When in Xian, rich with history and culture…Go see the 8th Wonder of the World, the Terracota Army!
My husband went with some friends and a local guide. He loved it. Here’s why the buried warriors are so important:
Emperor Qin was the first emperor to unite the seven warring “states” of China. A huge feat in itself. He then builds the traditional mausoleum, a place where everything and everyone he may need for the after-life (including his army and servants) will be buried with him, traditionally. BUT Qin somehow had a revelation about the value of people. Instead of killing thousands of his army and court to protect and entertain him, he had master craftsmen create 8,000 clay soldiers and who-not that could attend to his needs of the after-life.
Thankfully Emperor Qin’s idea caught on around the nation and thousands of lives were spared from then on out! The scale of his buried warriors is immense, and it is still being unearthed to this day. This is truly an amazing turn in history.
Dates and Details:
The figures, dating from around the late third century BC,[1] were discovered in 1974 by local farmers inLintong District, Xi’an, Shaanxi province. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits near by Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum.[2] Other terracotta non-military figures were also found in other pits and they include officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians.
8,000 soldiers! (I wonder what he felt he needed to defend himself from in the after-life? Hmm.)
Read more about the Terracota Warriors here:
Rich history indeed!
My Color Friends 
Written by My Color Friends
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