Shi Huangdi Tomb Of The First Emperor Summary

China’s Greatest Unexamined Art Piece: The Tomb of the First Emperor

Jay Gersonde
IAH 211B
11/26/13

The story of this art piece begins with emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China. He was the first man to unify all states of China in 221 BC. The greatest art piece ever built at the command of the first emperor was his tomb. At least this is what some like to believe. For the tomb has not yet been excavated. This is both in part to government restrictions and that of the archaeological community. The archaeological community who one would normally assume to be pro-excavation actually wants to hold off in hopes for better excavation and preservation techniques in the future. While the tomb remains unexcavated all that
This paragraph however is not explicitly about what is in his tomb but instead what farmers found in Xi’an on March 29th, 1974 whilst digging a well. They happened to uncover many terracotta pottery pieces. It wasn’t until a few months later that word had traveled far enough that excavators and archaeologists began working at the site. Not long after the excavation began, a head of a terracotta soldier had been found and then it was realized what lay underneath about 1.5 kilometers away from the tomb and 32 meters underground. An army of approximately 8,000 life size warriors along with horses and even war chariots, some of which made of gold, were found buried and in pieces underground. The soldiers were built to guard the first emperor in his after life; each soldier different from the next. Different ranks declared height and armor. Each had different facial expressions, hairstyles and stances although most are standing upright. Each soldier was carrying a weapon but due to early on tomb robbery or just time the weapons are no longer there. Since these soldiers were all discovered in pieces, they’ve been slowly reconstructed by archaeologists to resemble what was once built. However the reconstruction has been halted because in addition to all these soldiers being built, they were
In addition to the 38 years it took to build, legend says that it took up to 700,000 workers to build. When the tomb was finished all who worked on it in addition to all of the emperor’s concubines were buried inside or killed. The tomb and the soldiers were all buried underground to prevent anyone from finding it. If one were to find the tomb it is rigged with arrows and booby-traps to kill any would be tomb raiders. So if the emperor was able to construct these other great feats than the tomb inside must also be over the top. Indeed one would imagine but that’s exactly what is left for us to do, imagine. Archaeologists have not excavated the tomb yet but Sima Qian has given us an idea of what might lay inside.

“They poured in bronze to make the outer coffin. Palaces and scenic towers for a hundred officials were constructed, and the tomb was filled with rare artifacts and wonderful treasure. Mercury was used to simulate the hundred rivers, the Yangtze and Yellow River, and the great sea, and set to flow mechanically. Above were representations of the heavenly constellations, below, the features of the land. Candles were made from fat of "man-fish", which is calculated to burn and not extinguish for a long time.” – Sima Qian, Shiji, Chapter