New Tales of the Terracotta Army
Clearwater Bay School, Chiou, Isabella - 10
he Terracotta Army is a part of a massive burial tomb built fo
the first emperor of China.
There are over 8,000 life size statues of soldiers buried along with the emperor.
Emperor Qin wanted to live forever. He spent much of his life and resources searching for immortality and the "elixir of
life". He also spent a huge amount of resources building for himself the largest single tomb built to a leader in the history of
the world. He felt this huge army would protect him and help him to keep his power in the afterlife. He died and was
buried in 210 BC, over 2000 years ago.
The soldiers of the Terracotta Army are life-size statues. They average around 5 feet 11 inches tall with some soldiers being
as tall as 6 foot 7 inches. Despite there being so many statues, no two soldiers are exactly alike. There are soldiers of all ages
with different ranks, facial features, and hairstyles. Some of the soldiers look calm, while others look angry and ready to
fight.
The soldiers were even designed with different clothing and armor. Men from the cavalry are dressed different than foot
soldiers. Some soldiers don't have armor. Perhaps they were supposed to be scouts or spies.
As impressive as the soldiers are today, they were likely much more impressive 2,000 years ago. The soldiers were painted
to hook even more realistic and then covered with a lacquer finish.
They also held real weapons such as crossbows,
daggers, maces, spears, and swords.
To build 8,000 life size statues must have taken a large army of workers. Archeologists estimate that over 700,000 craftsmen
worked on the project for several years. The bodies of the soldiers were made in an assembly line fashion. There were
moulds for the legs, arms, torsos, and heads. These pieces were then assembled together and custom features such as ears,
moustaches, hair, and weapons were added later.
There are between 8 and 10 different head shapes for the soldiers. The different head shapes represent people from different
areas of China as well as different personalities of the soldiers. The heads were made from moulds and then customized and
attached to the bodies.
The tomb is most famous for its large rows of soldiers, but there were plenty of other statues to accompany Emperor Qin in
the afterlife. There were 150 life-size cavalry horses and 130 chariots with 520 horses buried with the army. In other areas
of the tomb, figures of government officials and entertainers have been found.
Archeologists have had to reconstruct the soldiers from thousands of pieces.
The Terracotta Army was discovered by farmers digging a well in 1974, over 2,000 years after it was covered over during
the burial of Emperor Qin. The army was located about a mile from the tomb of the emperor.
Start with the smallest pit, Pit 3 , containing 72 warriors and horses, which is believed to be the army headquarters due to
the number of high-ranking officers unearthed here. It’s interesting to note that the northern room would have been used
to make sacrificial offerings before battle. In the next pit, Pit 2 , containing around 1300 warriors and horses, you get to
examine five of the soldiers up close: a kneeling archer, a standing archer, a cavalryman and his horse, a mid-ranking officer
and a general. The level of detail is extraordinary: the expressions, hairstyles, armour and even the tread on the footwear are
all unique.
The largest pit, Pit 1 , is the most imposing. Housed in a building the size of an aircraft hangar, it is believed to contain
6000 warriors (only 2000 are on display) and horses, all facing east and ready for battle. The vanguard of three rows of
archers (both crossbow and longbow) is followed by the main force of soldiers, who originally held spears, swords,
dagger-axes and other long-shaft weapons. The infantry were accompanied by 35 chariots, though these, made of wood,
have long since disintegrated.
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