Speaking of Qin's Terracotta Warriors and Horses, most people definitely have heard about it or even have paid a visit. Its grandeur and mystery really overwhelm you. However, people could have neglected the yet unexcavated mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shihuang due to all this. Actually, the Museum of Terracotta Warriors forms only part of the tomb. Greater things are yet to come.
Qin Shi Huangdi (259 B.C.-210 B.C.), the first emperor of China, ascended the throne at the age of 13, when construction of his tomb began. On completion of his many conquests, he ordered 720,000 conscript laborers to hurry up on building his royal tomb. It was finished just-in-time in 210 B.C. for his use. His son, the second Qin Emperor, saw to his entombment.
Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shihuang is located in the eastern suburbs of Lintong County, 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Xi'an, Mountain Lishan in the south and the Weihe River in the north. The lay of the land from Mountain Lishan to Mountain Huashan is shaped dragon-like according to traditional Chinese geomancy. The imperial tomb is at the eye of the dragon. The emperor had chosen well.
In size, the mausoleum is larger than the Great Pyramid in Egypt. Seen from afar, it is a hill overgrown with vegetation. It is believed that the tomb consists of an interior city and an exterior city. The exterior of the mausoleum is a low earth pyramid with a wide base. In 2,000 years, the original 100-meter-high (328 feet) hillock has been weathered down to about 47 meters (154 feet) high, 515 meters (1,690 feet) long from south to north and 485 meters (1,591 feet) wide east to west. In an area of 2,180,000 square meters (less than one square miles), many large-scale alhambresque buildings housing precious treasures are said to be buried inside the tomb.
According to historical records, the mausoleum was a notorious crime scene. Many laborers died of hardship during its construction, and all the workmen were entombed along with the emperor in order to keep their mouths shut.
Also all the barren royal concubines accompanied the emperor on his last journey.
Sima Qian, a great historian who wrote in early Han Dynasty, offered archeologists great insight on the mausoleum's construction. Researchers learned from him that the tomb is huge. The coffin of Emperor Qin Shihuang was cast in bronze. Underground Palace was gem-studded replica of imperial housing above ground. Moreover, booby traps with automatic-shooting arrows were installed to deter would-be tomb robbers. Heaven and earth were represented in the central chamber of the tomb. Ceiling shaped into sun, moon and stars by inlaying pearls and gems symbolizes the sky and the ground was an accumulation point of rivers, lakes and seas, like the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, which stands for the earth. It is said that the underground palace was brightly lit by whale oil lamps for eternity. Nowadays, the records in this book have been definitely proved right by archaeological findings and the underground palace of the tomb is presumably well preserved.
As a part of the mausoleum, the terracotta warriors have dazzled the world. But the materials unexcavated are also worth studying. Qin bricks and tiles, engraved with decorative patterns, are strew everywhere around the tomb. There are many satellite tombs built for accompanying Qin Shihuang. Ministers, princesses and princes, the famous and the not so famous were inhumed there. The burial pits for horses, rare birds and pottery figures were ever regarded as the sacrificial objects to the Emperor. Hence the remains from these tombs and pits are beneficial for archaeologists to make further research.
In 1987 the mausoleum was by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.
Hopefully one day, the entire mausoleum will be unearthed and displayed to the public. |
Asia Travel 
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