23 July 2007

 

Terra-Cotta Warriors... WOW !

This was a most outrageous place. It was everything that we expected and much more. The site was discovered by a group of local farmers while searching for water in 1974. They unearthed several fragments of bronze and chards of pottery while digging a well. The government soon began excavations of the massive archeological find, and it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Its construction was begun during the Qin Dynasty by the Emperor QinShihuang, sometime near 247 BC. Emperor QinShihuang was responsible for unifying ancient China. He believed that life under the ground, after death, was a continuation of life on earth. He therefore would require all the amenities of life, and an army of burial warriors to protect him. This belief caused him to begin the construction f a mausoleum that would last for over forty years! He chose his location for its proximity to Xi’an and its FengShui. It contains an army of over 8000 “larger than life” sized, hand crafted terra-cotta soldiers, generals, marksmen, and bronze horse driven chariots from 2200 years ago… This was a truly unbelievable site to experience.



The artisans were required to create each warrior sculpture as separate and distinct individuals. Each was signed by its craftsman, and, under penalty of death, it was required to have different facial expressions, moustaches, hairstyles, and beards. Other features like armor, belt hooks, and shoe ties were also to be as unique as possible. Our guide, Nancy, was forewarned by us…. We would be taking MANY photographs. I think she was still surprised by the number we took, and the time we spent taking them… I have included but a few examples. It is a massive site, within a massive structure! Well in reality, it is divided into 4 separate structures, each huge, but site 1 the largest. Most of the pictures are of “of course” the warriors, but I have included one of the bronze chariots. Believe me when I tell you…. No picture can really do any of this justice. It is just one of those “gotta be there to believe it” kinds of places.
Emperor QinShihuang had spent his life looking for the elixir or life. He died at the age of 50. When he died hundreds of dignitaries were killed to be buried alongside him. He had also ordered, for reasons of secrecy, that thousands of tomb workers (including craftsmen) would be buried alive in the tomb. Talk about micromanaging… yikes!
It just so happened, that while we were there one of the original farmers who had discovered the site was there. So we bought a book and had it autographed.

# posted by Henry @ 8:39 AM
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