China’s Terracotta Army is still waiting patiently… For you?

It is said that nothing can prepare the visitor for the stunning impression the exquisite Terracotta Army near Xi’an, China makes. Constructed in 220-210 BC by the first Qin Dynasty ruler Shihuangdi, this amazing find is a direct encounter with a distant, but still formidable antiquity. Nothing else shows so clearly how the all-powerful emperor had the ability to control the resources of what was then a newly unified China as this attempt of his to recreate and maintain that empire in the afterlife.

It appears as if the dead have marched out of the ground and are merely awaiting their next command, rank after rank, each figure subtly different. Some of them have been left as they were discovered in a toppled state, or fragmentary, reminding one of the frozen images of those caught by surprise in Pompeii or like old photographs taken from the World War I trenches of 1916.

According to historical records, Shihuangdi was a phenomenal leader who began connecting existing walls to create the first version of the Great Wall of China, constructed an extensive network of roads and canals throughout his empire. He died in 210 BC, and the Qin dynasty was quickly extinguished within a few years by the early members of the Han dynasty. But, during the brief period of Shihuangdi’s rule, a remarkable testament to his control of the countryside and its resources was constructed; this semi-subterranean mausoleum complex and an army of 7,000 life-size sculpted clay terracotta soldiers, chariots, and horses.

The statues of the infantry soldiers range between 5 foot 8 inches and 6 foot 2 inches; the commanders are 6 and half feet tall. The lower half of the kiln-fired ceramic bodies was made of solid terracotta clay, the upper half hollow and it is clear that most were vividly painted, although most of that paint has now disappeared. Chinese excavations have been conducted at Shihuangdi’s mausoleum complex since 1974 and there is ample evidence that the First Emperor’s not only to control all aspects of the empire during his lifetime, but to recreate the entire empire in microcosm for his afterlife. A fascinating artistic and archaeological wonder, The Terracotta Army is an absolute must-see experience.

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