Imagine the giant undertaking of creating a giant mausoleum modeled after a city centre, 8,099 life-sized statues of warriors and soldiers of every rank, with horses and weapons to accompany them. Picture completing this feat in the 3rd century BCE without advanced 21st century tools!
It’s no wonder UNESCO added this marvel to its list of World Heritage Sites in 1987.
The Mausoleum and Terracotta Army from the 3rd century BCE
The Mausoleum and the Terracotta Army created for the First Qin Emperor, Qin Shi Huang (sometimes Qin Shi Huangdi), is a testament to the vision of grandeur and manpower of ancient and imperial China. He ruled the State of Qin in China from 247 BCE to 221 BCE and became the first emperor of China between 221 BCE and 210 BCE. He is known and regarded for unifying China under legalism and undertaking large scaled projects.
Such projects included the beginning of the Great Wall of China, a city-sized mausoleum and army for his burial, and a national road system. While these endeavours were completed at the expense of many lives, Qin Shi Huang is nonetheless considered an important and crucial figure in Chinese history.
When the Emperor died in 210 or 209 BCE, he was enclosed in the Mausoleum along with treasures, artifacts and ceilings adored with pearls and gems. The buried tomb is approximately 76 meters tall and 350 square feet. It was modeled after a small palace or the capital of Xianyan. The Terracotta army was built and buried outside the Mausoleum of the Emperor to help him rule other empires in the afterlife.
Millions of workers and 38 years to complete
Construction began in 246 BCE and was said to have taken approximately 700,000 million workers 38 years to complete. The figures were buried near Xi’An in today’s Shaanxi province in China. The Terracotta warriors were built between 6 to 6’5″ feet tall and each has a distinct facial expression, hairstyle, uniform, and are sorted by height according to their rank. The Army’s Generals are the tallest. It’s possible that each of the warriors were modeled after warriors in the Emperor’s armies.
The Terracotta army and the Mausoleum were not rediscovered until 1974 by farmers who were digging for a well. From the time of the Emperor’s burial in 210 BCE, the tomb has been looted, weapons from the warriors were stolen, and there is evidence that there was a fire that caused some damage to the statues. Currently, the Mausoleum and the Terracotta warriors are housed in the Terracotta Tomb Museum built on the site. Some parts of the Mausoleum have been excavated while others have not.
