World of Pots: Xian and The Terracotta Army

If you have been to Xian 西安 , you will notice that Xian is a very old city rich in history and heritage, as it was the capital of many ancient dynasties such as the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui and Tang. The city was previously known as Chang Ann. It is the eastern end of the silk Road trail and home to the Terracotta Army. I have visited Xian on two occasions, one on the Shanxi Tour and the other on the Silk Road Tour on an express train charted by tour agent.

On my first visit to Xian, we went to the tomb of the Yellow Emperor or Huangdi who was portrayed as the originator of the Chinese civilisation and also the ancestor of all Huaxia Chinese. Hence, it is the wish of Chinese people all over the world to come here to pay tribute to this legendary ancestor.

Tomb of Yellow Emperor

Inscription praising Huangdi

Water Fall at Yellor River

Terracotta Army

The highlight of the tour to Xian was a visit to the tomb of Qin Shi Hwang or the First Emperor of China. This is also the home of the terracotta army uncovered accidentally in 1974in Shaanxi province by a group of farmers when they were digging a water well at Mount Li (Lishan), near the tomb site of Qin Shi Huang. Fragments of terracotta warriors were dug up by the farmers in the area which prompted Chinese archaeologists to investigate and unearth the largest pottery figurine group ever found in China.The Terracotta Army or the "Terracotta Warriors and Horses" of the Qin Dynasty. The terracotta army is a collection of clay sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. The terracotta army was buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC to protect the emperor in his afterlife. The clay warriors are life-sized and vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. Besides warriors, chariots and horses were also uncovered.

Our tour guide told us that only 10% of the this vast burial site was open to tourists and we were only allowed to view the exhibits at 3 pits. The rest of the site remains untouched as the authority wanted to preserve the artifacts in its original condition. The unearthed warriors, when first discovered, were very colourful.They were painted with bright pigments in pink, red, green, blue, black, brown, white and lilac. Once they were unearthed, the colour coating began to fade and even flake off. Hence it was better to leave the remaining terracotta army remained where they were. At first three farmers were the first to dig out the fragments, two fled the site for fear of evil spirits (they thought they saw ghosts), only one farmer by the name of Yang realised that these were treasures of the past era. He then brought the terracotta pieces to the authority and was handsomely rewarded with money, land and a new house. His discovery was very significant, it could be said at that time the great discovery of the century, for the tomb of the First Emperor who lived more than 2000 years ago was finally discovered. It would become a national treasure and a world heritage. The whole village was relocated somewhere else with each villager given land and also a new house. Hence it was said that all the villagers struck gold with the finds of this farmer Yang who now sits daily at the souvenir shop inside the museum busily signing his name on the books (on terracotta army, what else) purchased by tourists (earning extra income). He has become an instant celebrity and a multi-millionaire.

In addition to the clay warriors, an entire man-made underground palace for the Emperor has also been found around the first Emperor's tomb mound which is located at the foot of Mount Li as an earthen pyramid. It consists of several offices, halls, stables and other structures placed around the tomb mound which is surrounded by two solidly built rammed earth walls with gateway entrances.

Terracotta horses

Some exhibits in the pit

Besides the terracotta army museum, we also visited some historical sites of the Tang Dynasty as this place was previously known as Chang Ann, the ancient capital of the Tang Era. A notable site is the bath tub reportedly used by the famous concubine of the Tang Emperor (Tang Xuanzong), Lady Yang (Yang Guifei), to bathe. The Emperor was madly in love with her as she was one of the four most pretty women of ancient China. The Emperor liked her so much that her father was made the prime minister and all her relatives were given high posts in the Imperial court. It was said in those days that "it was better to give birth to daughters than sons to enjoy such imperial honour". The Emperor began to indulge himself in songs, wine and beauty and neglect state affairs. The general of a foreign tribe then seized this opportunity and staged a rebellion trying to overthrow the Tang Dynasty. His army succeeded and conquered the Palace. The Emperor fled the Palace with his favourite concubine, the Lady Yang. When the defeated Tang army regrouped, the soldiers refused to quash the rebellion unless the Emperor killed the concubine. Reluctantly the Emperor handed a rope to the concubine asking her to commit suicide. The Tang army, led by the Emperor's son, eventually won the battle and the Dynasty was restored. The young prince took over the throne leaving his father (the Emperor) lived out his remaining days in the palace thinking and dreaming of his beloved concubine. The love story between the Tang Emperor and lady Yang became many subjects in plays, essays and poems written by scholars of all ages.

We were able to watch a stage drama of the love affair between the Tang Emperor and Lady Yang during the tour. This drama was unique in a way as the audience not only could see the acting (a lot of dancing and singing), they could also smell the fragrance of flowers when Lady Yang was bathing and the burning smell of fire and smoke when the soldiers were fighting and the palace in ruin. This is an experience not to miss if you were to visit Xian, other than the terracotta museum, the Tang Palace and the great waterfall at the mouth of the Yellow River.

For mre information on Yang Guifei, click this link and her love story with the Emperor Tang Xuanzong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Kuei-fei