Xi’an
The first stop was inauspicious in terms of weather-gray and rainy. But still completely worth it. Xi’an is one of the oldest cities in the world.
Like hundreds of others, we went mainly to see the Terracotta Army that protects the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, who had declared himself the First Emperor of China. Photos by A.
According to historian Sima Qian (145-90 BC), construction of this mausoleum began in 246 BC and involved 700,000 workers. Qin Shi Huang was 13 when construction began. He specifically stated that no two soldiers were to be made alike, which is most likely why he had construction started at that young age. Sima Qian, in his most famous work, Shiji, completed a century after the mausoleum completion, wrote that the First Emperor was buried with palaces, scenic towers, officials, valuable utensils and “wonderful objects,” with 100 rivers fashioned in mercury and above this heavenly bodies below which he wrote were “the features of the earth.” Some translations of this passage refer to “models” or “imitations,” but he does not use those words.[3]
Recent scientific work at the site has shown high levels of mercury in the soil on and around Mount Lishan, appearing to add credence to Sima Qian’s writings. The tomb of Shi Huang Di is under an earthen pyramid 76 meters tall and nearly 350 square meters. The tomb remains unopened, in the hope that it will remain intact. Archeologists are afraid that if they do excavate the tomb, they might damage some of the valuables buried with emperor Qin Shi Huang. Only a portion of the site is presently excavated, and photos and video recordings are prohibited in some areas of the viewing. link.
Liked the pics, especially the third one. The army man seems to be deep in thought!
He’s the only warrior found so far who is totally intact.
I like the young archer too-he strikes a yoga like pose.
WOW!
There was an exhibition of some of those terracotta statues in the V&A (or was it the British Museum?) coupla years back – had you been to it?
Ya, we didn’t go for that. So it was good to see them in their original location.