What Did the Terra Cotta Warriors of the Ancient Qin Dynasty (247 B.C) in China, Reveal About an Aspect or Aspects of Life at That Time?
What did the terra cotta warriors of the ancient Qin dynasty (247 B.C) in China, reveal about an aspect or aspects of life at that time?
In 247 B.C, the self-proclaimed “first emperor of china” put together an enormous army of soldiers to fight the wars that ravaged all over china. The emperor seemed undefeatable and fearless, but deep inside he had a huge fear, that is… death.
A few years before he sensed the ending of his life, Emperor Cheng decided to recreate his entire army out of clay to protect him in his passage to the underworld. Sacrifices had before been used for grand burials as such where the army would die along with the emperor, but in a time like such the emperor knew this would cause china to be vulnerable and did not want to sacrifice the grand empire he had created for most of his life. This thus led to the creation of the elaborate tomb of the terra cotta warriors and their king. The emperor may have seemed nice to decide not to sacrifice anyone but the truth is many died in order for his wishes to be fulfilled. When he ordered the warriors to be made they did not magically appear from the soil beneath his feet. In order for them to be made he commanded hundreds, if no thousands of skilled artisans to create them. Each soldier needed to be different and represent a certain soldier. The artisan’s lives depended on these soldiers so the work ended up being quite elaborate and detailed. Each soldier, acrobat and archer, along with the horses, was all different, each with their own story to tell. They all had different expressions, stances, outfits, etc. Because of these intricate patterns and details, we can tell that these sculptors were not any joking matter. Human lives depended on each face, and tiny detail to be absolutely perfect and this was very complicated to do since each warrior was made using coiling method (based on archeological theories). No molds were being used, or anything that could make the job easier. Another
In 247 B.C, the self-proclaimed “first emperor of china” put together an enormous army of soldiers to fight the wars that ravaged all over china. The emperor seemed undefeatable and fearless, but deep inside he had a huge fear, that is… death.
A few years before he sensed the ending of his life, Emperor Cheng decided to recreate his entire army out of clay to protect him in his passage to the underworld. Sacrifices had before been used for grand burials as such where the army would die along with the emperor, but in a time like such the emperor knew this would cause china to be vulnerable and did not want to sacrifice the grand empire he had created for most of his life. This thus led to the creation of the elaborate tomb of the terra cotta warriors and their king. The emperor may have seemed nice to decide not to sacrifice anyone but the truth is many died in order for his wishes to be fulfilled. When he ordered the warriors to be made they did not magically appear from the soil beneath his feet. In order for them to be made he commanded hundreds, if no thousands of skilled artisans to create them. Each soldier needed to be different and represent a certain soldier. The artisan’s lives depended on these soldiers so the work ended up being quite elaborate and detailed. Each soldier, acrobat and archer, along with the horses, was all different, each with their own story to tell. They all had different expressions, stances, outfits, etc. Because of these intricate patterns and details, we can tell that these sculptors were not any joking matter. Human lives depended on each face, and tiny detail to be absolutely perfect and this was very complicated to do since each warrior was made using coiling method (based on archeological theories). No molds were being used, or anything that could make the job easier. Another