. (This happened to be Pit #1) They discovered other limbs of the warriors and wondered if it was some type of ancient temple. One of the villagers decided to report it to the authorities and the excavation of the site started the following year.
The terracotta army was built by the First Emperor of China- who was pretty important for the country of China. I think to really understand the army you have to understand the lifestyle of the First Emperor so on the side you can read about this crazy man by the name of Qin Shi Huang. Just follow the arrow. If you strictly want to read about the army then just skip… I guess….
Qin Shi Huang
Before Qin Shi Huang, China was divided in separate states. Qin became the King of the Qin state at the age of 13. He developed a strategy to make allies with the far states and attack and conquer the nearby states and eventually hold all the power of the nation. The Qin army attacked from East to West. Once the nearby state were claimed, Qin continued to take power and destroy the armies of his enemies and raised to become the First Emperor of China.
During the “Warring States period”, there was a lot of bloodshed and betrayal. The wars ended in 221 BC. China has been a unified country since 221 BC, and became a powerful and influential country.
The First Emperor was known to be ruthless and self-centered (This is important) He did quite a bit to unify China besides conquering the states
-He standardized the units of measures of the country like weights, currency
-He ordered the construction of the Great Wall. He sent men to connect the state walls that were built prior to the rise of the Emperor to build one big wall of defense. (Lots of men were taken from their families and died during the construction)
-He did a lot of killing.
So, during his time as Emperor, he made lots of enemies and this is where his paranoia starts. “Apparently”, there was a rumour that the Emperor would die and his land would be divided. So, he did like every normal King or high powered human would do… He consulted many doctors. He wanted to find a cure to DEATH. He started to ingest mercury pills, which were believed to turn him immortal but he died… due to mercury poisoning. (Go back and read about the army now! Thanks for reading this part <3 <3 )
The First Emperor of China
Before the Emperor died, he ordered the construction of the terracotta army. It is said that the construction of the army started when he unified China. It was believed that he would continue to be the Emperor in the afterlife and since he made lots of enemies, he wanted to ensure his protection with a massive life-styled clay army.
This army was as unique and equipped as a real life army. The terracotta army had warriors, chariots, and horses. Every warrior was different with personalized features. There were soldiers, archers, officials, and other non-military figures.
We got the chance to visit 3 different pits. For me, pit 1 was the most impressive, it was the biggest with the most warriors, over 6,000 warriors and horses to be exact. The army is placed in war formation ready for battle. Unfortunately, once the Emperor died there was a uprising and a fire started which destroyed many terracotta warriors and horses in pit 1 and pit 2.
Many people think pit 2 is the most impressive. This is because the combat formats and the units of armed forces, which are more complex than pit 1. In pit 2, there were armed kneeling archers, chariots, generals, and more.
Pit 3 is the command centre. Just like every army, you need the headquarters. With only 68 terracotta warriors and 5 chariots found within the pit. The warriors in pit 3 carried sacrificial offering and other objects which indicated religious rituals and prayers.
Pit 2
Pit 1
Pit 1 is just so massive that it blows your mind. To think so much work went into protecting one man in his afterlife. It is just so crazy to think about.
Lastly, we made our way to view where the tomb of the Emperor is. (Well, the mountain where it is inside) A MAN-MADE MOUNTAIN by the way.
The tomb has not been excavated because it is filled with mercury. Tests have indicated that there are rivers and streams made in the inside of the mountain to resemble the rivers and streams nearby. There is still so much to learn and discover within this location!
Before you leave me a comment, check out these QUICK FUN FACTS about the Terracotta Army:
Just side note: we ended the tour at the great Chinese restaurant and ate way too much.
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Fun Facts:
-The terracotta warriors are life-sized
-The original figures were painted in bright colours-
-The limbs of the warriors were created separately then combine together
-General labour and craftsmen were ordered to work on the warriors; they would secretly carved their initials into the clay because once the Emperor died, they were killed to keep the location a secret.
-There were many weapons buried with the warriors: bronze words, crossbows, shields, spears, etc.
-IT IS CRAZY HOW REAL THEY LOOK
Pit 3
Again, I am so grateful I got the opportunity to experience it firsthand and learn all this crazy information. It is really one of the 8th wonders of the world. I would recommend going here to all my blog readers, and every else because it is truly a mind-blowing experience.
