The Terracota Soldiers: Wed July 2nd pt.1

Wednesday morning we went to the Terracotta warriors. This ancient army of clay has captured my imagination for years. When we backpacked through China 20 years ago we tried to get to Xian so we could see the warriors but couldn't get tickets. When Alex was little I would make up stories about him digging in his sandbox and digging right through to China where the Terracotta soldiers were still buried. He has dreamed of seeing them ever since as well.

Chin Shi Huang (Emperor Chin) from whose name we get the word, China, lived around 200 B.C. He was the ambitious, brilliant, and ruthless man who built the great wall. He believed in an afterlife, and believed that if he had an army buried they would protect his tomb and go with him into the next life. Lucky for his army he created a clay replica. 3000 of his concubines (the ones without children) were not so lucky, they were buried alive with him in his tomb.

There are 8,000 of these soldiers, each individually crafted with a completely unique face. Some were old, some young, some from all of the various ethnic minority people in Chinese, as well as the Han people. Their different ranks were shown by their hairstyle, clothing and shoes. They were painted with bright colors. 2200 years ago these clay soldiers were created, yet their strength and durability has not been able to be replicated while making modern terracotta soldiers, even with scientific analysis and modern day tools.

For over 2000 years these soldier lay buried and unknown. Then in 1974 a farmer digging a well discovered the tomb. Archaeologists are still working to piece together his army.

As we were witnessing this 2000 year old history, I wondered about my Siyuan. He was born not too far from this place. Were his ancestors some of the soldiers depicted here? Did they fight for the Empire? Maybe his ancestors were the clay artisans, crafting this army for 14 years. This army I've imagined and admired for years, now became personal and intimate. My son's ancestors could have very likely played a part in this magnificent creation. Perhaps some of his ancestors, were concubines buried with the emperor. What a magnificent heritage and people you come from Siyuan. Your nannies called you 'a great and brave warrior', maybe it runs in your blood!



p.s. Mom, if you double click on the pictures, you can see them big. The one of Siyuan "I don't want to be a soldier" is my favorite!