This formidable warrior is a member of the world-famous terracotta army from the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China (ruled 221–210 B.C.E.). Only a fourth of the estimated 8,000 life-size warriors have been unearthed from the sprawling mausoleum. The warriors were each positioned according to rank and equipped with real weapons. Their role was to protect the emperor, who still lies in an unexcavated tomb, in the afterlife.
This kneeling warrior’s topknot, mustache and body armor reflect an exceptional level of individuality that can be seen in each of the terracotta soldiers. Artisans mass-produced the clay bodies and then customized each warrior with hats, heads, facial hair, shoes, etc. The position of this warrior’s hands indicates he was an archer who once held a crossbow.
Remains of the clay army were first discovered in 1974 by a group of peasants outside of Xi’an in the Shaanxi province in northwest China. Thirty-five years of excavations have revealed 600 pits, most as-yet unexplored, over a 22-square-mile area.
This formidable warrior is a member of the world-famous terracotta army from the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China (ruled 221–210 B.C.E.). Only a fourth of the estimated 8,000 life-size warriors have been unearthed from the sprawling mausoleum. The warriors were each positioned according to rank and equipped with real weapons. Their role was to protect the emperor, who still lies in an unexcavated tomb, in the afterlife. This kneeling warrior’s topknot, mustache and body armor reflect an exceptional level of individuality that can be seen in each of the terracotta soldiers. Artisans mass-produced the […]
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