RP165 The Terra-Cotta Army

 RP165 The Terra-Cotta Army

Ying Zheng was born in 259 BC, a time of great chaos and fighting in Chinese history. Ying was part of the Qin Dynasty, which united China for the first time. Ying became the first emperor of China and renamed himself First Emperor (Qin Shi Huang).

First Emperor had spent his entire life fighting, so perhaps it makes sense that he went into the afterlife prepared to fight. When he was 13 or 14 years old, the emperor ordered the construction of a massive terra-cotta army for his tomb, and he specifically stated that no two soldiers were to look alike.

Craftsmen began the great task. Arms, legs, and torsos were made in molds and assembled later (the soldiers are all life-sized, between five feet eight inches and six feet two inches tall). The faces are of eight different basic types, which were then modified to make each face distinct. Some people believe the faces were modeled after real Qin warriors. Their clothing and hairstyles reflect their different ranks. The soldiers are fierce-looking and lifelike.

The soldiers were placed in a massive city of the dead that First Emperor built for himself. Around 700,000 workers built the emperor's great resting place. The city included a palace, administrative buildings, and anything else the emperor might need, including his army. Archaeologists have found more than 1,000 warriors so far, but they estimate that there are 7,000 or 8,000 of them in total. There are also horses, chariots, and weapons. The army is arranged tactically, as though it is ready to spring into battle. A warrior from beginning to end, First Emperor would not be defeated, not even in death.