Terracotta Warriors, Are they Real or is it Memorex?
It is one of the most impressive archeological finds in history. An entire army of thousands of life size clay warrior’s horses and chariots were unearthed 35 metres under the ground. It has become known as The Terracotta Warriors and is China’s most famous attraction after the Great Wall. The warriors are amazingly life like and it feels as if they could simply wake up and start marching along as they did over two thousand years ago.
Built by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China, this underground army lay undiscovered for over 2200 years. You know this era better as the Qin Dynasty.
How on earth could something disappear when everyone knew it existed?
Well, the tyrant Emperor Qin killed everyone that helped to build the underground army. Millions of people were enslaved over the 38 years it took to build his self indulgent monument and 700,000 people were killed to keep anyone from revealing it’s location. It was then buried and hidden from view. Some people were buried alive. His 3,000 concubines were forced to self-sacrifice and others people were just plain murdered.
Nobody was left alive to tell anyone where the 8000 clay warriors and horses leading bronze chariots were buried. They were all left undiscovered for centuries while they kept guarded the Emperor in his afterlife.
Pit Number 1 of Terracotta Warriors, Largest and Most Impressive
Many people tried over the centuries to find the tomb and many failed. It was well hidden and even if you did find a way in, booby traps were set up to keep anyone from entering the mausoleum 35 meters underground. It was like something out of Indiana Jones.
Emperor Qin’s tomb is also toxic.
Even today, scientists cannot open Emperor Qin’s underground palace. They know it is there, but there is no way to open it because the Emperor is buried in mercury (they assume) an extremely toxic and dangerous gas. Until they find a way to safely open the chamber, China is stuck waiting and biding their time. Even the Terracotta Warriors excavation is put on hold. All the original warriors were colourfully painted when they were unearthed, but soon after being exposed to the air, the colours disappeared and faded. Nobody wants to unearth any more warriors until they figure out a way to preserve the paint. Apparently, they have found a way and are starting to unearth the remaining army.
If you visit in a few years time, you may see thousands more warriors.
Even the water around the Terracotta Warriors is toxic and people are encouraged not to drink it.
I found this point to be very ironic since it was a farmer in 1974 that discovered the terracotta warriors while digging a well.
This was back in the days of Chairman Mao and the farmer, Mr. Yang was given a mere 50 Yuan ($7.50) for making the most significant find of the 20th century. Luckily times have changed in China and today Mr. Yang receives a monthly allowance from the government and even spends a couple of days a week at the museum to sign books. He was there during our visit to the Terracotta Warriors, but pictures of Mr. Yang are strictly prohibited. Instead you can pay a fee to have him sign your newly purchased coffee table book.
The site has undergone major restoration.
We were led through 3 different pits, the most impressive being pit number one. This is the largest containing 6000 life size warrior’s standing in formation. No two warriors faces are alike and the detail and craftsmanship that went into each piece is astounding.
No Two Faces are alike
It is incredible to think that someone had the audacity to build such a massive monument. Each warrior has its artists name etched into its foot. They were threatened with death if their craftsmanship wasn’t up to par and were forced to leave their signature so that their captors would know who built what.
Unfortunately they weren’t aware that they were going to be killed anyway.
The other two pits aren’t as impressive, so make sure to take all your photos before moving on. We thought that each pit would become more impressive as we walked through but they become less impressive as you go. We would suggest doing the door the opposite way around. Start at the museum, enter pit 3 and 2 and then save the best for last. That way you will know all about the story and what you are looking at.
Pit Number three, the officers headquarters
Pit number two is largely unexcavated and pit three is believed to be the headquarters of the officers. I had to chuckle a little bit because as I searched the Internet to verify that I had my chamber numbers correct, people actually say that pit two is the most spectacular of the Warriors. We didn’t feel that way at all, in our opinion the most spectacular pit is number one.
It is difficult to imagine what is real and what isn’t. Every warrior that is excavated is restored to perfection. There isn’t a chip or piece of clay missing from their face. We couldn’t help but think that there was barely anything authentic about them.
We wondered if any of them were original or if they were all replicas.
During our tour we were told that the underground army had been raided at one point in time and peasants burnt it to the ground. It contradicts everything we were told by the same guide.
One minute she tells us that everyone who knew about the Terracotta Warriors and the Emperors tomb was killed, the next minute she tells us that peasants raided it and burned it to the ground.
Which is true we do not know. But if peasants burnt it to the ground, that means that people knew about it.
Terracotta Warrior Restored to Perfection
In China, history is interpreted differently depending on your guide.
We are told that the archeologists are the only people allowed to use the clay from a nearby mountain to rebuild the warriors. Okay, so are the warriors we are looking at have anything original to them at all or are they completely rebuilt by the archeologists using the genuine mountain clay that our guide so often spoke about?
We don’t know.
Unfortunately I don’t have any way of researching because we am in China and most of the Internet is blocked due to censorship. For now I will blissfully accept anything that my guide tells me and believe it hole heartedly.
Note: This trip was sponsored by Intrepid Travels. While we had a fantastic guide traveling with us, we had different local guides for each attraction and site that we visited. Our guide at the Terracotta Warriors was not from Intrepid Travel, and very often we would ask our Intrepid Travel guide Karen for clarification. She is filled with knowledge and could put to rest most of our confusion. Thank God for Karen.
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36 Responses to Terracotta Warriors, Are they Real or is it Memorex?
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Definitely at the top of my list on places to see. It’s so fascinating how they were able to create all of the warriors.
Hello D&D,
Indeed its incomprehensible to imagine what kind of king would slaughter his subjects. But we’ve had more than one of those, and until recently. So I guess power makes certain people paranoid and that leads to censorship, killings and what not. I heard (maybe its a myth) that the architect of Taj Mahal wasn’t spared either, the emperor feared he’d build a bigger and better structure next time.
Priyank
You are so right Priyank. Many leaders of ancient times were definitely tyrants. We had heard that about the Taj Mahal as well, We also heard that the eyes were gouged out of the workers eyes. But we did hear that it was all a myth. They couldn’t find any proof of any of it, but you do never know, they might dig up information one day.
This is such a spectacular place, I had a WONDERFUL time!!!
I am so glad that you enjoyed it. It is very impressive to look at indeed.
Buried in mercury? Thats one heck of a booby trap!
That’s what they think. The soil near the large mound where they believe the Emperor’s chamber is has extremely high amounts of mercury, so they think that it mus be buried. I couldn’t find any information on if scientist truly believe they found the tomb, but our guide (who as you can see is very trustworthy
It’s always interesting to try to figure out the truth about archaeological sites, especially such magnificent ones. According to the Wikipedia entry: “In 195 B.C., Liu Bang himself — the first emperor of the dynasty that followed the Qin — had ordered that ‘twenty households’ should move to the site of the mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin..to watch over the tomb. To this day, twenty villages sit in the immediate vicinity of the mausoleum, one of them the hamlet where the Yang family lived; the terracotta army may have been rediscovered by the direct descendants of the people left to guard it. For centuries, there were reports of pieces of terracotta figures and fragments of the Qin necropolis — roofing tiles, bricks, and chunks of masonry — having been occasionally dug up in the area.” (Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army). So it seems that the “discovery” in 1974 was essentially a re-discovery.
Also, I found in an article from May of 2010 in China Daily that in Pit One, where a company of 114 Terracotta Warriors was found with paint still in evidence: “‘traces of burns on the clay warriors and the walls prove that the pit had been set on fire,’ Liu {Zhanchang, director of the archaeology division of the Museum of Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses} said, adding more studies were needed for details.” So it seems those 114 Terracotta Warriors were burned. (Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-05/12/content_9837033.htm). Also, they were broken: “It was hard work to restore the clay warriors as they were broken into pieces.” (quote from Xu Weihong, head of the excavation team).
Thanks for all of that great information Anis. Now that I am out of China, I can get on Wikipedia to check it out.
Such an amazing sight (refurbished or not)! Either way, a testament to Chinese artistry!
It seems ignorance was bliss for us. We had no idea that they might have been heavily restored, so we just enjoyed the site! 
Very true. Something we found out is that the soldiers were all made from only a few different moulds, it was the artists that then sculpted them into the individual faces. That was a lot of work for an underground army. But like so many ancient civilizations, a lot of work went into all after life.
this did effectively immortalize the emperor once it was found, wierd to think that if it was not found and had simply turned into dust and dirt at some point that the effort would have essentially gone unnoticed and forgotten
Very true. Glad they found it, what an amazing history.
I’ve honestly never heard of this before, but holy crap, what an amazing post! Must, must, must see!
Thanks Candice, Now that you have heard of it, you will definitely have to go. There is a great display at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto with a mini terracotta army and some artifacts from the site. I went there with my mom a few years ago. If your ever in Toronto, you can check it out before you go to China yourself.
Haha, I heard the opposite story about an invading army (or peasants?) trying to burn the place down, but only succeeding in knocking over some of the statues and causing sufficient disarray to the place that it was ignored from then on and got covered by dirt, plant growth, etc. That was the version in the documentary they actually show at the pits, at another building just aside from the pits. But the story your guide told sounds more exciting. ^^ It was one of the most exciting places I’ve visited so far.
Haha, we should have gone to see the movie and then ask our guide what was up!
Oh, also, here’s my post from visiting the Terra Cotta warriors, a different perspective.
http://odysseusdrifts.blogspot.com/search/label/China_Xi%27an
Thanks for sharing, I am glad you survived your first overnight sleeper train.
Wow, definitely something I’d love to see. What an amazing place… can’t imagine the time that went into that !!
Brooke, it is definitely worth going to. Just to see the scale of what went into this place so long ago. It is truly a feat of artistry and engineering. The guide kept telling us to come back in a few years, they will have figured out how to preserve the paint and start excavating the soldiers again, and maybe they will open the tomb soon. Although our Intrepid Guide Karen said it will be much long than a few years for the tomb, but you never know.
The first picture of the huge room is amazing and overwhelming at the same time. How awesome.
History is so interesting… how it’s passed along in different places and by different people. But that’s one of the reason archaeology is so important – you can’t argue with old stuff buried in the dirt! Didn’t know about the mercury. What a fascinating place – would love to go there someday – much more now that you’ve taken me along w/you in this post!
Thanks Margo. We didn’t know about the Mercury either. It is extremely fascinating to see the work that went into the afterlife all those years ago. Life wasn’t all that different between Egypt and China on opposite ends of the world.
what a great guide — I didn’t get to see this when I went through last time. Need to get back there and hit it up.
I studied this site in art history and ever since, have really wanted to see it! If I make it to China I’m definitely going here. I also can’t believe with all of the modern technology out there, they still can’t open the emeror’s tomb.
Hi Laura, I know it is crazy isn’t it. They worry not only about the toxic gases, but how everything will be destroyed if they open it as well. As far as our guide was concerned, they will be opening it soon. And they will be starting to excavate more warriors as well because they have figured out how to preserve the paint. Cool.
I was so gutted that we didn’t get to see these whilst we were in China (one of the main reasons we went). We were crap at planning and found that you couldn’t just jump on a train whenever you wanted and would have had to wait 10 further days in Beijing just to get there.
I find the warriors really fascinating and going to wait a few years and see how much things have changed – maybe they will have been able to open the tomb!?!
Great write up
You will have to tell us how they are a few years from now. Our guide repeated many times “come back in a few years, things will be very different” I think that can be said for all of China. Things are changing quickly.
Fascinating!!
I have certainly heard about these warriors, but did not know that the builders had been killed, as well as all those people. I will eventually make it, for sure!
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Well worth visiting as it’s a great site, however I was told by a friend who was at a local university near Xian that these are all replicas based, of course, on the original statues.
That’s good to know Steve. We were sure that they had to be replicas. I just don’t think that these statues could have been in tact after listening the guide speak. It’s one thing to have the foundations of a building survive centuries, but the statues, I don’t think so. I agree with you though, Yes, it is a very impressive site.