How Many Terracotta Warriors Are There?

The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor in his afterlife.

The figures, dating from approximately the late third century BCE,[1] were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots, and horses. Over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, most of which are still buried in the pits nearby Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum, were estimated from the three pits containing the Terracotta Army as of 2007.[2] Other terracotta non-military figures were found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians.[3]

History

The Mound Where the Tomb Was Located

The construction of Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum is described by historian Sima Qian (145–90 BCE) in the Records of the Grand Historian, the first of China's 24 dynastic histories, which was written a century after the mausoleum's completion. Work on the mausoleum began in 246 BCE soon after Emperor Qin (then aged 13) ascended to the throne, and eventually involved 700,000 workers.[5][6] Geographer Li Dao yuan, writing six centuries after the emperor's death, noted in Commentary on the Water Classic that Mount Li was favored for its auspicious geology: "famed for its jade mines, its northern side abounds in gold, while its southern side is rich in beautiful jade; the First Emperor, covetous of its fine reputation, thus chose to be buried there".[7][8]

Sima Qian wrote that within the tomb's mound were palaces and scenic towers for the emperor's spirit to enjoy. The tomb was said to have been filled with rare artifacts and treasures. According to this account, 100 flowing rivers were simulated using mercury, and above them, the ceiling was decorated with heavenly bodies, below which were the features of the land.[9] Some translations of this passage mention "models" or "imitations"; however, those words were not used in the original text, which makes no mention of the terracotta figures.[5][9] While Sima Qian's account of the tomb's construction is considered credible in pre-modern assessments, the discovery of high concentrations of mercury in the soil of the tomb mound following the site's discovery lends credibility to his description of the tomb's structure. [10] Furthermore, it is well-documented that the emperor was obsessed with achieving immortality and took many precautions, some bizarre, such as sleeping in a different building every night for fear that someone would try to assassinate him in his sleep, in an attempt to achieve it. [11] It is entirely within reason, given this fact and his obsession with unifying China, that he would have wanted statues of his army to protect him in the afterlife so that he could continue to rule over his lands, even in death.

Later historical texts mention that the tomb complex was subjected to vandalism by Xiang Yu, a contender for the throne after Qin Shi Huang's death. [12][13][14] However, there is evidence to suggest that the tomb itself may not have been looted. [15]

Discovery

The terracotta figures were rediscovered on 29 March 1974 by a group of farmers — Yang Zhifa, his five brothers, and neighbor Wang Puzhi — who were digging a well approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) east of the emperor's tomb mound in Mount Li (Lishan).[16][17][18][19] The area is riddled with underground springs and waterways. For centuries, occasional reports mentioned pieces of terracotta figures and fragments of the Qin necropolis – roofing tiles, bricks, and chunks of masonry – being unearthed. [20] The discovery prompted Chinese archaeologists, including Zhao Kangmin, to investigate, revealing the largest pottery figurine group ever discovered. [21] A museum complex has since been constructed over the area, the largest pit being enclosed by a sheltered structure. [22]

The Necropolis

Panorama of the Site

The Terracotta Army is part of a much larger necropolis. Radar ground scans and core sampling of the area indicate that the necropolis complex is approximately 98 square kilometers (38 sq mi). [23]

The necropolis was constructed as a microcosm of the emperor's imperial palace or compound, [citation needed] which would assist in his rule from the afterlife. The necropolis is very large, covering a vast area around the tomb mound of the First Emperor, Qin Shihuang. Located at the foot of Mount Li, the burial mound that is the tomb is pyramid-shaped [24] and surrounded by two solidly built rammed-earth walls with gateway entrances. The necropolis consists of several offices, halls, stables, other structures as well as a royal park surrounding the tomb. [citation needed]

The Terracotta Army is situated about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the tomb mound. The warriors were meant to guard the emperor's tomb from the east, the direction from which invaders typically came, with the army facing that direction. In the two millennia after its construction, the army was buried by as much as 16 feet (5 meters) of reddish, sandy soil, but archaeologists found that the site had been disturbed early on. In excavations near the tomb mound, archaeologists found several graves that dated back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The grave robbers had apparently dug tunnels through parts of the Terracotta Army, not realizing the treasure that lay beneath their feet. These tunnels collapsed over time, crushing some of the warriors. [25]

The Tomb

The tomb appears to be a hermetically sealed space about 100 meters (330 feet) long and about 75 meters (250 feet) wide. [26][27] The tomb remains unopened, perhaps due to concerns about how to preserve the artifacts once inside it were exposed to the elements. [26] For example, after their excavation, the painted surface of some of the Terracotta Warriors began to flake and fade. [28] The lacquer covering the paint, once exposed to the dry Xian air, curls within fifteen seconds and flakes off within four minutes. [29]

Excavation Site

Museum Complex Containing the Excavation Site

Pits

Subsequent excavations by archaeologists have discovered four main pits approximately 7 meters (23 ft) deep. [30][31] These pits are located about 1.5 kilometers (0.93 mi) east of the tomb mound. The soldiers within the pits were arranged in battle formations, seemingly to protect the tomb from the east, the direction from which enemies of the Qin state would have come, and were found over 7 meters (23 feet) below ground level. [32]

Pit 1

Pit 1, which is 230 meters (750 ft) long by 62 meters (203 ft) wide,[33] contains over three thousand over-life-size figures, many of them armed with real weapons, in battle formations, and is the largest of the four pits. [34] Pit 1 has 11 corridors, most about 3 meters (10 feet) wide and paved with small bricks with a wooden ceiling held up by large beams and columns. [35] This design was also used for noble tombs and constructed to resemble the palace hallways of the period. The wooden ceilings were covered with reed mats and layers of clay for waterproofing, and then mounded with more soil, once finished, the ceiling would have stood about 6 feet 7 inches to 9 feet 10 inches (2 to 3 meters) above the corridors. [36]

Others

Pit 2 contains cavalry and infantry units as well as war chariots and is thought to represent a military guard. Pit 3 is a command post, with high-ranking officers and a war chariot. Pit 4 was empty, possibly because it was left unfinished by the builders.

Some of the figures in pits 1 and 2 were found to have been burned, with the remains of burned ceiling rafters also discovered. [37] These, along with the missing weapons, are thought to be evidence of the looting and subsequent burning of the site by Xiang Yu. The burning is thought to have caused the roof to collapse, crushing the army figures below. The figures on display now have been painstakingly pieced back together from many pieces.

Other pits at the burial site have also been excavated. [38] These pits are located within and outside the walls surrounding the tomb mound. They contain bronze carriages, terracotta figures of entertainers such as acrobats and strongmen, officials, stone armor suits, horses, rare animals, and the burials of laborers, as well as bronze cranes and ducks located in an underground park. [3]

Warrior Figures

Types and Appearance

The figures are life-sized, with the infantrymen generally ranging in height from 1.83–1.95 meters (6.0–6.4 ft) (although some are as tall as 2.06 meters (6 ft 9 in)) and the generals slightly taller. Their faces appear to be individualized, although their bodies are more generalized. Scholars have identified 10 basic face shapes, and theorize that the heads were created by molds, with clay added afterward to provide individualized features. [39] The figures are generally categorized with the following types: armored infantry; unarmored infantry; cavalry wearing a pillbox hat; charioteers who wore helmets and more armor protection; spear-carrying charioteers; kneeling archers or armored archers; standing, unarmored archers; and generals and other lower-ranking officers. [40] However, there is much variation even among these broad categories: for example, some figures may wear greaves while others do not; they may wear trousers or robes, and their robes may be padded or unpadded; their armor varies depending on rank, function, and formation position. [41] There are also terracotta horses interspersed among the warriors.

Originally, the figures were painted with bright pigments, further adding to their realism. Their eyebrows and beards were painted black, and their faces pink. [44] The painting materials included ground precious stones, intensely fired bone (white), iron oxide pigments (dark red), cinnabar (red), malachite (green), azurite (blue), charcoal (black), a copper barium silicate mixture (Chinese purple or Han purple), tree sap (possibly from Chinese lacquer trees) sourced nearby (brown) [42], and other colors, including pink, mauve, red, white, [43] and an unidentified color. [42] This colorful paint, along with the unique facial expressions, made for very lifelike figures.

Unfortunately, the climate in Xi'an is dry. As a result, when the warriors are unearthed, most of the paint flakes off within four minutes of being exposed to the air.

FAQs

1. How many Terracotta Warriors are there?

Over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses have been found in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army, but most of it is still buried.

2. When were the Terracotta Warriors built?

The Terracotta Warriors were built over 2,000 years ago, around 210-209 BCE, during the reign of the Qin Dynasty's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang.

3. Why were the Terracotta Warriors built?

The Terracotta Army was built to accompany the tomb of China's First Emperor as a form of funerary art. Each warrior is unique and was intended to serve as a soldier in the afterlife to protect the emperor from his enemies.