In the spring of 1974, in the Chinese province of Shanxi, the digging of a well on one of the land plots was suspended. At a depth of 4–5 m, a figure of an ancient warrior made of dark clay was discovered. The accuracy and realism of even the smallest details of this find indicated its exceptional uniqueness. This is how the story of the most grandiose archaeological discovery of the 20th century began - the terracotta army of Qin Shi Huang.
Excavations continued at the site of discovery. They included several stages. And, as the work progressed, the place was surrounded by a covered pavilion to protect it from external destruction. 
During the first 12-year period, it was possible to unearth another 6,000 similar clay statues and, along with them, also realistically made horses. For the next period (it lasted only a year) - another 2000. Excavations continue to this day. Now, according to the results of a 40-year period of archaeological work, the number of clay soldiers is more than 8000. They make up three multi-meter lines and are located according to the battle formation of the Qin Dynasty. This building is part of the oldest tomb of the first emperor of a united China - Qin Shi Huang, who was obsessed with the idea of his own immortality.
The history of the creation of the terracotta army
The beginning of the construction of the burial complex dates back to 247 BC. At that time, the young took over the reins of government. The history of his reign is quite controversial. On the one hand, he managed to unite several warring states of ancient China, creating a new empire. But on the other hand, his conquests were distinguished by cruelty and bloodshed. Young Shi Huangdi from the first day of his reign began to build a tomb for himself. The theme of immortality worried him throughout his life, which pushed him to create places of worship. In addition to the grandiose tomb, his initiative is the construction of the Great Wall of China.
Terracotta Army today
Today, the excavation site is surrounded by a huge museum complex with an area of 50 sq.m. This is one of the iconic and grandiose sights of China. To see the monumental building with your own eyes, you need to get to the village of Qinling, not far from Xi'an (about 30 km). It is easy to get here both by public transport and by your own car. Since the place is quite popular, it is always crowded here. Before you buy a ticket, you have to stand many kilometers in front of the ticket office. However, all these inconveniences are compensated by the impressions of visiting the museum.
Video of the Terracotta Army in China
Take a video trip to China to the pavilions of the terracotta army.
The museum is a complex, striking in its scale. It consists of three rooms - pavilions. In some of them, excavations continue to this day. Museum visitors are advised to start the tour from the third pavilion, where the destroyed exhibits are collected, and then from the rest, where the restoration work of the terracotta army has already been completed.
The people of China still remember and revere the venerable Qin Shi Huangdi (259-210 B.C.). This is the first emperor of China and a contemporary of Hannibal. It was under him that the Great Wall of China was erected. But the formidable lord became famous not only for this great building. His imagination, will and energy knew no bounds. Therefore, it was on the orders of this amazing person that roads were built throughout the country and a terracotta army was created.
All these works were the result of the unity of the Middle Kingdom. The lord had inexhaustible human resources under his control. He officially ascended the throne in 221 BC. e, and already in 210 BC. e. left the mortal world. That is, a person was in power for only 11 years, but he did so much that would be enough for a whole century. The remains of the emperor were buried in a luxurious tomb, and a huge necropolis was erected around it. It is located in the modern province of Liaoning. This is the eastern part of China in the south of Manchuria (historical region). The province itself borders North Korea.
Terracotta army consists of 8 thousand clay sculptures
Mysteries of the Terracotta Army
The first clay warriors were discovered within the boundaries of the necropolis in 1974. Large-scale excavations were carried out intermittently from 1978 to 1986. Currently, archaeological work is ongoing, but anyone can contemplate the clay army in its entirety, stunning the human imagination. The figures stand in crypts at a distance of 1.5 km from the tomb of the formidable emperor.
Each clay figure is 2 meters tall and weighs 300 kg.. In total there are 8 thousand such figures. It is noteworthy that all the statues have completely different faces. No face is the same. This was checked using a special computer program, but it did not find any similarities. Human features reflected in clay are different. As if they were living people, not faceless figures.
Now let's imagine how much labor and people had to be expended to create such a large number of huge clay sculptures. It also raises the question of the fact that in that distant time covered with a romantic haze, it was generally not customary to bury the rulers with sculptures. Together with the deceased leader, the corpses of his subjects were placed in the grave. Moreover, the process of killing was very humane.
The faces of the sculptures are completely different
People were not slaughtered like pigs, and the doomed did not rush in horror around the closed room, filling the air with terrible screams. On the contrary, it was considered a great honor to die with the lord. The ancient man believed in the afterlife, and therefore dreamed of getting into the realm of shadows along with his leader, whom he faithfully served during his lifetime.
Each of the associates drank a cup of wine, in which there was a large dose of arsenic. After that, he died with a smile on his lips and happiness in his eyes. This method of killing has already been proven in our time. In numerous human remains found in the tombs, experts found a huge concentration of arsenic. So now it is clear how the courtiers and numerous wives of the formidable rulers died.
According to the logic of things, Qin Shi Huangdi was supposed to take living people to the next world, but for some reason he limited himself to clay sculptures. It is explained simply. Numerous wars exhausted the country, and the population decreased significantly. There were few people, and the emperor did not practice mass killing. After all, he thought not only about his ambitions, but also about the future of the country. Therefore, such an original solution was found. It was believed that the clay figures would gain souls and represent a formidable army in the regions where the emperor would end up after his death.
The height of each sculpture reaches 2 meters,
weight equals 300 kg
How were the terracotta warriors made?
Naturally, looking at 8,000 clay figures, experts wondered how they were made? Try to mold a 2-meter statue weighing 300 kg out of clay. First of all, you need the right material. Any clay will not work, as it simply cannot withstand such a weight, and the sculpture will fall apart. Therefore, for the manufacture of warriors used special red clay. In terms of its chemical and physical parameters, it fully corresponded to the technical tasks.
How ancient masters sculpted sculptures? It is most reasonable to assume that special standard forms were made, and warriors were already created according to them. This would greatly speed up the process. But experts have found that sculptures were made by winding clay. That is, a strip was molded, fit into place, and another strip lay on it. This explains the fact that each clay warrior has strictly individual forms, and even the clothes are depicted differently. Only arms, legs, and ears were made in standard matrices.
Each craftsman who participated in the manufacturing process had his own individual stamp, which he put on the product. They found 87 of them. So, 87 professional craftsmen worked. Each of them had at least 10 apprentices. Consequently, approximately 1000 people were involved in the work.
And one more nuance - temperature regime. If there are large temperature differences, then the clay will not be able to dry, and the product will fall apart. Nowadays, heaters are placed in the premises. They maintain the right temperature. But at that time there was nothing like that, and the temperature was unstable. In summer, the heat was plus 30 degrees Celsius, and in winter the ground was frozen to minus 10 degrees Celsius.
The ancient masters found a way out here too. The entire army was molded in caves, where the temperature regime was constant and amounted to 20-25 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, the clay dries evenly, and the product acquires the desired hardness.
This is what the warriors of the terracotta army looked like 2200 years ago
The next step was varnishing the sculptures.. Nowadays, all warriors are gray, so they look unpresentable. The point here is that when a huge burial was opened, the varnish almost immediately gave up moisture, dried up and crumbled. It would be possible, of course, to protect the sculptures with plastic, but they simply did not have time to think of it before. Therefore, people are not allowed to see the magnificence and beauty that their distant ancestors admired.
Lacquer in this case is a hard resin, which initially has a brown color. It turns black as it dries. For its manufacture, ancient masters used the juice of a lacquer tree. But not anyone, but only the one who is more than 6 years old. The sap of 25 trees was needed to varnish one warrior. In this case, the harmfulness of production should be taken into account. Workers inhaled fumes, which, of course, subsequently affected their health.
Thus, the clay sculptures were covered with black lacquer on top. But that's not all. On top of the varnish, the warriors were painted with multi-colored paint. This is indicated by small flakes of paint found near the sculptures. Moreover, it was the rarest paint - Chinese purple. It is on a par with the Egyptian blue. But in terms of their chemical composition, these 2 unique paints differ. Egyptian blue is based on calcium, while Chinese violet is based on barium.
The entire terracotta army was made in 11 years. This is just the time of the reign of the formidable emperor. He rested with peace of mind and went to another world at the head of a strong numerous army. It can be assumed that in the world of shadows, the lord, relying on military strength, did many glorious deeds, but we will learn about this only after we ourselves leave the sublunar world.
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 his first dynasty. The discovery of the emperor's ceramic troops shed light on the centuries-old burial rites and features of Chinese ceramic processing. Besides the fact that the sculptures are of archaeological and artistic value, they 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, are 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. Many achievements are attributed to the first emperor, such as: the construction of the Great Wall, the production of the first coins, the creation of a code of laws, and the unification of 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 that he filled with all sorts of jewels and luxury items. To protect all these riches, the emperor instructed to make special soldiers from clay so that they could protect him in the afterlife.
Despite the fact that 7,000 workers were hired to build the mausoleum, who worked on it for decades, the emperor's necropolis was never completed. Qin died in 210 BC before 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 warrior while drilling a well for a well. Interested in this amazing find, archaeologists began to explore the area and as a result, thousands of similar sculptures were found.
Each sculpture in the Terracotta Army is crafted to an impressive level of detail and is a one-of-a-kind work of art. The sculptures are life-sized and differ in their height according to ranking by rank and uniform. Over time, the clay soldiers acquired a gray color, but initially they were 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 found in the necropolis. In addition, the mausoleum contained sculptures of dancers, acrobats and musicians. They are made at the same high level as the terracotta army.
Terracotta Army in China
In addition to 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 went on their last journey with Qin Shi Huang.
Today, the Qin Shi Huang Necropolis 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 in person.
The Terracotta Army is one of the most famous and amazing artifacts of antiquity. Sculptures to this day inspire artists to create reproductions and works based on motives.
These reimaginings prove how strong the legacy of this amazing sculptural complex is.
The rich and mysterious history of China, numbering thousands of years, reveals its secrets to mankind. One of these mysteries is terracotta army in china, which is considered by many to be one of the eight wonders of the world.
The cruel and ambitious ruler Qin Shi Huang, known in history as the unifier of the lands, declared himself the first emperor of the Qin Empire. Many reforms aimed at establishing unconditional power are associated with it. For example, he established territorial districts, introduced a single standardization for measuring weights and length, writing, construction, and even the width of the axle of carts. In an effort to strengthen power and make it eternal, even after death, the emperor wanted to have a powerful army at his disposal. He ordered to bury with him about 4 thousand young soldiers. And according to legend, only the inevitability of riots forced the emperor to abandon this idea. The warriors were replaced by clay figurines, for reliability their number was doubled. The army was deployed to the East, since from this side the ruler felt a danger to the Qin empire. So, together with the emperor, in 210-209. BC. an entire army was buried, which has about 8100 soldiers made of terracotta clay with uniforms and horses.
About the history of excavations
Where is the terracotta army located in China? Near the city of Xi'an in the province of Shengbsi, peasants came across many pottery shards. It was believed that such finds bring bad luck. In 1974, while digging a well, the farmer Yan Ji Wang discovered the first figure of a warrior made of clay. This was the beginning of a grandiose excavation.
Very soon, scientists realized that a whole army was opening up before them, which had a history of two thousand years. Excavations of this unique "dead army" have been going on for several decades, but much still remains hidden, and the mystery has not been fully solved.
Terracotta Army in China located on several levels. In 1974, the first tier was opened. The vanguard of the army has about 6 thousand figures of warriors. After 10 years, the second tier was opened with 2 thousand clay warriors. A decade later, the headquarters of the army was discovered, which consisted of figures of the highest military leadership. A little later, the statues of musicians, officials, acrobats were opened. Since 2009, the latest stage of these grandiose excavations began, which uncovered more than 600 different clay statues.
army sculptures
The legend claims that about 48 concubines and 70 thousand artisans who made figures were buried with the emperor. Archaeologists have discovered many graves located near the main burial ground. But the most amazing find is the army, consisting of 8 thousand infantry, archers and cavalry, which was hidden under the earth.
Amazing terracotta warriors had their own characteristics:
- The height of the figures is from 1.78 to 2.01 m, which does not correspond to the height of real people of that time.
- The leading officers are taller than ordinary soldiers.
- All soldiers of the army are deployed in battle formations. For example, archers are on one knee, which eliminates possible interference with the second row of warriors for shooting. This makes it possible to evaluate the military tactical science of that time.
- Each pose and faces of the warriors are different from each other. No two warriors are the same. This gives grounds to assume that living warriors of Emperor Qin served as kind for the clay army.
- Interestingly, by nationality, clay figurines were depicted not only by Chinese. Among them there are Tibetan and Mongolian types of faces.
- The figures are reproduced with pedantic precision in detail. Clothing, hairstyles, armor, shoes - everything corresponds to that time.
- After making the sculptures, they were fired in kilns at a temperature of more than 1000 degrees. Further, all the figures were painted in natural colors, the remains of which are still partially preserved.
- The main array of warriors has 11 passages, which are separated by walls. From above, the rows were covered with tree trunks, covered with mats and a 30 cm layer of cement. All this was covered with a layer of earth of 3 meters.
During the excavations, archaeologists faced a difficult task. When removing from the ground the paint that covered the figures, for 5 minutes. dried up, began to burst and crumble. But the task of conservation was found. The figures were placed in a tank with a certain humidity, covered with a special solution and irradiated. Thereby, terracotta army in china has been preserved in its original form. In 1987, Emperor Qin's army was included in the specially protected objects of UNXCO.
When visiting China, along with the Great Wall of China and the Shaolin Monastery, one should not miss the museum in the city of Xi'an. A grandiose spectacle will appear before you - a huge army of ancient warriors with weapons, horsemen on chariots skillfully molded by the ancient masters of China.
Different countries and peoples have many secrets and mysteries, the roots of which go back to the distant past. Archaeological excavations sometimes make it possible to discover such amazing finds that change the idea of history. One of these finds was the terracotta army. After all, it is not for nothing that some historians unofficially call it the 8th wonder of the world.
A little background
Among the population of Ancient China, there was a belief that what was buried with the deceased would certainly be used by him in the other world. This belief extended not only to household items, but also to people. So, in the event of the death of the ruler, the close retinue (wives and concubines, bodyguards, assistants, attendants, etc.) went after him.
In the 5th century BC e. In China, a new milestone in history began when, after 250 years of continuous wars, Emperor Qin Shi Huang managed to unite the warring kingdoms into a single powerful empire. In addition, he managed to create a single judicial system for the country and unite the cities with a network of roads.
Interesting fact! It was on the initiative of Qin Shi Huang that the construction of the Great Wall of China began, which was intended to protect the country from the raids of the northern barbarian tribes.
But because of the wars, the population of the country was significantly reduced, so sending healthy living people to the other world together with the ruler was already considered inappropriate: talented specialists were needed in this life. The cruel tradition has practically outlived itself, but the beliefs of Ancient China about the afterlife have not disappeared. Qin Shi Huang wanted to maintain power after death, so he ordered the creation of a terracotta army to protect him. She was buried with the emperor in 210-209 BC. e. The creation of the incredible size of the mausoleum began immediately after Shi Huangdi's accession to the throne, lasted only about 38 years and cost the lives of almost 70,000 builders and workers.
Discovery history
A severe drought in 1974 prompted the peasants of the city of Xi'an to dig deeper in search of water. But instead of life-giving moisture, they found some clay fragments, which later turned out to be elements of one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century. In world history, its value is equated to the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings.
Archaeologists were invited to the site of the find and carefully began excavations. The researchers knew about the existence of the terracotta army as such thanks to the reports of ancient historians (in particular, Sima Qian) and guessed that it should be located in the area of the city of Xi'an. It was this city that during the reign of the emperor was the imperial capital. Later, not far from the once planned well, the tomb itself was later discovered.
At the excavation site, archaeologists encountered a kind of tragedy. The fact is that the soldiers were originally covered with a special varnish and bright paint, which was preserved on individual figures due to storage in moist soil. But as soon as they were taken out into the air, from contact with oxygen, the remnants of the paint disappeared literally before our eyes. Not a single brightly painted statue has survived to this day.
In total, 3 pits were found, located at a short distance from each other. The first, the largest and deepest, had an area of 229x61 m. It contained the largest number of archers, foot soldiers and chariots. In the second pit, only 100 soldiers were found, and in the third, the smallest, only 68, who, according to assumptions, were representatives of the command staff.
Army strength
Archaeologists found in the mausoleum 130 chariots harnessed by 520 horses, 150 figures of horses for cavalrymen. But as for the number of infantry soldiers of the Terracotta Army, it is impossible to say unequivocally how many of them were found. According to various sources, the number ranges from 8000 to 8200 statues. This variation is associated with different counting rules. Not all of them survived intact, so sometimes disagreements arise on how to account for damaged soldiers, for example, with a missing head.
The uniqueness of the find
All warriors are life-size. The weight of the figures is about 100 kg, the height is 1.8-1.9 m. Moreover, each of them has individual facial features. It is believed that they were copied from real people, so you cannot find two identical figures among them. There are not only Chinese here, but also Mongols, Tibetans, Uighurs and representatives of other nations. Details of uniforms, hairstyles, clothes are transferred with extreme accuracy. Even on the shoe sole, the corresponding patterns are recreated.
Terracotta warriors are located on the east side of Qin Shi Huang's tomb. They are deployed to face the east, since it was on the east side, according to history, that the most brutal raids on the empire most often occurred. They are a full-fledged army, lined up in full combat readiness, with generals and officers. There are ordinary soldiers of various military specialties here: infantrymen, archers, cavalrymen, crossbowmen, who are depicted in a wide variety of poses.
Although the figures were made of clay, they had real weapons: swords, crossbows, spears, shields. Unfortunately, only a small amount of it has survived to this day, and the bulk was taken away by marauders in ancient times. But even these remnants have given historians a lot of new knowledge about the military equipment of those times and reasons for wonder. What is the fact that the arrowheads made in different regions of China were almost the same size. This suggests that already in the III century. BC e. here they adhered to uniform standards in the development of weapons.
During the excavations, not only figures of soldiers were found, but also scribes, statesmen, musicians, circus performers, strongmen. This suggests that in the next world the emperor sought not only to preserve the apparatus of officials, but also to provide himself with an “entertainment program”.
How warriors were made
The technology of making figures deserves special attention. Each warrior was made in different regions of the country in parts, which facilitated not only their production, but also transportation. The material for their manufacture was terracotta - colored baked clay.
Individually sculpted arms, body, legs and head were then assembled into a complete composition, while the lower part was monolithic and itself to ensure the stability of the figures. A special stamp was put on all the details, by which it was possible to determine the place of its manufacture and, in case of marriage, to punish the perpetrators. Judging by the fact that 87 such seals were found, at least 87 craftsmen worked on the creation of the Chinese terracotta army. Each of them had at least 10 apprentices at their disposal.
Another interesting detail concerns the temperature regime. With large temperature differences, it is impossible to ensure high-quality drying and sufficient clay strength. Modern masters use heaters to maintain the desired conditions. But in ancient China, of course, there were no such devices, and the temperature regime fluctuated during the year from + 30 ° C to - 10 ° C. in this regard, the craftsmen decided to make statues in caves, where it was constantly around 20-25°C. Under such conditions, the clay could dry out evenly, and the statues received the necessary strength, and then they were supposedly fired in furnaces, the slightest traces of which have not yet been found.
Location of the museum
Today, almost everyone can see the terracotta army in the museum. Most of the soldiers remained in the places where they were discovered at one time by archaeologists. If you look at the map, the excavation site is located about 10 km from Xi'an, a large city with a population of about 8.5 million people. It is usually reached by train, car or plane from Shanghai or Beijing, but some tourists prefer to fly directly to Xi'an, from where they can reach their destination by bus.
The museum itself, in combination, remains a springboard for excavations. It was built between 1979-1994 and today consists of three exhibition halls with a total area of about 190,000 km². There is also a panoramic cinema that continuously shows a 20-minute film about the creation of the army and one of the most interesting finds of the tomb - bronze chariots with four horses, which were intended to move the emperor in the Kingdom of the Dead. They are created from over 3000 parts and can be considered a real work of art with images of dragons, tigers and the Phoenix bird.
Here you can also see the peasant who was the first to discover the find, get an autograph and even a souvenir photo from him for a small fee. True, eyewitnesses say that the Terracotta Army periodically has a new "pioneer". In the store at the museum, you can even become the owner of a full-size copy of the soldier you like, which will cost about $2,500.
Terracotta Army soldiers can be seen not only in the Xi'an Museum. So, in the National Museum of Beijing there is a permanent, but rather small exposition - only 20 figures. In addition, there is another, traveling exposition, which periodically appears in different cities of the country. But it should be borne in mind that 20 warriors in Beijing against 8000 figures in Xi'an are an incomparable experience.
Terracotta Warriors in China
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