The Terracotta Warriors and Horses are a part of the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. They are magnificent in scale, realistic in shape, and grand in momentum, seeming to firmly defend the safety of the underground kingdom of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. “Not seeing the Terracotta Warriors and Horses is the same as not visiting China,” many foreign tourists exclaim. From these words, we can see its historical and artistic value.
Tongyuanzhai Township is located 1,500 meters east of the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. It is a huge underground military museum, known as the eighth wonder of the world. How was such a large burial pit discovered? In the spring of 1974, a few local farmers were digging wells in the ground and found fragments of terracotta warrior heads over two meters deep underground, causing a great stir. This accidental discovery attracted great attention from the archaeological department and opened up a cultural treasure trove that had been buried underground for more than two thousand years.
The terracotta warriors and horses were buried in pits that face east from west, arranged in a shape resembling the Chinese character “品”. The first pit discovered was rectangular, 230 meters long from east to west, 62 meters wide from north to south, and about 5 meters deep, with a total area of 14,260 square meters. There are sloping passages on all four sides, and there is a warrior and horse pit on each side, now called the second pit and the third pit. According to the research of archaeologists, the first pit was the right army, the second was the left army, and the fourth pit without warriors is the central army, while the third pit was the command center that led the left, middle, and right armies. There are about 7-8 thousand pottery figures and horses, which is like an underground army. The terracotta warriors and horses of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is the largest underground military museum in the world. The layout of the pits is reasonable and the structure is unique. At a depth of about 5 meters, a load-bearing wall is erected every 3 meters in the pit, and the warriors and horses are arranged in the aisles between the walls. These terracotta warriors and horses were all part of the burial accompanying the tomb of the First Qin Emperor. The ancients, especially the emperors, believed that they had spirits after death, so they brought the objects they used during their lifetime, especially gold, silver, and treasures, to the tomb. In addition, human sacrifices were made at the tomb, initially using people, but later switching to terracotta figures. This is the origin of the terracotta warriors and horses. On October 1, 1979, the Terracotta Army Museum was officially opened, causing a sensation worldwide. Former French President Jacques Chirac visited the Terracotta Army in the 1980s and gave it high praise, calling it the “Eighth Wonder of the World”, a statement that has since spread far and wide.
Terracotta Warriors: The Terracotta Warriors are light infantry terracotta figures unearthed from Pit 1. They wear long robes with a right collar and cross lapel, a leather belt around the waist, short pants, and square-toed shoes.
Thousands of troops, majestic
There are three pits of terracotta warriors and horses in Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum, arranged in a “品” shape. The first pit is the largest, covering an area of 14,000 square meters. The pit contains ten 2.5-meter-wide rammed-earth walls, forming a pattern of nine rooms facing north and south, surrounded by corridors. More than 1,000 terracotta figurines, eight chariots, 32 horses, and nearly 10,000 bronze artifacts have been unearthed from the pit. The terracotta figurines are about 1.7 meters tall, with the tallest being 1.9 meters. The terracotta horses are about 1.5 meters tall, and the chariots are the same size as actual vehicles. Most of the terracotta warriors hold bronze weapons, including bows, crossbows, arrowheads, spears, halberds, swords, curved knives, and battle-axes. The bronze weapons are still shiny and sharp like new, even after being buried underground for over 2,000 years, as they were treated with anti-rust agents and were actual weapons used in combat. According to the density of the terracotta warriors, it is estimated that over 6,000 terracotta warriors and horses were buried in the first pit. Looking over the railing, there are three rows of infantry terracotta warriors facing east at the east end, with 68 figurines in each row, forming the vanguard of the army; behind them, 38 columns of chariots and infantry form the main body of the army; on the north and south sides and the west end of the pit, there is one row each of transverse formation, facing south, north, and west, respectively, forming the wings and rear guard of the army. The formations are neat, and the equipment is complete, giving a powerful and imposing impression.
The second pit is located about 20 meters north of the first pit, with a total area of about 6,000 square meters, and it is the essence of the Qin terracotta army pits. The structure of the pit is the same as that of the first pit, but the formation is more complex, with more complete types of soldiers, and is the most spectacular army formation among the three pits. It is a special multi-soldier unit composed of cavalry, chariots, and infantry (including crossbowmen). There are more than 1,300 terracotta figurines and horses, more than 80 chariots, and tens of thousands of bronze weapons in the second pit, including generals, horse-riding warriors, and kneeling archers.
The second pit is divided into four units: the first unit, the protruding part on the east side, is composed of kneeling and standing crossbowmen holding bows and crossbows; the second unit, the southern half of the pit, is composed of chariots and forms a square formation of chariots and infantry; the third unit, the middle of the pit, is formed by combining chariots and infantry, composed of chariots, infantry, and cavalry terracotta figurines mixed in a rectangular formation; the fourth unit, the northern half of the pit, is composed of a large number of cavalry in a rectangular formation. The four formations are organically combined and mixed with chariots, cavalry, and crossbowmen, and can be used for both attack and defense.
The third pit was opened to the public in 1987 and is the smallest, equivalent to only 3.6% of the area of the first pit and 6.7% of the area of the second pit. However, it may be the highest command organization of the terracotta warriors and horses, the “highest command headquarters” that commanded the army formations of the first and second pits.
The “An Che” has two compartments, front and back. The front compartment is smaller and can only accommodate one driver. The upper cover is a dome-shaped canopy, shaped like a turtle shell. Both the front and rear compartments are covered by the canopy, providing effective protection against wind, rain, dust, and sun. The driver figure is wearing a long sword and is kneeling in the front compartment, holding the reins. No weapons were found in the rear compartment of the carriage, only a copper square pot and a copper folding page were placed in the carriage, and the bottom of the carriage was a large copper plate similar to an ancient carriage cushion called “wen yin”.
Bronze Carriage No. 2
The breath of life through the millennium
The overall style of the Terracotta Warriors is robust, muscular, and refined. Although the figures are all stylized, they are not all the same. Upon closer inspection, differences can be seen in facial features, hairstyles, postures, and expressions, indicating that the warriors came from different regions and ethnic groups, and had different personalities. The horses have erect ears, some of them neighing with open mouths, while others stand still with closed mouths. All of these Terracotta Warriors have a deeply moving artistic charm.
The Generals are strong and tall, with full chests and piercing eyes. They hold bronze spears, brandish sharp swords, or carry shields, with expressions that reflect their resolute and calm character. They seem to have experienced countless battles, fearlessly facing danger, which is a true portrayal of the senior military officials in the powerful army of the Qin Dynasty. The sculptors’ artistic treatment is so outstanding that we can quietly communicate with the ancients from over a thousand years ago.
The Soldiers are the mainstay of the army, with the largest number of figures unearthed in the Terracotta Army Pit. They can be divided into two types according to their attire: the warriors in battle robes and the warriors in armor. The hairstyle of the figures is located on the right side of the head, reflecting the customs of the Qin people. The intersecting right-lapel long gown belongs to the Hanfu, while the short boots and the leather belt tied around the waist belong to the Hu clothing, showing the integration of national culture in the Qin Dynasty that had penetrated into people’s lives.
In Pit No. 2, there is a kneeling archer known as the “Treasure of the Exhibition”. He kneels on his right knee, with his left leg squatting, holding a bow and arrow, and his eyes staring intently ahead. This seems to be the best representation of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s achievements in unifying the empire. When visiting the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, you may hear tour guides and museum interpreters say, “On the map of China’s administrative regions, the outline of Shaanxi Province looks like a kneeling archer.” Indeed, this is the case. The Shaanxi Province map is long and narrow, with the northern part being a hilly area of loess plateau like the head of the Terracotta Warriors, the middle part being the Guanzhong Plain like the waist of the Terracotta Warriors, and the southern part being the Qinba Mountainous Area like the legs of the Terracotta Warriors. This kind of association naturally adds some fun to visiting the Terracotta Warriors.
Of the more than one thousand terracotta figures unearthed in the Qin Terracotta Army Pit, except for the kneeling archer, all of them are damaged to varying degrees and require manual repair. The kneeling archer is the most complete, with clear clothing folds and hair strands still visible. Why is this? It is thanks to his low posture. When the roof collapsed and the earth shook, the tall standing figures were the first to be hit, and the damage to the kneeling archer was smaller. Secondly, the kneeling archer is in a crouching position, with his right knee, right foot, and left foot forming an isosceles triangle to support the upper body, with the center of gravity at the bottom, enhancing stability. Compared with the standing figures with two feet, the kneeling archer is not easy to tip over or break. Therefore, after experiencing the weathering of two thousand years, it can still be fully presented in front of us. Maintaining a low posture and learning to be restrained has a profound meaning for life.
Slowly walking along the handrail, listening to the tour guide’s explanation, looking at the majestic and solemn terracotta figures, and witnessing the spectacular military formations, it is as if Emperor Qin Shihuang is strategizing, commanding millions of soldiers to sweep away the six kingdoms and achieve the great unification.
The discovery and excavation of the Qin Terracotta Army Pit and the Bronze Chariots and Horses shocked the world. The Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum is like a powerful magnetic field, attracting people. The only drawback is that the current archaeological technology and excavation timing are not yet mature, and it is still buried underground.
Kneeling Terracotta Warriors
Kneeling archer figurines were unearthed from Pit No. 2, together with standing archer figurines, forming a formation of crossbowmen. The kneeling archer figurine is dressed in a battle robe, draped with armor, with a bun tied on the left side of the head, wearing square-toed boots with upturned tips, the left leg crouched, the right knee on the ground, the upper body slightly turning to the left, and both hands holding a bow posture on the right side of the body, showing a single soldier’s drill movement of holding a bow. The creation of the kneeling archer figurine is more delicate than that of the general pottery figurine. The expression, posture, bun, armor, shoes and other details are vividly portrayed. Even the clothing lines and hair are still clearly visible. What is most admirable is that the needlework on the sole of the shoe is elaborately carved by the craftsman, making it a masterpiece of Chinese ancient sculpture and a highlight among the terracotta warriors and horses.
Terracotta Warriors Pit 2 of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang