The discovery of Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses of Emperor Qin has been a great event of archeological excavation in the 20th century. The museum of Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses is a famous place of interest for tourists from both home and abroad. This passage gives a general view of the making, discovery and restoration and protection of this man-made wonder.

Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations in the 20th century. It is a must-see for tourists visiting the vast and once mysterious oriental land of China.

The making of Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses

Upon the ascending of the throne at the age of 13, 246 B.C., Emperor Qin – the first feudal emperor in China’s history –started to work on this magnificent mausoleum, and it took another 11 years to get it finished. In China, the pottery figures could be dated back long time ago. But the pottery figures before the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC) were roughly made in small size and the temperature for baking in the kiln was low, too. However, the Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses were big in life-size and exquisitely made with high technology. The hardness at their bodies indicates that they might be fired at a temperature between 950 and 1,050 degree centigrade.

From the material perspective, all the soldiers and horses were made using local clay. The weight of the Terra-cotta Warriors varies from 110 kilos to 300 kilos. Their average height is 1.8 meters. How were these large and heavy statues made 2,200 years ago? This is a question that lingering the whole investigation process.

It is generally acknowledged that the construction of the human figures requires a number of steps. The clay was sifted and washed to ensure an even texture and color to be combined with ground quartz. After kneading, the wet clay would achieve the right degree of firmness. The torso was either sculpted from strips of clay or cast prior to the attachment of the arms. All the joints would have been sealed and strengthened with clay coils. The final step was the creation of the head. The heads of the human figures were made in two-piece molds that were joined together later. Ears, noses, and hair were hand-made independently and then attached on. In order to create an individualized appearance for each of the figures, such facial features as the mouth, moustache and bread and hairstyles were sculpted by probably referring to the same living features or expression. Some experts think that real soldiers served as models when Terra-cotta Warriors were made. Besides different faces, features like the armor plates with fixings, belt hooks, shoes ties and costume details were precisely sculpted. After each statue was finished, the craftsmen were ordered to inscribe or print their names on the backs of robes, legs or armor. The names of over 80 craftsmen have been so far discovered. These seemed to be a “2000-year-long quality control system”.

Similar steps of construction were probably employed in the making of the horses. The legs of the horses are all solid pottery to ensure that they would be strong. The head, body and tail were all molded or modeled separately and then fixed to the legs. The various details of the eyes, nostrils and mouth of the horses were sculpted the same as the human figures. Both the chariots and cavalry horses have a square cut mane, a neatly manicured two-pronged forelock and alert ears. The cavalry horse has a long, plaited and pendant tail, while the chariot horses have a shorted tied one so as to keep it free of the harness and chariot shaft. The most visible difference between the types is the molded detail of the saddle and girth on the cavalry horse.

After the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses were made, they were put into the kilns to be fired. The heads of the human figures were fired separately from the body, so the necks were left with holes. Both horse types have round holes in each side of the body. These holes could permit the gases and vapors that would have built up in the kiln to escape, which prevents the figures from deforming or exploding.

Discovery

In March, 1974, when a group of local farmers were drilling a well in search of water, a large quantity of pottery fragments were discovered, 1.5 kilometers east of today’s Emperor Qin’s Mausoleum. This incidental finding immediately caught the attention of archeologists and subsequently led to the revelation of one pit of the First Emperor’s buried army 2,200 years ago. Since then continual archaeological work on excavation discovered another two pits successively. It has been revealed that three underground pits totally cover an area of 22,000 square meters, holding an estimated 8,000 life-size pottery warriors and horses

Restoration and Protection

After this great archeological discovery, and in order to further research and protect this man-made wonder, the State Council of China authorized the building of a museum on the very site where the terra-cotta warriors and horses were discovered in 1975.

Excavating these man-made wonders has been a massive undertaking, but still more than a thousand warriors have been reassembled. Today, there are three pits built in similar basic construction, five to seven meters beneath the present ground level with the terra-cotta figures placed in corridors which are divided by earth-rammed partition walls, and paved with pottery bricks on which the figures were placed. The earth walls sustaining wood roof was composed of huge and strong rafters and the roof was covered by layers of fiber mats, earth fillings and tilled earth. All these were to totally conceal the army.

The Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, built over Pit 1, the place of original discovery of this man-made wonder, covering an area of 16,300 square meters, was opened to the public on China’s National Day of 1979. The exhibition hall of Pit 3 was built in 1987 and opened to the public in 1989. Later in October, 1994, Pit 2 was also opened to the public. Three main buildings of the museum, respectively named Pit 1, Pit 2 and Pit 3, were constructed on their original sites. Pit 1, covering an area of 14,000 square meters, contains chariots and ranks of six thousand soldiers. Pit 2 holds fourteen hundred figures of cavalrymen, horses and infantrymen, along with ninety wooden chariots. Pit 3, 1,200 square meters, contains about seventy figures. The multiple exhibition halls lies to the east of Pit 2, covering a series of exhibits, such as two sets of bronze chariots and horses, the new findings from the Emperor Qin's Mausoleum, the history of the museum and all kinds of temporary exhibits. These displays systematically depict the history of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.) and can help the viewers to have a better understanding of the terra-cotta warriors and horses. The halls on the northwest of Pit 3, covering 4,282 square meters, are the multiple service halls where the visitors can have meal, do shopping and take a rest.

The Emperor Qin's Mausoleum has been put on the list of world-class cultural heritage sites of the UNESCO. The museum is not only a treasure house but a hot place of tourist attraction on the map of China. (Source: Chinaculture, xi’antourism, bmy)