Introduction

To really understand China and its culture, we must travel back in time to a Chinese Dynasty and Ancient Chinese way of life for Emperor Qin. A dynasty is a ruling family under an emperor. An empire could last any where from fifteen years to eight hundred years. In ancient times the people of China supported their ruler because they believed he was chosen from heaven to rule. Some dynasties lasted a shorter time because the people of China felt as if the ruler lost his heavenly power. The following discusses the Qin Dynasty and the importance it played on today's Chinese cultural.

Qin Emperor

QIN (Ch'in) Pronounced "chin" (221BC-206BC) The English word for China is derived from the name of this dynasty. Qin means the divine Son of Heaven. (O'Connor 2002) The emperor Qin united all of China for the first time under the Qin dynasty. Prior to his dynasty, China was divided into seven kingdoms, each with a different ruler, all fighting one another. Qin unified China by forming a system of measurement, a common system of money and unified written language. Although he accomplished these, he was considered a ruthless leader. After the emperor Qin united China, he built a line of defense against attaching nomads from the north. The Great Wall of China was built out of masonry, rock and packed earth. Armies were then stationed every several yards. Once the armies realized an attack was occurring they started a fire to signal surrounding towns and cities.

In China the wall is called "Wan-Li Chang-Cheng" which translates to 10,000 Li-Long Wall. This wall expands 2,150 miles, 15 to 30 feet wide and 25 feet tall. Yes, the Great Wall of China can be seen from Outer Space! In 1994, space Shuttle Endeavor was able to produce images of the Great Wall of China from their Space Borne Imaging Radar. Many had believed that The Great Wall could be seen from the Moon, but that was proven to be a myth! (http://www.enchantedlearning.com ) The wall was built over 2,000 years ago by laborers to not only protect China from the northern enemies but to also it keep the Chinese in China. It also symbolized the power of Emperor Qin. Although only some of stretches of the wall built at that time remain, it is still the base of the wall in China today.

Top of page

Terracotta Warrior's Tomb

Emperor Qin Shihuangdi (pronounced chin shir-hwong) had his laborers build a tomb. He had his laborers and workers make the Terracotta Warriors during his brief time as emperor. His dynasty lasted only thirteen years. To prove he was in power, he had the workers begin building the Terracotta Warriors when he was still alive. Some believe it took seven hundred thousand people to build this tomb for more then thirty years! This is not all he accomplished as ruler during this time. Later in life, at the age of forty-nine, Qin began to obsess about life and death. He had always wanted to live forever. At one time he sent expeditions to islands looking for a magic potion to grant him eternal life. He feared for his own life and it is believed that he drank a poisonous potion in the hope that it would give him eternal life. He died shortly there after from what they believe to be mercury poisoning.

In this tomb Qin had his laborers build Terracotta Warriors to surround him when he dies. Qin actually died while touring his Empire. His ministers wanted to keep his death a secret until they returned the capital city, Beijing. The ministers did not need to worry where to bury him because his tomb was being built for the last thirty years. His tomb was to have all the pleasures he enjoyed on earth, so it is believed he was buried with jewelry, games, chariots and silk clothing. Qin believed that his tomb might be robbed so he had his workers construct warriors with crossbows and arrows built around him to protect him and his property. 

For many years this tomb was only a myth, until farmers digging in the province of Xian in central China discovered the great archaeological find! The myth exists! Sima Qian (145-ca. 90 BCE) wrote Records of the Grand Historian describing Emperor Qin and the Chinese culture. Qian claims that Emperor Qin ordered the workers who built the tomb be buried alive so that the location would remain a secret today (Hansen 2009). For many years archaeologists worked drilling and digging to discover thousands of clay warriors. This archaeological find was discovered in 1974 and has been an amazing place to visit since. It is hard to believe that three farmers looking for water during a drought would come across such an amazing find. There are three museums near Mount Li where tourist may visit to observe these soldiers. The Museum is broken into three Pits. A fourth pit was found but it is empty. To this day no human bones have been found, but the archaeologists continue carefully their excavation. 

Pit 1: Pit 1 is about 14,000 square meters or 3.52 acres making it the largest of the three pits. Inside this pit there are over 6,000 warriors and horses. To visualize the size imagine two football fields! These Warriors are the front line of defense. If anyone came to attack Qin in the afterlife, they would be attacked by the 6,000 warriors! The Warrior's faces are facing every direction with three rows guarding the rear. Those three rows are facing so as to stop any attack from the bake.

Pit 2: Pit 2 contains 1,000 warriors, 500 horses, 350 chariot horses, and 100 cavalry horses. Pit 3 is in an L shaped four square section. Some warriors are knelling while other warriors stand behind them with crossbows.

Pit 3: Pit 3 contains 68 warriors, four horses and one chariot. This pit is unusual because there is no battle formation. Several animal bones and deer horns were also found in this pit. Archeologists think this pit may have been an army headquarters because no one is in attack mode. 

Top of page

Terracotta Warrior's Statues

Each of the soldiers has its own personal characteristics. They are life size, most being six feet tall. The soldiers have different facial expressions, different hair style and are even different in age! There has been much speculation on how the soldiers were made. Many laborers had to be recruited, housed and fed. Once the laborers were found, foreman and workers would begin by producing one part such as the leg, feet, torso, arms, hand and head.

Once each section was made, the assembly began; making sure no two soldiers were the same. It is believed that 700 figures were made in one year. Each soldier is made out of painted clay. The supplies had to be made available at all times. Each figure was then assembled and held together with clay to form a basic figure. 

This is similar to an assembly line. Later other laborers added additional clay to shape the face; individual facial features were added such as eyebrows, ears and lips. Finally the soldiers clothing and weapons were formed in a mold and placed on the soldier with clay. The final soldier clay model was placed on a horse also made of clay and wood mixture, on a chariot or left standing to project Emperor Qin from his enemies. 

The swords and weapons that the warriors are holding are made of a combination of metal mixture and are so sharp; they could be utilized as a weapon today! There were over 10,000 weapons found at this time. The weapons found were swords, daggers, billhooks, spears, halberds, axes, crossbows, triggers, and arrowheads.

Many soldiers, horses and weapons have been destroyed over the years due to armies damaging them shortly after their creation, poor weather conditions and the collapses of the roof over time. As of now the Emperor Qin's pit has not been excavated. It is a very delicate procedure and archaeologists want to preserve every piece of the pit. Many of the warriors, weapons and horses have been crushed or damaged. This could be from warring states many years ago and excavation.

source www.yale.edu