The Terracotta Army is a part of a massive burial tomb built for Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. There are over 8,000 life size statues of soldiers buried along with the emperor.
The Terracotta Army |
Tomb for Emperor Qin
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
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 hair styles. 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 look even more realistic and then covered with a lacquer finish. They also held real weapons such as crossbows, daggers, maces, spears, and swords.
A soldier and his horse |
A rank of soldiers |
How did they build so many soldiers?
To build 8,000 life size statues must have taken a large army of workers. Archaeologists 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 molds for the legs, arms, torsos, and heads. These pieces were then assembled together and custom features such as ears, mustaches, 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 molds and then customized and attached to the bodies.
The Terracotta Army Full |
Interesting Facts about the Terracotta Army:
- The horses in the army are saddled. This shows that the saddle had been invented by the time of the Qin Dynasty.
- There are four main pits that house the army. They are around 21 feet deep.
- The bronze weapons of the soldiers were found in excellent condition because they were coated with a thin layer of chromium which protected them for thousands of years.
- Most of the statues were found broken into many pieces which archaeologists have been carefully putting back together for many years.
- Terracotta is a common type of hard-baked clay. Once the soldiers were shaped with wet clay, they would have been allowed to dry and then baked in a very hot oven called a kiln so the clay would harden.
You may also like:
- White Sands National Monument (Like No Place Else ...
- Big Bend National Park, Texas
- El Arco, Mexico
- The Temple of Heaven
- The Forbidden City
- Discovery: Underground Army in China (The Terracot...
- 19 Tips you must know before Hiking
- Cabo San Lucas Beach, Mexico
- Plan your trip to Kenya
- Places to Stay in Morocco
- Bora Bora Island - French Polynesia (Pacific Ocean...
- Funny weather forcasting
- Palau Island
- Hagia Sophia - Istanbul
- Topkapi Palace - Istanbul
- Basilica Cistern - Istanbul
- Suleymaniye Mosque - Istanbul
- 16 Tips to Survive Culture Shock
- Elephant rock in Iceland
- 9 Natural Wonders of the World
- The World's Highest Mountains
- Angkor Wat Temple
- Petra, Jordon
- The Great Wall of China
- Top 10 Cheapest Countries to Backpack
- World's 10 Most Beautiful Gardens
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- The World's Most Beautiful Sunsets
- The Kruger National Park.
- Jeju Island
- Amazon Rainforest
- Iguazu Falls
- Alamut Castle
- How to travel around the world on a budget
- Bangkok Transportation Map
- Paris Metro Map
- Istanbul Transportation Map
- Rome Transportation Map
- Top 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Top 10 Cheapest Countries to Backpack
- Notting Hill Carnival
- The Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
- The Andes - South America, the world's longest con...
- Cave of Swimmers - Egypt
- Diwali Festival (The Festival of lights)
- Taj Mahal
- The Cotton-Candy Trees of Pakistan
- Machu Picchu
- China Lantern Festival
- Harvest Festival in Siwa Oasis
- Firefalls in Yosemit
No comments:
Post a Comment