The Terracotta Army
Some 8,000 life-size soldiers, horses and chariots guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi. Every face is unique.
The figures were originally painted in strong colours, which flaked off within minutes of being excavated.
In March 1974, farmers digging a well near the city of Xi’an in China found fragments of clay figures. They turned out to be part of a vast army in fired clay belonging to the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China. He unified the country in 221 BC and died in 210 BC. Since then archaeologists have excavated parts of three large pits containing figures.
In the pits soldiers stand in rows, in formations resembling a real army. There are infantrymen, archers, officers, charioteers and horses in front of chariots. The figures are life-size or slightly larger. It has been estimated that there are some 8,000 soldiers, though not all have been excavated. Every face has its own features, and hairstyles, clothing and armour vary according to rank and function.
The figures were made in a kind of assembly-line system. Bodies, arms and heads were partly formed in moulds and assembled. The craftsmen then modelled details such as faces, hair and clothing by hand. Many figures bear the incised names of workshops or foremen. The figures were fired in large kilns and then painted in strong colours over a ground layer of lacquer.
The colours were red, green, blue, purple and white. When the figures were excavated and exposed to the air, the lacquer dried and the paint flaked off, often within a short time. That is why most of the figures are grey today. Researchers are working on new methods of preserving the colours in future excavations.
The soldiers carried real bronze weapons, such as swords, spears and crossbows. Many were taken by looters or destroyed, but thousands of weapons have been found. The pits had wooden roofs covered with earth. Parts of the complex burned, and a common explanation is that it was looted after the fall of the dynasty, though this is not entirely certain.
The figures were to protect the emperor in the afterlife. Some hundred years later the historian Sima Qian described the burial chamber itself, with rivers of mercury and traps against tomb robbers. The burial mound has not yet been opened. Measurements have shown elevated levels of mercury in the soil, which may suggest that the description contains a kernel of truth. Pits nearby have also yielded figures of officials, acrobats and musicians, as well as bronze birds. The tomb was thus meant to recreate an entire court, not just an army.
The Terracotta Army became a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is one of China’s most visited places. Parts of it have been shown in exhibitions around the world. It has provided a unique picture of the military organisation of the Qin dynasty and of the immense resources the first emperor could mobilise.