We came to Xian especially to see the Terracotta Warriors and so we did. We wanted to get the full experience and so we booked an English speaking tour guide. I enjoy hearing about history, it helps me really soak up the stories. This experience was more than I expected. As we walked into the first Pit that was found in 1974 by 9 farmers trying to dig a well, I was overwhelmed. This Pit is only 1 of 200. Emperor Qin ruled with authority and effectiveness, he unified the 7 states as one and he started the Great Wall as well as had 700,000 people working for him to build an army of 8000 clay soldier to keep him safe in the afterlife and then had all those workers buried alive to keep the secret, so the final consensus on him is sort of a toss up…
Anyhow, the Terracotta Warriors are here now and as archeologists around the world work on ways to unveil the 199 other pits still safely buried under ground to preserver their true colours, we can only admire a small fraction of what this grand vision looked like. It is monumental to think that each warrior is crafted after a real life soldier, sergeant, general or horseman; each one with distinguishable faces and details down to their haircuts and shoes.
I found the most interesting part to be the puzzle of putting back the pieces of “wounded” warriors. The Terracotta Warriors were attacked by the subsequent Emperor by fire. Emperor’s like to live as if the Emperor before them did not exist and so an attempt to rid the world of the Terracotta Warriors has left a huge puzzle for archeologists. I can only imagine how rewarding and frustrating it would be to be digging through rubble to try and find each little piece to slowly put the army back together.
These warriors have been through a lot and if only they could tell their story too.
As a side note: I am always amazed at how well I can remember facts after going on a tour. I entered the figures into this blog thinking they were slightly off and I would verify them when I had a chance and found myself surprised that the only mistake was the spelling of Qin Emperor – I had accidently wrote Qing. The combination of seeing and hearing really works for me. I can’t help and wonder how much more I would have enjoyed history had I been able to learn like this during school.
Inspire yourself!
Jenn