The Amazing Terracotta Warriors
American International School Hong Kong, Ng, Yu-Zhi Maegan – 6
erracotta warriors are amazing! They are clay soldiers that were buried with China’s first
emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di. Qin Shi Huang Di was an amazing man himself: he became
king in 246 B.C. when he was only 13 years old! He built roads and canals, and started
building the Great Wall of China. He was a very powerful king, but he also made many enemies. So,
he ordered workers to make the terracotta warriors to accompany and protect him in the afterlife.
Terracotta warriors are amazing because there are so many of them! So far, about 2000 terracotta
warriors have been found, but many more are still buried. It is estimated that there are as many as 8000
terracotta warriors in the emperor’s tomb.
Terracotta warriors are amazing because they are unique! Each terracotta warrior is as tall as a real man,
and each one of them looks different, just like in the real world where no two persons look the same.
They have different costumes, hairstyles, facial expressions and even ear shapes!
Terracotta warriors are amazing because they form an orderly army! The clay soldiers were placed into
pits, all facing the east where the emperor’s enemy states were, together with their weapons, clay horses
and chariots. There are stories about miniature cities and rivers of mercury inside the vast tomb still
waiting to be discovered. Indeed, the emperor made sure that he would be as powerful in the afterlife
as he was in life!
Terracotta warriors are amazing because their creation required a lot of people’s hard work! Such an
impressive army of clay soldiers took 700,000 workers more than 30 years to make. Even so, the work
was never finished: an empty pit was found in the emperor’s tomb, where more clay soldiers were to be
placed.
Terracotta warriors are amazing because we continue to learn new things from them today! These clay
soldiers were made more than 2000 years ago. Even though it has been more than 40 years since they
were discovered, scientists today are still thinking of new ways to study them. For example, scholars are
still trying to figure out how workers were able to make each terracotta warrior look unique. Recently,
scientists have also found ways of preserving the paint on the clay soldiers so that we can learn more
about how people lived and dressed more than 2000 years ago.
If you have a chance to visit the terracotta warriors, I am sure you will find them amazing too!
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