Xian

Page Down Page Up Back to Thumbnails China Map List China Photos Page 1 of 8
065 Xian.jpg (39694 bytes)           Pit #1

Arrayed in battle order, 38 rows of warriors and horses.  

Of 6000 unearthed so far 1000 are standing in this pit.
Qin Shi Huang unified China, built the Great Wall and declared himself China's first sovereign emperor at age 13.  Work on his tomb began immediately.  Some 7000 laborers worked for 36 years on the project.   For 2200 years the warriors remained buried.   In 1974, peasant farmers digging a well unearthed this amazing archeological find. 066 Xian.jpg (39312 bytes)
072 Xian.jpg (39853 bytes) Each of the figures seems to be modeled on an individual face.  Many belong to China's minority groups as befits the army of the first emperor of a unified China.
Originally painted with simple mineral pigments mixed with a binding agent such as blood or egg white.  Fire flood and two thousand years have taken their toll and the figures are now seen in their familiar terracotta colour.   
Page Down Page Up Back to Thumbnails China Map List China Photos Page 1 of 8