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The Tomb of Qin Shihuang Di

My father told me a story once that, in 1974, he stood on a small dirt road in China, watching two farmers dig a well. Some time into the work, he saw them find in the earth what would lead to a wide scale excavation of the land and the discovery of what is often considered "the eighth wonder of the world." The story is accurate with the possible exception, of course, that my father was actually there to witness the initial discovery of the tomb of the First Heavenly Emperor Qin Shihuang.

Five kilometers east of the city of Lintong, a kilometer north of Li mountain and just south of the Wei River lies this final testament of an emperor's unparalleled power: a grave 25, 833 square meters in area. This grave consists most notably of a grave mound (tumulus) two ramparts, and four giant pits. The ramparts enclose the grave mound, one being the inner rampart and one being the outer. The inner rampart measures 1,355 x 580 meters and the outer rampart measures 2,165 x 949 meters. The foundations of the ramparts are, for the most part, the only remaining indication that they ever existed, and are 8 meters wide. Each side of the rampart has one doorway, with the exception of the inner, which has two on its north side. This extra doorway leads to the partitioned, northeast quarter of the inner rampart's area. The south wall of the partition also has a doorway, making for 10 doorways total.

Within the inner rampart, at it's south wall, lies the grave mound of Qin Shihuang. While the tumulus now measures 515 meters north to south and 485 meters east to west (a perimeter of 2,000 meters) and 76 meters high, historical accounts mark the height as more than 115 meters high and the perimeter to be greater than 2,500 meters. According to the historical record "Shiji, Qin Shihuang benji" by Sima Qian, the

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grave chamber was erected by some 700,000 forced laborers in addition to artisans and craftsmen who were working of their own free will. "They closed up the outer casket with melted copper, and filled the grave chamber with models of palaces, towers and the Hundred Offices in addition to valuable ves 12512y243m sels and precious stones and wonderful treasures. Crossbows with mechanical automatic releases offered protection from intruders. The country's various waterways, the Yangtze and the Yellow River as well as the ocean itself, were imitated in quicksilver [mercury] and a mechanical device produced the flowing waves. Above the stars and the firmament were depicted, below a geographically realistic relief of the earth. Lamps filled with whale oil burned permanently." (Qin Shihuang: The Terracotta Army of the First Chinese Emperor p33). It has yet to be opened up.

Buildings excavated northwest of the grave mound, outside of the outer rampart, probably served as 'dwelling halls;" buildings where the emperor's possessions of daily use were kept and offerings could be made. Also thought to be dwelling halls are the buildings that were discovered northwest of the tumulus, between the outer and inner ramparts.

Also in between the ramparts, but to the west, are 13 depositories of grave furnishings, consisting of small, clay, kneeling stablemen as well as an angular horse grave. Nearby, rare animals and birds are buried in 18 pits, with clay food and brass rings attached to them, thought to have symbolized the royal garden. Another 31 graves of a similar nature can be located slightly to the south of the inner west gate, guarded by clay wardens.

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At the southwest corner of the complex, 300 horses were buried in wooden coffins with clay grooms standing guard. More horse remains can be found 350 meters east of the outer rampart, where 93 graves of clay stablemen, horse skeletons and various tools represent the royal stables. Only a few meters from there, 17 graves of human remains are arranged in one row going North-South. Those buried were probably of high social status, be it high-ranking civil servants or members of the family. They were probably executed with the ascension of the second emperor after Qin Shihuang to the throne.

1600 meters from the grave mound, southwest of the outer rampart, are 2 grave sites where the laborers are buried, while only 20 meters west of the tumulus, two bronze chariots drawn by four bronze horses lie underground, ready if the spirit of the emperor wishes to ride around this complex.

All of this probably lends some scope to the size of the grave site and the thought that went into this veritable necropolis, but in November of 1974, the most impressive part of this great endeavor, certainly it's trademark, was excavated; 500 soldiers, 24 horses and bronze weapons. This was the start of what is now labeled Pit 1. There are two more pits containing artifacts similar and just as awe-inspiring and a fourth pit that seemed intended for the same cargo but was left empty, probably not finished in time for the death of the emperor. They were all found and excavated by 1976.

The pits themselves were constructed with solidity and permanence in mind. The walls consisted of pounded earth, as hard as concrete, held together by wooden frames. The roof carried layers of mortar and earth three meters thick. The floor was also made of pounded earth and then layered over with tiles. At the front of the pits are ramps. The

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terracotta clay soldiers, as they were finished, were probably transported down these ramps and into the pits, which were then, when full, covered. This leads us to believe that no one, including the emperor, saw what archaeologists would discover to be an entire royal army.

Within these pits are not figures that merely represent an army. Rather, the pits contain thousands of terracotta soldiers and horses, bronze and wooden chariots, and weapons, bits, bridles and reins of battle-worthy quality, all life size, made to serve the spirit of the departed emperor.

The army even stands in battle formation. Pit one, containing warriors and horses, would be the main portion of the army. Pit two, with cavalry, infantry units and war chariots would be the military guard. The smaller Pit 3, containing a chariot drawn by 4 horses and high-ranking officers and their subordinates, is the command post. The soldiers carried spears, halberds, dagger-axes, swords, crossbows and arrows; some of those blades are still razor sharp.

The work done on this terracotta army is an exhibition of great care and craftsmanship. The clothes, armor and faces were all carved and worked with great attention to the details of the people and objects that they were taken from. Facial expressions and types, in particular, varied largely. The craftsmanship of these faces is so well executed that one could actually identify, based on facial features, what regions of China one of these soldiers (if of flesh and not clay) would have been drafted from. For example, some warrior with a large mouth, thick lips, broad forehead and round chin, with an honest and simple look about him, could be said to be from the present day Shaanxi province.

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Thanks to this attention to detail, the terracotta army can be categorized many different ways, be it by rank in the army, facial type or body type.

To start, the chariots can be divided into four categories:

Command chariots: these are luxuriously equipped, lacquered in black and decorated with geometric patterns. From the baldachins hang drums and bells. These chariots are manned by a charioteer at the center, a general to the left and the charioteers adjutant to the right.

Auxiliary chariots: these chariots are similar to the "command" type but have no baldachin. Only a charioteer and his adjutant ride in these. Usually three people would ride in this sort of wagon but in "following" the general's chariot, it is manned only by two.

Quadrigae: This chariot is much like the "command" chariot but without any bells or drums. A charioteer, an officer and two warriors stand in this wagon, which is thought to have traveled in front of the cavalry.

Fourth-type chariot: This chariot is simpler, manned by a charioteer who is flanked by two warriors.

The Cavalry would be made up of four chargers per group with 12 groups per row, and nine rows per unit. They consisted of horses with cropped manes and knotted tales with saddles of leather. To the left of each horse stood their riders, reins in the right hand and a bow in the left.

The infantry can be divided into "officers" and "soldiers," and each respective group can be further categorized.

Officers

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-Generals, or commanding officers, wear double tunics and apron-like scale armor that comes to a point at the bottom, with showy cords on the chest, shoulders and back with the surfaces being much more elaborately and carefully carved than other figures. They wear two-part, starched caps and probably held swords

-Officers wear double tunics and scale armor similar to the generals' with colorful borders and a starched cap that is flat in the front. Officers representing national minorities wear their native costumes underneath long scale armor with a flat bottom. Charioteers were counted among the officers

-Low officers are dressed in a light tunic, some with armor and some without. They wear similar caps to those of the officers though it is somewhat smaller. Low-ranking officers are the most numerous.

Soldiers

-Warriors without armor sere as the vanguard and the flanks, found in pit number 1. They have long belted jackets, puttees and light shoes. They have knotted hair and each carries a quiver on their backs

-Armored warriors wear long jackets, puttees, shoes or short boots and simple scaled armor. They carry either a crossbow or a long weapon (such as a halberd). The armored warriors either wear soft hats over a hair knot, have a braid pinned to the back of the head or have a round hair knot to the right side of their head.

-Archers can be found either kneeling or standing. They both wear the same uniform, hairstyle and have the same equipment. Those kneeling lean on their right knee and appear to be drawing a bow. Those archers that stand are positioned in stride and probably held drawn bows.

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As said before, the figures can also be categorized by facial and body types. A brief catalogue of both follows. Keep in mind that this catalogue is incomplete, as the pits containing the terracotta soldiers have still not been completely excavated. Also note that the count given for each only applies to pit number one, which is the most heavily excavated.

-A "mu" shaped face is one that is elongated. This type is found 143 times.

-A "guo" shaped face has an angular and elongated shape. This type is found 127

times.

-A "yong" shaped face possesses a characteristic square forehead, cheeks and a broad chin. This type is found 155 times.

-A "jia" shaped face possesses a broad forehead and cheekbones. The chin is long and pointed; the face is broad at the top and narrow at the bottom. This type is found 120 times.

-A "tian" shaped face has a very square skull and is found 89 times.

-A "shen" shaped face has broad cheekones, a narrow forehead and a pointed chin. There are 60 examples of this type.

-A "feng" shaped face would have a broad forehead and a fleshy, weak chin. There are 45 examples of this type.

-A "you" shaped face has a narrow forehead, broad chin. There are 15 examples of this type.

The various body types are, so far, as follows:

-Figures with a coarse, powerful frame. Heroic and authoritative, these bodies often belonged to elite soldiers.

-Figures with a large body. These figures usually had long arms, legs and face.

-Figures with a columnar-like frame. Soldiers with this body type were usually of an above average size and represent young, healthy, sturdy and strong soldiers.

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-Figures with long, narrow bodies. Those of this type tend to be more slender and elegant with a handsome face.

-Figures with slender hips and slightly curved bellies. These soldiers appear fresher and livelier than others and are of average size.

-Figures with thin, small bodies. The soldiers are rarely depicted in this manner. They seem to lack health or strength, being slight and sickly in body and possess ugly faces.

-Figures with flat, broad bodies. These soldiers are large, flat and broad.

The army was, at a time, fully colored and decorated. Much of the paint has worn off of the men, horses and chariots, but current analysis lets us know the color schemes and patterns that the workers enjoyed using.

The color tones were always very strong, the painters using a lot of deep red, dark and bright greens, dark browns and azure. Horses were colored with "date red" (for the torsos) black, and white.

The colors often formed clear contrasts. For example, if the outer clothes were red, the collars, borders and trim would be a dark or bright green, or perhaps a bright purple. Also adding to a contrast of color is the fact that the upper body clothes tend to be bright while the pants and shoes are all darker colored. These contrasts accentuated the heroic and lively quality of the clay army.

The colors are opaque and flatly applied. The style of the clay warriors marked the start of a new era in the use of sculpture and paint for representing the human figure.

The loss of paint aside, the figures are all in remarkably good condition, considering the centuries spent underground, the fires that the tomb has gone through and the cave-ins on the figures. Much of this may be owed to the durable clay that was used.

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It was also an ideal medium in that it could yield lasting, naturalistic results (a plus when the army was constructed for an emperor obsessed with immortality) and it was very available (a integral factor when considering the scale of the task).

The availability and sculptural quality of the clay was very fortunate, considering an order from the king that might have read something like "Make me a magic army. It must never decay, but protect my residence for eternity. It must look like a real army in all respects. Only then will the magic work." (Qin Shihuang: The Terracotta Army of the First Chinese Emperor p297). And the approximate 700,000 forced workers (plus free craftsmen and artisans) were able to carry out this task, the craft of which is left for us to see today. However, this gargantuan task is not only a testament to the power and influence of the newly unified Chinese empire and its emperor, but "indicates that the luxury and waste of that time were unprecedented." (Eastern Zhou and Qin Civilizations p259). This could be why Qin Shihuang's reign, while one of the most powerful in all of history, lasted only a short while before there was a sort of reform in the empire.

The eagerness to excavate the land, though, has led to hurried restoration and a general neglect for the pieces, and so the states of the pits and figures, at a point, simply decayed further, durable construction or no. At the moment, walls are in danger of collapsing due to dryness and weathering, groundwater is rising threatening to make porous the clay figures, the bronze chariots are vulnerable to further loss of polychromy and to corrosion, and the horses and men are all very top heavy and vulnerable to falling, which could lead to a sort of domino effect. More careful work, though, has been proceeding for some time and archaeologists continue to find artifacts in Qin Shihuang's grave complex, albeit more slowly.

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A museum now stands 1.5 kilometers east of the grave mound, exhibiting the clay army that stands as a sort of "8^th Wonder of the World" and a testament to arguably the most powerful man in human history.

The 8^th Wonder of the World: The Terracotta Army of the Qin Shihuang Di

Rainer Lee