The Terracotta Army was discovered in eastern outer suburbs of Xi'an, by local farmers drilling a water well 1.5 miles east of Lishan (a mountain).The Terracotta Army was buried with the First Emperor of Qin in 210-209 BCE (he declared himself the first emperor of China in 221 BCE to the end of his life in 210 BCE). Their purpose was to help rule another empire with Shi Huang Di in the afterlife. Mount Lishan is also where the material to make the terracotta warriors originated. It was also said as a legend that the Terracotta Warriors were real soldiers, buried with Emperor Qin so that they can defend him from any dangers in the next life. I believe there are only 4 or so pits dug up so far.
I personally was so excited to see the Terra cotta warriors because I remember studying about them in middle school...I never thought I would ever make it to China to see it in person! If only my 6th grade social studies teacher could see me now.
Imagine putting these clay pieces together!
The warriors were made out of clay and were painted, however, when they were dug up the color disappeared in a matter of 5 days. They are waiting to dig up the rest of the 600 pits because they do not have the best technology yet to preserve the color.
Imagine putting these clay pieces together! We were also pretty lucky to be able to meet one of the farmers who discovered the warriors. I can't believe they were only discovered in 1976!
After visiting the warriors we headed over to the Wall of Xi'an and the Bell Tower.The Wall stretches about a mile and a half around the city and was used to protect Xi'an. You could rent bikes but Clark and I just decided we would take some pictures instead and save the workout for when we got home!
1 comment:
Greg and I really want to see the Terra Cotta Warriors! I saw 4 or 5 of them that were on loan in a different area of China and they are so amazing! So much better to see so many of them adend the site where they were found! Cool!
Post a Comment