The Terracotta Army
John Man
- The
- Terracotta
- Army
- is
- one
- of
- the
- greatest,
- and
- most
- famous,
- archaeological
- discoveries
- of
- all
- time.
- 6,000
- life-size
- figures
- of
- warriors
- and
- horses
- were
- interred
- in
- the
- Mausoleum
- of
- the
- First
- Emperor
- of
- China
- -
- each
- is
- individually
- carved,
- and
- they
- are
- thought
- to
- represent
- real
- members
- of
- the
- emperor's
- army.
- This
- is
- the
- remarkable
- story
- of
- their
- creation,
- the
- man
- who
- ordered
- them
- made,
- their
- rediscovery
- and
- their
- continuing
- legacy
- as
- a
- pre-eminent
- symbol
- of
- Chinese
- greatness.The
- First
- Emperor,
- Qin
- Shi
- Huang,
- was
- king
- of
- the
- Chinese
- state
- of
- Qin
- and
- the
- first
- man
- to
- unite
- China
- into
- a
- single
- empire.
- He
- built
- the
- first
- Great
- Wall
- and
- brought
- a
- single
- written
- script
- to
- the
- whole
- country.
- He
- was
- an
- inspired
- and
- ruthless
- ruler,
- but
- one
- also
- beset
- by
- paranoia
- and
- a
- desire
- for
- immortality.
- He
- is
- still
- considered
- the
- founding
- father
- of
- the
- modern
- state
- of
- China.
- On
- his
- death
- in
- 210
- BC
- he
- was
- buried
- in
- a
- giant
- mausoleum
- near
- modern-day
- Xi'an.
- Legends
- of
- the
- treasures
- contained
- therein
- still
- tantalize
- the
- imagination
- today.In
- 1974
- local
- farmers
- digging
- a
- well
- for
- water
- broke
- through
- into
- the
- burial
- mound
- and
- found
- the
- first
- of
- the
- Terracotta
- warriors.
- Further
- excavations
- have
- revealed
- the
- full
- splendour
- of
- the
- buried
- army.
- But
- the
- majority
- of
- the
- mausoleum
- is
- yet
- to
- be
- opened,
- including
- the
- burial
- chamber
- itself
- -
- myth
- tells
- us
- that
- amongst
- the
- treasures
- yet
- to
- be
- uncovered
- is
- a
- vast
- map
- of
- the
- First
- Emperor's
- kingdom
- with
- rivers
- marked
- with
- channels
- of
- flowing
- mercury.
- The
- story
- of
- the
- First
- Emperor
- and
- the
- Terracotta
- Army
- is
- a
- fascinating
- one,
- not
- least
- for
- the
- discoveries
- yet
- to
- be made.
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