The tomb of the the Terracotta Warriors (秦陵兵马俑) was discovered in March, 1974 by local farmers who when digging a well, broke into a pit that contained 6000 life-size warriors made out of terracotta. When excavation began in 1976, archaeologists found two more pits that were both filled with terracotta warriors and horses who guarded the tomb of Qin Shi Huang Di, and are believed to be the army that granted him victory in his life and will continue to do so in the after life.
The site holds significance as it gives a detailed view of the army that helped to usher in the Chinese imperial era over 2,200years ago. The army, which belonged to Qin Shi Huang Di, managed to defeat all other armies during the waring states period and bring about an era of piece. The Tomb of the terracotta warriors holds important cultural significance for China as it gives a detailed picture of what life was like during the reign of Qin Shi Huang Di, who was the first emperor of China.
From evidence found at the site in Lintong, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China; historians can piece together what life would’ve been like during the reign of Qin Shi Huang Di. Historians previously assumed that the first emperor of China was relentless in his pursuit of war and ruled through military power. This initial assessment has been proven wrong through the investigation of artefacts found. Shi Huang Di did indeed gain power through military might, however he kept control of it through civil administration. He created the first uniform script in China, and the first version of the Great Wall, as well as introducing standardised coins, weights and measures. By having this large and complicated tomb constructed for him, historians believe that Qin Shi Huang Di kept an eye on prosperity, and wished for it to accompany him into the next life. Historians can conclude that the emperor died suddenly and the state began to fall apart, due to the state of the tombs. They were found in a state of ransack, the warriors were missing their weapons and scorch marks were found on the walls of one of the pits suggesting that fires were lit after the tombs were ransacked.
While the tombs of the warriors reveal a lot about what the first emperor was like, his actual tomb and final resting place has not been disturbed for ethical and cultural reasons. “I have a dream that one-day science can develop so that we can tell what is here without disturbing the emperor, who has slept here for 2,000 years,” says Wu Yong Qi, director of the Museum of the Terracotta Army. In saying this, he believes that if the tomb was to be unearthed, vital artefacts could be destroyed as the delicately balanced conditions that they have been preserved in would be altered. Another point he brought up was that “For all Chinese people, he is our ancestor, and for what he did for China, we cannot unearth his tomb just because archaeologists or people doing tourism want to know what is buried there.” Due to his cultural significance, Yong Qi among other Chinese, believe that it would be inappropriate to disturb the final resting place of the emperor after the advancements he helped make to Chinese culture.
By looking at the terracotta warriors, ceramicists can conclude that it took an estimated 40 years to create all of them, and that it took 720,000 people to build all of the warriors and the tomb of Qin Shi Huang Di. The number of workers can be found by simply looking at the soldiers, as each one was marked with the name of the foreman responsible for its creation, so that if any mistakes were made they could be traced back to someone. Ceramicists have figured out that each warrior was made by hand, piece by piece, and then assembled. Each one was intricately carved and then painted, as some traces of bright paint can still be seen of the mostly grey soldiers. Each of the soldiers had a specific rank that can be identified by its armour and position of the body, they include; officers of different ranks, foot soldiers, archers, charioteers and cavalry. In stark contrast, experimental pits dug around the tomb Qin Shi Huang Di have revealed dancers, musicians and acrobats captured mid performance. The elaborate tomb of the soldiers, and what the tomb of the emperor is described like in historical writings, seem to back up claims that the first emperor was obsessed with ever-lasting life and seemed to fear death. However, due to the fact that it would be unreasonable to unearth Qin Shi Huang Di other than for curiosity, historians will never be able to know if the writings about the opulence of his tomb are correct. In a translation of Siam Qian’s writings on the tombs he says, “The tomb was filled with models of palaces, pavilions and offices as well as fine vessels, precious stones and rarities,” . As well as this description of the items in the tomb, Siam Qian also writes of two replica rivers that flow with mercury being inside the tomb. Scientific tests that have been conducted on the areas surrounding the tomb of Qin Shi Huang Di have found that there are unusually high occurrences of mercury there, which seems to support the work of Siam Qian.
Thankfully there can be no dispute as to whom the statues belong to. Not only do they depict of events written in Chinese history, but Lintong, Xi’an, Shaanxi, is located in what is very clearly Eastern China.