Terracotta Warriors

Sunday, Ryan and I headed over to the Asian Civilization Museum to check out the "Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor and his Legacy" exhibit. The full terracotta army is located in Xi'an is about 1000km SW of Beijing. These warriors were buried with the first emperor, Qin. They are a collection of sculptures depicting the armies of the Qin Dynasty. The figures, dating from 3rd BC, were only discovered in 1974, by local farmers. Less than 40 years ago!


From Asian Civilization Museum Website:
"The terracotta army buried near the tomb of the First Emperor of China is perhaps the most important archaeological discovery of our time. Unearthed in 1974 outside Xi’an, the thousands of pottery soldiers and horses are striking works of art that tell us a great deal about early China."

(my pictures aren't the greatest, no flash allowed and it was dim)

The detail is amazing.

Terracotta Warriors and Horse Production
This model shows the division of labor required to create the terracotta figures.

One of the workers being punished.

It would be amazing to see all of the warriors in Xi'an. If we stay in SE Asia long enough, we might just get the chance to go back to China and see them!

This is what the full army in Xi'an looks like...

Absolutely incredible!