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Written by: Debbie Salcedo
04/25/05

Title: "Terracotta Warriors of Xian"
About: Travel and Tourism China

In the 3rd century BC the powerful Qin Dynasty came to power. The Dynasty under Emperor Qin Shi Huang swiftly conquered the neighboring lands to build a large empire covering most of the China of today.

Qin Shi Huang also standardized the system of weights and measures and was responsible for introducing a single form of currency. He is also best remembered for his construction of the Great Wall, which stretches for more than 2,000 kilometers across the North of China.

When the emperor died, a huge tomb was built to hold his remains. The tomb was also filled with a “guardian army” of thousands of life-sized terracotta (or pottery) warriors.

It is said that the clay warriors represent each of the emperor’s men since each figure was individually modeled.

The figures were placed in three pits inside the huge complex surrounding the emperor’s tomb and was largely forgotten for 17 centuries until it was discovered in 1974 by a group of peasants digging for a well in what is now known as Xian.

Over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits since. Most of them, which had sustained some damage over time, have been restored to their former grandeur.

 

A museum was built over the dig site in 1975 and covers an area of 16,300 square meters.  It is divided into three sections: Pit 1,2 & 3.

Terracotta Museum Pit Descriptions:

Pit 1: The largest pit featured columns of soldiers at the front followed by war chariots at the back.

Pit 2: Contains over a thousand warrior statues and 90 chariots of wood.

Pit 3: Looked like the command center of the Emperor’s forces. It has 68 warriors, a war chariot and four horses.