Terracotta Warriors and Horses at the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the Eighth Wonder of the World 151

"The King of Qin swept away the six rivers and tigers, the tiger's view of the 700,000 ...... torturers, starting from the land Lishan Kuma", a trip to Xi'an, must not be missed is the most famous world heritage site in Shaanxi Province - The Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. "The first emperor of the Qin dynasty not only unified China for the first time but also left a huge treasure for future generations. The tomb of Qin Shi Huang is one of the world's largest, most peculiar and rich in connotations, and the terracotta warriors and horses of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang are a valuable treasure of human culture in the world comparable to the pyramids of Egypt and the sculptures of ancient Greece. It is one of the greatest discoveries in the world's archaeological history and is known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World".
First of all, let's talk about the origin of the title of "Eighth Wonder". In 1978, former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac said after visiting the site: "There are seven wonders in the world, and the discovery of the Terracotta Warriors can be said to be the eighth wonder. Without seeing the Terracotta Warriors, you cannot be considered to have been to China." Since then, the Terracotta Warriors of Qin Shihuang Mausoleum has been known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". Since the discovery of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang by villagers in March 1974, the archaeological excavation of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang has been uninterrupted, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses have excavated three terracotta pits, unearthed thousands of terracotta warriors and horses, two groups of painted bronze chariots and horses, while the tomb of Qin Shi Huang remains mysterious, for scientific protection reasons, has not been excavated.

I don't know how many people, like me, think of the Terracotta Warriors, and wonder if General Meng Tianfang, who was clayed as a figurine and placed in the imperial tomb for love, is in it.

The Terracotta Warriors came from the east square of the railway station on the real Tour 5, which opened the centralized system of China for more than 2,000 years, and the First Emperor of Qin stood at the entrance to welcome guests. Xi'an is a famous tourist city in China, but the tourist market is not formal, and the railway station is mixed with fish and dragons, so if you accidentally get on the fake Tour 5, your day will be depressing.

Finally came to the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, China's first batch of World Heritage, the national key cultural relics protection units, the national 5A-level scenic spot ...... peak season tickets 150 yuan, it is best not to go on holidays, too many people.

The Terracotta Warriors and Horses is almost the most famous attraction in China abroad, and there are so many foreigners who come here in admiration that they really don't know whether they are in Xi'an or in Europe and America.

In March 1974, the annual well-drilling project began in Xi Yang village at the foot of Mount Li. The project started smoothly, but two days later it encountered a hard, stone-like layer of soil, and on the fifth day, Yang Zhifa, swinging his stiff, dug up a terracotta figurine ...... The underground army that had been sleeping for a thousand years was then unveiled.

Although I have seen this scene countless times on TV, movies, computers, books and pictures, I was shocked without surprise at the first glimpse of the scene, from the bottom of my heart.

It wasn't a weekend, a holiday, or a summer vacation, but I still had to break through the crowd and take the best position to photograph this spectacular underground army.

The large underground army of the First Emperor of Qin, with an elite front, a powerful main force, flexible flanks, and an overwhelming imposing force, all facing the direction of the sea, can General Meng Tianfang be inside?

According to the Records of the Grand Historian, Qin Shi Huang began to build the mausoleum from the age of 13 when he was reigning, with Prime Minister Li Si presiding over the planning and design, and General Zhang Han supervising the construction, which took 38 years to build.

The thousands of troops are only part of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, more secrets we do not know yet.

The terracotta warriors were not made of real people as in the movie but were first made from clay moulds, then covered with a layer of fine clay for processing and adding colour, some were fired first and then joined, some were joined and then fired, and then painted after firing, as the colour was not fired, it was oxidized once it was unearthed.

The terracotta warriors in Pit 1 were not unearthed in such a neat way, they were basically in disarray when they were unearthed, and after the staff repaired them, they were arranged in rows, which gave us the spectacular army we see today.

If you take a closer look at the ground, you will find that more than 2,000 years ago, the tomb of Qin Shi Huang already used floor tiles.

The amazing underground army was not only spectacular, but the chariots, infantry, and cavalry were each lined up in various formations.

Most of today's spectacular scene comes from these silent restorers of cultural relics, some of whom worked until their hair was white, and at the site, we can still see what these terracotta warriors and horses were like when they were just unearthed.

And these are the ones that have already been restored, they are like wounded soldiers, discharged from the hospital and immediately join that spectacular army that defended the First Emperor of Qin.

The restored terracotta warriors, with their arms outstretched in front of them, can be imagined to be holding an imposing carriage, galloping across the land of the Three Qin Emperors 2,000 years ago.

The young restoration workers are still working tirelessly, and each terracotta figurine restored by their hands is a treasure left to future generations by the First Qin Emperor.

If the discovery of Pit No. 1 came by chance, the discovery of Bing No. 2 came from science. In April 1976, the archaeological team discovered the pit with terracotta warriors on April 23 during purposeful drilling work on the north side of the east end of Pit No. 1.

Pit No. 2 was built with a 17,000-square-meter display hall, which is the largest and most functional modern display hall on the site in China.

Pit No. 2 has a more complex and complete array of armies, the most spectacular military formation of the three pits, which is a special multi-army unit composed of cavalry, chariots and infantry (including crossbow soldiers).

Pit No. 2 has more than 1,300 terracotta figurines and horses, more than 80 chariots, and tens of thousands of bronze weapons, among which terracotta figurines of generals, saddle horse figurines, and kneeling shooting figurines are found for the first time.

This is a photo of the terracotta warriors when they were first unearthed. You can see that each terracotta warrior is coloured, but unfortunately, the bright colours were instantly oxidized and turned into white ash within less than an hour after they were unearthed.

The condition of the terracotta warriors was preserved in Pit 2 when they were first unearthed. It is these broken pieces of pottery that have been restored to their original form by the skilful hands of the artisans.

In the glass cabinet next to Pit 2, there are several complete typical terracotta warriors and horses, including kneeling and shooting terracotta warriors, standing shooting terracotta warriors, saddle horse cavalry warriors, intermediate military officials, and senior military officials, which were the main representatives of the multi-services troops that made up Pit 2.

Kneeling terracotta warriors are not only the representatives of Pit 2 but also the representatives of Qin terracotta warriors and horses, a kind of heavy infantry, holding crossbows with both hands, which is a vivid depiction of the tactical movements of Qin infantry. 160 of them were found.

The terracotta warriors, found in the northeast corner of Pit 2, are 172 in total, with vivid movements, as if the crossbow in their hands is about to be fired.

Cavalry figurines, also found in Pit 2, total 116 groups, the horse is the famous Hequ horse, the rider wears a round hat, stirrup short leather boots, wears short armour, girded with a leather belt, holding the reins of the horse with one hand and carrying a bow and crossbow with the other.

The terracotta figurines of senior military officials, seven of which have been unearthed, are the highest-ranking terracotta figurines in the Qin Terracotta Army pit.

The discovery of Pit 3, also from archaeological drilling, was made on May 11, 1976, 25 meters north of the west end of Pit 1, and was numbered as Pit 3 according to the order of discovery.

Pit No. 3 has the smallest area, only 520 square meters, and is concave in shape, consisting of the north and south chambers and the carriage room, which contains a team of chariots and four terracotta warriors. 68 terracotta warriors were excavated from Pit No. 3.

From the internal layout of the third pit, it should be the command of the first and second pits. The third pit is the only one among the three pits that have not been burned by the fire, so there are more remnants of painted terracotta figurines and the colours are more vivid when excavated.

The Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum has four main exhibition halls, in addition to the three terracotta pits, there is also a "Qin Shi Huang Imperial Tomb Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall", the treasures inside, including the precious bronze carriage horse to be introduced next, or take the ferry to the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum to see it.

The tomb of Qin Shi Huang is located about 1.5 kilometres west of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, there is a ferry between the two places, pass system, the photo of the hill is the legendary tomb of Qin Shi Huang because the tomb has not been excavated, so basically only a distant view of the hill.

The "Historical Records" records: "the first emperor succeeded to the throne, wearing the rule of Mount Li, and the world, the world sent to 700,000 people, wear three springs, under the copper and to the outer coffin, the palace and the hundred officials of the strange and precious weapons migrate Zang full of. Had made the continental craftsmen make machine crossbow vector, there is a penetration close to the person, always shot. With mercury for a hundred rivers, rivers and the sea, the machine phase infusion, up with astronomy, down with geography. To mermaid paste for the candle, the degree does not go out for a long time." Qin Shihuang emperor's tomb is not only full of organs, more likely to be countless treasures.

But mainly for reasons of heritage conservation technology is not yet off, heritage experts have suggested that our generation and even the next few generations do not consider excavating the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, although perhaps we can not see those rare treasures in this life, but this approach is very right, excavation in a sense is to destroy, or let the most famous emperor in Chinese history continue to sleep it.
"The first emperor of the ages, Qin Shi Huang, was crowned at the age of 13 in 247 B.C. In 238 B.C., when Qin Shi Huang was 22 years old, he was crowned king of the country at the capital of Yongcheng and began to "manage the imperial government" from 230 B.C. to 221 B.C. From 230 to 221 B.C., he destroyed the six states of Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi, and at the age of 39, he completed the unification of China and established a powerful centralized state, the Qin Dynasty, with Han Chinese as the main group, and set his capital in Xianyang. In 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang died in Shaqiu (modern Xingtai, Hebei Province) on his way to the east. Qin Shi Huang considered himself more meritorious than the previous three emperors, and agreed with his ministers to change his title to "Emperor". Qin Shi Huang became the first monarch in Chinese history to use the title "Emperor", so he called himself "Shi Huang", thinking he could pass on to a thousand generations, but he died in the second century.
In addition to leaving endless topics of discussion and film material for future generations, this epochal figure, who was so violent and headstrong, yet so powerful and history-making in Chinese history, also left the world a glorious cultural heritage in the form of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. The terracotta warriors and horses pit No.1, according to the density of the terracotta warriors and horses excavated so far, it is estimated that about 6000 pieces of terracotta warriors and horses can be excavated; the terracotta warriors and horses pit No.2 is a multi-army formation, it is estimated that more than 1300 pieces of terracotta warriors and horses and more than 80 wooden chariots can be excavated, it is a large military formation with a mixture of chariots, infantry, cavalry and crossbow soldiers; the pit No.3 is concave, 68 pieces of terracotta warriors, 4 horses and 1 chariot are excavated. The third pit is concave in shape, with 68 terracotta figurines, 4 horses, and 1 chariot, which is the command structure of the first and second terracotta pits. In addition to the terracotta warriors and horses, the tomb of Qin Shi Huang also unearthed two groups of larger painted bronze carriages, which are the earliest, largest, most complex and beautifully crafted bronze carriages found in China so far, and the terracotta warriors and horses, adding a new lustre to the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. Of course, there is still the mystery of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang emperor, what treasures are buried inside, how many organs, perhaps our generation, do not know.