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To try to explain this thread and what my family did today (for Brenda's and my anniversary), here's a quote from the book Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor:
"After building the first Great Wall, what do you do for an encore? Re-invent death.
China's First Emperor, the boy king Qin Shi Huang, who united the country in 221 BC and began construction of the first Great wall, was not only obsessed with building but also a fanatic about death. After experimenting with potions to prolong his life, the megalomaniac king resigned himself to death on his own terms. He would build a standing army of 7,000 soldiers to enforce his rule over the afterlife.
Since his birth in 259 B.C., China's First Emperor was destined to become one of the most important political leaders to rule the country. Beginning at age 13, and for the next 38 years, he assigned over 700,000 workers to build an enormous mausoleum with life-size terra cotta warriors to protect him throughout eternity.
This terra cotta army of soldiers, servants, musicians, acrobats, and animals silently remained underground for two thousand years. Until, in 1974, Chinese farmers digging a well made the startling discovery of a terra cotta head.
They are often called the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World."
Of course, these images are from the actual excavation pit sites of the First Emperor's necropolis in western China. We went to the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana where they have the current exhibit which is touring the U.S. with the greatest number of life-size (6' tall) figures to have ever left China. There weren't really that many of them, but certainly at least 15-20 full figures, along with many half-size models which are also from 2200 years ago and were used by the army of workers to work from to create the huge army which was to guard the Emperor. Looking at many of the warriors, you can tell that their hands are open or seem to be in a grasping position. That's because they were armed as true warriors with top-of-the-line swords and bows (also on display at the exhibit), but most all of those were plundered to be used for real warfare down through the years.
I certainly learned a lot of Chinese history which I was woefully ignorant of. Being able to see the details up close and personal was enjoyable, although it certainly wasn't as spectacular as the first image I posted above. (Be sure to click on it to see it much larger.) One thing's for sure now. I can identify the rank of a 200 BC Chinese soldier now, at least if the movie's costume designer is using authentic costumes, but I'm not really sure how many Chinese military films set back then are readily available for viewing outside of China. It was certainly a treachorous time with so many competing factions and empires who wanted to overthrow the Emperor. One thing which reminded me of the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark is that the front row of soldiers, the ones facing the door, where bowsman and they were tricked up to open fire on anyone coming through to try to disturb the Emperor's enjoyment of the Afterlife.
Unfortunately, many of the warriors were destroyed when an earthquake caused the roofs of the pits to collapse upon them. Many of these are being painstakingly restored now by archaeologists and artists in China. I feel that it was a worthwhile experience, although I really didn't truly know what to expect before we entered the exhibit. It was very interesting, educational and entertaining, but upon seeing the spectacular photos spread throughout the exhibit, I was a bit disappointed that we didn't see more. Of course, for anyone in the world to have ever seen more, they'd have to live in or visit China, so this was something we could do in a day and not go broke over it. Besides, Brenda and Sarah enjoyed all the goodies they got at the Museum Store and we had a nice lunch at their classy restaurant. Plus I bought a huge "coffee table" book with exquisite photos far more spectacular than I can find here on the web. Has anybody else seen this exhibit or know anything about this strange but wonderful piece of history?
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page
Last edited by mark f; 11-22-08 at 07:17 PM.
