The Terracotta warriors are amazing. Qin Shi Huangdi, China's first emperor, commanded their creation to guard his tomb and keep him company in death. Our tour guide told us that originally Qin Shi asked his men to bury the children of Xian alive so he would have company in the after life. Of course, not wanting to murder children they convinced Qin Shi that the other dead rulers would try to usurp his powers and he needed warriors to protect him. To make sure the location of his tomb was kept secret all the workers were buried alive along with 48 royal virgin concubines.
The soldiers were discovered by peasant farmers in 1974. Pit one alone contains over 6000 warriors. It is said that no two are the same. I've checked my pictures and didn't spot a duplicate!
1 comment:
I love all of you pictures. You capture so many interesting people. You did a great job describing your trip. I would love to use some of your facts that I didn't get on our trip. Is it okay?
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