Mysteries of the Terracotta Army of the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang

A special stamp was placed on each part, which showed which workshop made it. If there was a defect, it was immediately clear who was to blame and who to punish. Considering the temperament of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, most likely the first defective part was the last for the master.

You can see all this with your own eyes if you visit this funerary complex in the city of Xi'an.

Weapons of the Terracotta Soldiers

Although the soldiers were made of clay, they gave them real weapons. Unfortunately, very few weapons have survived. Firstly, the burial complex was robbed several times. Secondly, metal is preserved much worse than ceramics, and many objects are completely rotten.

But even a small amount of weapons gave scientists many reasons to be surprised. For example, arrowheads made in different parts of China were almost the same size. That is, already in the 3rd century BC. The Chinese introduced unification in the production of weapons. This is amazing.

Thanks to the Terracotta Army, we now have a very good idea of ​​how the soldiers of that time were equipped, what weapons they fought, how they formed on the battlefield and what tactics they followed.

Where to see the Terracotta Army

Almost all the soldiers are located where they were dug up by archaeologists. The archaeological site is located 10 kilometers from the city of Xiyan. This is a fairly large city with a population of 8.5 million people. You can come here from Russia, but only from Moscow. There are quite a few tourists choosing Xi'an as their main travel destination, although the city has many attractions.

If you wish, you can get here from. You will cover a distance of 1200 kilometers in 6 hours. Some even try to see the Terracotta Army “in one day,” that is, arrive on the morning “high-speed” and leave in the evening.

We do not recommend this method. The first high-speed train (pictured left) arrives from Beijing to Xi'an Station at 13:00, and the last one leaves here at 18:00. You will only have 5 hours, and this will only be enough to look at the Terracotta Army “with one eye.”

In addition, it is an expensive way to travel, as a one-way ticket costs 500 (at the time of writing, May 2015). In both directions it turns out to be about 1000 yuan per person.

Tickets for a regular train in a compartment are half the price, but you will spend 14 hours on the train one way, for a total of 28 hours. Such a loss of time is unacceptable for many tourists.

The cheapest way is to buy seats on a regular train. If you are not afraid to sit in an uncomfortable chair for 14 hours, then such a ticket will cost you only 150 yuan one way.

We think it's worth flying to Xi'an as your main travel destination. The city is beautiful, you won't regret it. And take your time to see the Terracotta Army, and you will see the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, and many other interesting things.

If you don't want to go to Xi'an, but really want to see the Terracotta Army, then there is a compromise solution. These clay soldiers can be viewed in museums around the country. They are permanently exhibited in Beijing on.

The Terracotta Army is the legendary clay army of China. It consists of at least eight thousand full-sized ceramic soldiers. The army was supposed to stand guard over the mausoleum of the first emperor. The discovery of the Terracotta Army is considered one of the most important events in world archeology.

Where is the Terracotta Army

The Terracotta Army was discovered in the northwest in 1974 and attributed to its first dynasty. The discovery of the emperor's ceramic army shed light on centuries-old funeral rites and the peculiarities of Chinese ceramic processing. In addition to being of archaeological and artistic value, the sculptures are one of the main attractions of Chinese culture. The quality of the clay warriors, as well as the scale of the army as a whole, is simply amazing.

The Terracotta Army was created in the third century BC. In 246, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, took the throne at the age of thirteen. The first emperor is credited with many achievements, such as: building the Great Wall, making the first coins, creating a code of laws and unifying the Chinese provinces into a single state.

The emperor sought to perpetuate his name for posterity and ordered the construction of a necropolis in Xi'an in his honor. He designed an elaborate mausoleum, which he filled with all sorts of jewelry and luxury items. To guard all this wealth, the emperor ordered special soldiers to be made from clay so that they could protect him in the afterlife.

Despite the fact that 7,000 workers were hired to build the mausoleum and worked on it for decades, the emperor's necropolis was never completed. Qin died in 210 BC before the construction of his tomb was completed.

Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang

For centuries, nothing was known about the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang until in 1974, a group of workers accidentally stumbled upon a large clay sculpture of a war while drilling a well. Interested in this amazing find, archaeologists began to explore the area and as a result, thousands of similar sculptures were found.

Each Terracotta Army sculpture is crafted with an impressive level of detail and is a one-of-a-kind work of art. The sculptures are life-size and vary in height according to rank and uniform. Over time, the clay soldiers acquired a gray color, but they were originally brightly colored, which further increased their realism and emphasized the skill of the sculptors.

In addition to eight thousand soldiers, one hundred and thirty ceramic chariots and six hundred and seventy horses were discovered in the necropolis. In addition, the mausoleum contained sculptures of dancers, acrobats and musicians. They are made to the same high level as the Terracotta Army.

Terracotta Army in China

In addition to the clay warriors, along with the emperor, according to ancient Chinese tradition, up to seventy thousand (according to various estimates) living soldiers and workers were buried.

In addition, forty-eight of his concubines also went on their final journey with Qin Shi Huang.

Today, the necropolis of Qin Shi Huang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The vast majority of the Terracotta Soldiers remain in place, but ten figures have been removed and displayed in museums and exhibitions to allow an international audience to experience these examples of ancient Chinese culture first-hand.

The Terracotta Army is one of the most famous and amazing artifacts of antiquity. The sculptures still inspire artists to create reproductions and works based on them.

These reinterpretations prove the strong legacy of this stunning sculptural complex.

The life of people on the vast lands of the ancient province of China - Shaanxi at all times required the daily hard work of peasants. In order to grow anything in your fields, you needed to put in a lot of time and effort. The main problem of the region is water, or rather its lack. Since ancient times, the wealth of a peasant farm has been measured by the presence or number of wells on a plot. This was the case in the old days and this was also the case in March 1974.

On one sunny spring day, the peasant and son of the peasant, Yan Ji Won, decided to take a new step towards the well-being of his family - to dig a well on his plot. The work progressed quite hard, because Vaughn had no assistants, and the earth was in no hurry to open its treasures. At the fourth meter, miracles began to happen; instead of the usual clay, the shovel began to scoop up an amazing mixture of black earth and wood debris. And soon the work had to be stopped altogether; the peasant came across a mysterious find.

When the first fear and surprise passed, Vaughn examined his find. What he pulled out of the ground turned out to be a human head made of strange dark clay. The head was distinguished by high precision of the smallest details; it is not surprising that a simple villager initially mistook it for the real one. Vaughn did not dig further; instead, he took the mysterious head to the village chief.

On this day, the amazing story of the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century and the greatest discovery in the history of China began - the Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang and his terracotta army. Since then, excavations at the former site of Yan Ji Won have not stopped for more than forty years; the amazing find has managed to become the first historical monument of China included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and acquired the title of the eighth wonder of the world. But the revelation of all the secrets of the Qin terracotta army today is as far away as it was in March 1974.

A simple peasant, Yan Ji Won, began digging his well back in 1974, but in fact he took the first small step on the long path of the legendary Terracotta Army and its creator, the first emperor of a united China, to the light. Since then, three stages of archaeological work can be distinguished. The first stage began directly in 1974 and ended in 1986. Later it became known that Vaughn had found the first combat detachment of warriors. Over the next twelve years, another 6,000 soldiers from this detachment were unearthed.

The second stage of excavations was much shorter in time and lasted from 1985 to 1986. During this period, scientists were mainly studying the already open spaces. However, more than 2,000 more Terracotta Army warriors were discovered, which were later identified as a statue of wealthy horsemen and the army's high command.

Finally, the third phase of excavations began in 2000 and is still ongoing. During this time, numerous additional rooms and halls were discovered, in which scientists were able to find numerous objects of art and everyday life of that period. Here, a more terrible discovery awaited scientists; we are talking about the bodies of 48 concubines of the emperor and the remains of other courtiers.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

In order to understand the scale and significance of the tomb of the first emperor of China, it is necessary to get acquainted with the owner of the mausoleum himself. Quite a lot of documentary evidence has been preserved about the life, deeds and death of this historical character. Most of them belong to the personal historian of the emperor, Sima Qian.

The future emperor was born in 259 BC and received the name Ying Cheng at birth. At the age of thirteen, thanks to court intrigues, young Cheng ascended the throne. According to the tradition of those times, the young emperor took the new name Qin Shi Huang, which translated means “the first emperor of the Qin dynasty.” In those distant times, on the territory of modern China there were seven disparate kingdoms that continuously waged bloody internecine wars. The situation was complicated by constant raids by nomadic tribes from the north and west.

The young Emperor Qin was the first to realize the need to unite all Chinese kingdoms. Qin Shi Huang decided to bring his plans to life with the cruelty and treachery characteristic of that time. His army conquered one kingdom after another, and soon all of Ancient China submitted to the young ruler. In the occupied territories, a strict regime was established to suppress any unrest and exterminate all dissenters. Thus, more than five hundred Confucian scholars were destroyed by the emperor’s warriors, only because they considered Qin Shi Huang’s desire to gain immortality to be barbaric.

The theme of immortality runs like a leitmotif throughout the ruler’s entire life. One of the first steps of the young emperor was to begin construction of his tomb. Later, he organized many expeditions to all corners of his country and neighboring states to search for a recipe for the elixir of immortality. According to the emperor himself, the Qin dynasty was to rule for ten thousand generations.

However, this is not the only thing that made the first emperor of united China famous. Over the years, more than one million people worked to implement his grandiose plans, despite the fact that the population of the entire empire barely exceeded twenty million. Among the most significant projects, it is worth noting the completion of the Great Wall of China, the construction of the majestic Epan Palace in the new capital of the state of Xi'an, as well as the construction of the Lingqu Canal. Unfortunately, most of the emperor's projects were either not completed or were destroyed by ungrateful and warlike descendants.

The last years of Qin Shi Huang's life were marked by the ruler's fruitless attempts to gain eternal youth. This is evidenced by both historical chronicles and a significant expansion of the future mausoleum. Surrounded by countless courtiers and concubines, the emperor was at the center of numerous conspiracies and court intrigues, and he became unusually suspicious and cruel. In the last years of his life, the ruler of China personally led expeditions in search of the elixir of eternal life. On one of these sea voyages, Qin Shi Huang became seriously ill, and after taking a large amount of mercury-based medicine, he died. This happened in 210 BC, and three years later his empire collapsed under the pressure of external and internal enemies.

Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

It would not be correct to consider the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang as a classic building of this type. The emperor's tomb has virtually nothing in common with classical examples of European or American architecture. This is not just a room that contains everything necessary for its owner on a journey to the afterlife. This is the embodiment of the afterlife itself, in the form in which the ancient inhabitants of the Celestial Empire imagined it.

First of all, the size of the structure is striking: the entire memorial complex had an area of ​​about 55 square kilometers and the length of the perimeter of the outer walls was more than six kilometers. It should be noted that all dimensions and descriptions refer only to the studied material of the tomb; archaeological work here is still ongoing.

As scientists suggest, the memorial complex consisted of several rooms that had their own individual purposes. The central place in the complex is occupied by the main chamber. The design of this room amazes the imagination of even experienced historians and archaeologists. Here, on a reduced scale, the entire Qin Empire is presented, as the emperor knew it. Mountains, valleys and cities are made of stone, metal and clay, rivers and lakes are pools filled with mercury. According to some assumptions, on the arches of this chamber there was a skillfully made image of the starry sky, with all the luminaries and stars known at that time, but confirmation of this legend has not yet been found.

As already mentioned, at least seven hundred thousand workers worked on the construction of the burial vault. Many of them remained here forever, some due to exhaustion and illness, others from poisoning with mercury vapor, and others were deliberately destroyed by soldiers because the emperor was afraid to reveal the location of his tomb.

According to the ideas of all ancient peoples, the ruler in the afterlife should be accompanied by all servants, concubines, warriors, as well as all the furniture, household items, and clothing familiar to him. Similar ideas reigned in Ancient China, hence the huge amount of jewelry and art objects that were discovered by scientists. During their work, archaeologists continually found numerous human remains; many were identified by clothes and objects found nearby. Among the bones found were the remains of imperial concubines, nobles, and servants; in total, more than a hundred people were identified who were buried alive.

Among other rooms, scientists discovered richly decorated stables, a kitchen, a harem and halls for terracotta warriors; the latter rooms will be discussed below. The findings turned upside down the existing knowledge of historians about the culture and technology of Ancient China. Numerous artifacts indicate the high development of metallurgy, jewelry, blacksmithing, and architecture in China. From his numerous military campaigns, Qin Shi Huang managed to extract not only rich trophies, but also the necessary knowledge and skills.

According to the creators' plan, the mausoleum was supposed to be protected from the adverse effects of wind, rain, sun and frost by a roof made of logs tied together with mats soaked in clay mortar. A mound of earth three meters thick was made on top of this flooring. Over time, the forgotten tomb turned into a man-made mound or mountain.

Terracotta Army of the Great Emperor.

Nowadays, when people get most of their information from the Internet, Emperor Qin Shi Huang and his mausoleum are inferior in popularity to the legendary Terracotta Army - the guards of the first emperor of a united China. The modern history of this monument began with these warriors; today these warriors have become real symbols of a great country.

If we talk about dry scientific facts, we will establish that the Terracotta Army is a sculptural group consisting of more than eight thousand human figures, more than two hundred horse figures, and several dozen chariots. All figures are inaccurate, since the entire memorial complex has not yet been discovered or studied. All sculptures are arranged in a strict geometric order in two halls: six thousand in one and two thousand warriors in the other. Nearby, scientists discovered another hall, which turned out to be empty; according to one version, this indicates that the emperor’s plan was never fully realized.

According to the records of the above-mentioned imperial historian Sima Qiang, Emperor Qin Shi Huang originally intended to take real, living warriors with him to the grave. It took the court advisers a lot of work to dissuade the ruler from this idea; the main argument that tipped the scales in favor of the advisers was the threat of a popular uprising, when the fact of burying the country's best warriors alive would become public knowledge. Then the emperor decided that on his last campaign he would be accompanied by a real terracotta army, each warrior of which was an exact copy of real soldiers.

Archaeologists have been able to establish that all the warriors of the Terracotta Army have different origins. Using radiocarbon dating, it was established that the plant pollen found on the statues belongs to different natural zones of China. This fact indicates that the responsibility to produce warriors was assigned to all provinces of the empire. Since all the statues were made using the same technology, we can conclude that, along with the order of the emperor, detailed instructions for making soldiers were transmitted to the provinces. This is confirmed by the fact that in the appearance of the warriors of the Terracotta Army one can easily recognize the facial features and items of clothing characteristic of both the Chinese and the Mongols, Uyghurs and other tribes of the empire.

A few words about the technology for making the terracotta army. All figures were made of clay and had proportions of 185 - 195 cm. After production, the warriors were fired at a temperature of more than 1000 degrees. After this, the artists got down to business, covering the statues with organic varnish, and after the varnish had completely dried, they were painted with natural paints. The composition of varnish and paints is still a mystery to scientists. The work is complicated by the fact that when exposed to fresh air, the paint surprisingly collapses within a few minutes.

Scientists and tourists are especially admired for the unique precision to detail that ancient architects sought to achieve. Each warrior of the Terracotta Army has individual facial features, this is expressed in the smallest details of hairstyle, lips, nose, eyes. No less skillfully
made clothes of terracotta soldiers. The meticulousness of the reproduction of elements of armor, belts, jewelry, and helmets amazes the imagination. According to contemporaries, the warriors were initially equipped with real weapons. Each soldier received a weapon according to his rank and type of troops. There were swords, spears, bows, crossbows and daggers. However, after the death of the emperor, the peasants rebelled; in order to arm themselves, the rebels opened the emperor’s tomb and disarmed the terracotta army. A little more than half a century passed before the new emperor of China ordered the re-arming of the Terracotta Army. This time the legendary soldiers did not receive real weapons; now they were decorated with swords and spears made of bronze and tin.

As mentioned above, in addition to the soldiers, the tomb contains sculptures of war horses. The weight of each sculpture exceeds 200 kilograms; for comparison, warriors weigh on average 135 kilograms. All horse statues were made at the site of the mausoleum from local stone. Some horses are harnessed to beautiful ancient chariots made of bronze and decorated with objects of gold and silver. Each chariot consists of more than 7,000 parts and each of them is amazingly craftsmanship.

Great secrets of the Terracotta Army.

It would seem that after so many years of scientific research and excavations, and even in a country like China, all the secrets of the terracotta army should be revealed. But paradoxically, the years go by, and the secrets and mysteries of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum only increase.

Scientists still do not understand why the great ruler needed to use almost all the resources of his state, undermined by a bloody war, to build such a large-scale structure. The unprecedented secrecy with which the work was carried out is not entirely clear, but it took 38 years and required the involvement of more than 700 thousand workers.

And finally, the main secret of the mausoleum, which excites the minds of scientists from all over the world - where the emperor himself is buried. To solve this mystery, scientists will have to solve problems related primarily to the preservation of the found material and the safety of workers who will come into contact with tons of mercury and many harmful organisms. As you can see, the great emperor Qin Shi Huang and his terracotta army managed to keep their secrets.

Terracotta Army, ticket price and how to get there?

Today, thousands of tourists from all over the globe come to Xi'an to see with their own eyes the famous Terracotta Army and the equally famous tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. A visit to the mausoleum is included in the mandatory program of official visits of high-ranking foreign officials. Over the years, the following people have visited here: Russian President Vladimir Putin, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, King Albert II of Belgium, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US Presidents Reagan and Obama, as well as many other officials.

Many will be interested in the fact that the famous terracotta warriors even managed to act in films. They can be seen in the famous Hollywood film “The Mummy III. Tomb of the Dragon Emperor." The documentary film by Australian filmmakers “The Secret of the Terracotta Warrior” or “Mystery of the Disorderly Warriors”, filmed in 2004, is dedicated to the past and present of the Qin terracotta army.

In order to preserve this unique monument of the past, the Chinese authorities created a museum called “秦陵兵马俑 (Qínlíng Bīngmǎyǒng)” or “Tomb of Qin and the Terracotta Army.” The museum is open to visitors all year round every day from 08-30 to 17-00. The standard ticket price is 150 yuan.

The museum is located thirty kilometers from the city of Xi'an. You can get to the attraction by one of the tourist buses or by city bus; you should choose bus routes: 915, 914 and 306. If you prefer to travel by taxi, the cost of the trip will be 120 - 150 yuan.

The address of the Qin Tomb and Terracotta Army Museum is: Qinling North Road, Lintong District, Xi'an 710600, China.

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The ancient capital of the Qin Empire, the city of Xian, still stands in its place. The mausoleum is located 10 kilometers east of it. The city of Xi'an itself is located 1,100 kilometers southwest of.

If you want to see the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and the Terracotta Army guarding it, there are two ways. The first is to fly from Russia to Xi'an, to this city. The second is to travel to Xi'an by train or fly there by plane from Beijing.

Regarding the second option, we want to warn you that it may be more expensive than it seems. will take you from Beijing to Xi'an in just 6 hours. The ticket price is 516 (1032 yuan round-trip) for one passenger. The price of air tickets is comparable to the price of high-speed train tickets.

For fans of budget travel, there is an option to buy tickets for a regular train for seated or standing (this is common in China) seats. The trip will cost about 300 yuan per person, but you will spend up to 30 hours on the road (up to 15 hours one way).

A little history

A great war between 7 states lasted for about 260 years in ancient China. Everyone fought with everyone. This period in the country’s history is called the “Era of Warring States.” It ended in 221 BC, when Emperor Qin Shi Huang conquered all the kingdoms. He became the first ruler of a unified China, founding the Qin Dynasty.

In the summer of 210 B.C. he died, and the cause of death is unknown to us for certain. There is a very funny version that he drank a drink based on mercury, which was presented to him as the “elixir of immortality.” According to the second version, he was poisoned.

Qin Shi Huang was very concerned about achieving immortality. Based on the description of his reign, we can say that he was obsessed with this idea. During his reign, expeditions were organized to search for the elixir and research was conducted into the problems of life extension.

However, he understood that the chances of gaining immortality were slim, and he paid no less attention to the problem of his afterlife.

Even in the event of death, he did not want to lose his luxurious life and the opportunity to fight, conquer and rule. He ordered the creation of a huge army of clay warriors to serve him in the next world, which we now know as the Terracotta Army.

He also ordered the construction of a huge tomb with an entire palace. This palace is located inside a hill that tourists now enjoy climbing.