The First Emperor’s burial tomb mound
Dear George,
The terracotta soldiers on display at our art museum through Aug. 12 are one of the most amazing exhibits I’ve ever seen. Over 2200 years old, their construction was ordered by the First Emperor of China, King Ying Zheng of Qin. In his lifetime the Emperor had enormous impact on China’s development, initiating construction of the Great Wall, a nationwide network of canals and roads, the country’s first centralized government, and the standardization of currency, measurement, and writing. Zheng was born in 259 BCE in Handan in the Zhao state of northwest China. He ascended to the throne at age 13 and promptly ordered the construction of his mausoleum at the base of Mount Li. The mausoleum took 38 years to complete and covered 38 square miles (over three times the size of Menominee and Marinette combined). Archeologists estimate that over 700,000 workers were used in its construction. The mausoleum includes a palace, armory, entertainment area, stables, and three pits containing nearly 8,000 life-size terra-cotta warriors. The terracotta figures include infantrymen, archers, officers, charioteers, and horses. They average 6 feet 3 inches in height. Each individual figure is unique, and some hypothesize that the sculptures are replicas of actual soldiers from the Emperor’s army. Though faded to a gray color today, they were originally painted in bright colors — scarlet, green, purple, yellow, and black. Their purpose was to accompany and guard the First Emperor and his court in the afterlife. The terracotta warriors were discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well, and much of the site remains unexcavated. The discovery was praised as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The sculptures are exquisite, and, even in our wildest fantasies, it would be hard to envision a creation of this scope. It’s also astonishing that they have survived for more than two millennia. Here are a few of the robust warriors who made their way to Cincinnati.
Love,
Dave
(Sources: cincinnatiartmuseum.org, nationalgeographic.com, todayifoundout.com, travelchinaguide.com, wikipedia.org)
No comments:
Post a Comment