Terracotta Warriors are sacrificial objects that made in chariots, horses and soldiers shape. It’s in Lintong District Xi’an city. It is part of the burial pit of First Qin Emperor mausoleum. In 1987, it was added into the World Cultural Heritage list, and there are more than 200 heads of state visited here. And it became a gold card of glorious civilization in ancient China. It is one of the greatest discoveries in world archaeological history, and owns the reputation of ‘the 8th wonder of the world’.
In March 1974, the warriors were founded when local villagers were digging wells. After excavations by archaeologists, Terracotta treasures were uncovered after buried 2,000 years in the underground. Terracotta chariots, infantry and cavalry fitted to a variety of battle formations. The overall style is vigorous, robust and succinct. If we observe closely, we can see the face, hair, body and charm were all different. Some pottery horses have erect ears, some have opened mouth and screaming, some are shut and standby. All of these Terracotta Warriors are rich of artistic charm.
The shapes of the Terracotta are basically based on real life, practices are delicate and crisp. Each figurines dress and demeanor is not the same. Terracotta sculptures are using a combination of painting and modeling. Although it’s been many years, the color on the figures face and cloth is visible when just excavated. The particular point is the pottery’s expression and face shape are quite different from one to another. Matrimony is generally stern, the ages are older, and some even have wrinkles on forehead. Warriors’ faces are quite personalized, not only showing their different personalities, and even showing the obvious regional difference – many facial features of the Terracotta were very close to modern Shaanxi people. The archaeological experts found, the container box on the chariot in NO.1 Pit; it used the catalpa wood as the material. The experts also had windfall, they found remains of silk products by the box.
As one of mankind’s most important archaeological remains, archaeological process of terracotta has been attracted to worldwide. On June 2009, First Qin Emperor Mausoleum Museum began the third large-scale archaeological excavation. After three years of painstaking excavation, they unearthed a large number of pottery, rare artifacts and relics.
The Terracotta project is massive which is rare in history. Not too long after First Qin Emperor (259 BC – 210 BC) took over the throne, he began to build his mausoleum in Li Mountain. After he conquered six other kingdoms, he inducted 700,000 people for this construction. It took nearly 40 years, until the Qing dynasty perished; cemetery wasn’t fully completed. The mausoleum not only became first in many aspects, it also started the common practice of build funerary pit in large scale. This mausoleum system has a profound impact for future generations and was emulated by later emperors’ tomb until the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is also part of the development of ancient Chinese funerary culture.
