14 The Terra Cotta Army

You have probably heard of treasures placed in the graves of ancient Chinese rulers for use in the afterlife. But no grave site was more impressive than that of Qin Shihuangdi, who ruled in the second century BC, created the modern country of China. This man had an entire empire built with him!

Qin Shihuangdi unified seven independent states that had been warring for centuries. Then he built the Great Wall to keep invaders at bay. The systems of law, government, currency, and measurement that he established remained in place until well into the twentieth century.

When was excavated in 1974, archaeologists found typical loyal but royal treasures. There was a remakable collection of over 8,000 full-sized statues of soldiers, horses, and chariots. This army, made of terra cotta, was lined up in battle formation.

It is not only the size of this clay army that is astonishing. The quality and detail of sculptures is also impressive. Each soldier's body was made of coils of fairly rough clay and then coated with a finer grade of clay. The head and the hands were created separately. The result was that no two soldiers looked exactly alike. Among the many types of soldiers—all dressed in appropriate, brightly painted uniforms—were soldiers of chariot drivers, and archers.

Several thousand labors created Qin's terra cotta army. Their work remained in place, protecting Qin's remains if not his spirit, for over 2,000 years.

14 兵马俑

你可能听说过古代中国统治者会在墓中放置珍宝，供来世使用。但没有哪个墓地比秦始皇的更令人印象深刻，他在公元前2世纪统治中国，建立了统一的国家。这个男人让整个帝国都随他一同“下葬”！

秦始皇统一了七个战乱数百年的独立诸侯国，然后修建了长城抵御外敌。他建立的法律、行政、货币和度量衡制度一直沿用至20世纪。

1974年该墓地被发掘时，考古学家发现了典型的皇家珍宝。其中有一批令人惊叹的藏品：超过8000件真人大小的士兵、马匹和战车雕像。这支由陶土制成的军队排列成作战阵型。

令人惊叹的不仅是这支陶土军队的规模，雕塑的质量和细节也令人印象深刻。每个士兵的身体由较粗糙的陶土盘绕而成，然后涂上更细腻的陶土。头部和手部是单独制作的，因此没有两个士兵的长相完全相同。在多种士兵类型中（都穿着合适的、色彩鲜艳的制服），有战车驭手和弓箭手等兵种。

数千名工匠打造了秦始皇的兵马俑。他们的作品留存了下来，在两千多年里守护着秦始皇的遗骸（即便不是他的灵魂）。