March 12 Xi’ An

When we arrive in Xi’ An it appears very foggy, it is not fog but a combination of a very fine dust and smog. Xi’ An sits in a valley surrounded by high mountains, the highest is 2600 meters. As a result whenever there are no winds the smog settles, this is made worse by the fine dust that is continually blown in from the surrounding countryside. As we drive into the city we can see that the plants are covered by a fine dust. As the day goes on it does seem to clear slightly and we can see the mountains better but it never seems to clear completely. Despite the air quality we don’t see people wearing masks as we do elsewhere.

There are 9 million people in the general area and 4 million in the city itself. The finding of the Terra Cotta warriors has made the city a destination for many travelers and is adding considerably to the local economy. This finding is just the beginning of what looks to be a much larger treasure. The first relics were found by a group of 4 farmers who were digging a well. It turns out the well was at the farthest edge of what is now called pit #1. Another couple of yards and it would have been missed entirely. 

It is now known that a mound over a mile away from the western edge of the warriors is the tomb of Quin. The mound was once enclosed by two walls. The warriors are situated about one mile to the east of the outer wall. They are to the east as this was the direction his enemies would come from. After the warriors were found and it was understood what the mound is some excavations were done within the walls and other buried funeral items have been found. There is still a lot that has not been revealed and work is being done to figure out how large  the whole area is and what might be buried there.

The excavations and reconstructions have been underway since the warriors were discovered in 1974. The only archeologists who are allowed to work at the site are Chinese. When we ask why they don’t bring in people from around the world and speed up the process, we are told they want to leave some as is so people can see how it was found, also they want to leave some for future generations to work on and lastly they find the colour disappears when the warriors are exposed to the air and want to leave some so that as new preservation processes are developed they can excavate more that will be better preserved. They also wanted to start on some of the other areas to see what is there.

The warriors were built in pieces and assembled on site. Originally they were richly colored, but the pieces were fired, then painted and not fired a second time. The bases are solid clay, while the torsos and heads are hollow. The faces are all different, some features look the same but they were all individually made. It is believed the artisans used the features of the soldiers guarding them as models. 

In pit 1, there are thousands of warriors standing in rows along with some horses and chariots. The chariots were made of wood and have disappeared although some impressions remain. Some of the warriors have two rings on their backs, these have been identified as archers and the rings originally held their quiver and arrows, arrow heads have been found around them.

When you look at their heads you see a “knot” of hair. They believed that your hair is a present from your parents and to cut it would show disrespect, so it was worn either in one long braid or wound up on top of the head. The archers sometimes had the knot on the right side and sometimes on the left – the difference indicated whether they were right or left handed, the knot being positioned so it didn’t interfere as they reached for an arrow.

Pit 2 is a collection of standing and kneeling archers. They are arrayed in an L shaped formation. This pit has not had nearly as many warriors unearthed or reconstructed. The third pit is the headquarters and is much smaller than the first two. The warriors along the edges are facing inward, the older looking ones (generals) had decorative weapons instead of the larger ones that would be used in battle.

Quin was the emperor that first unified China, prior to this there were 7 kingdoms, each ruled by a king. Quin was the king of one and defeated the others to create one large country. As soon as he declared himself to be emperor he established his capital in Xi’ An and started work on his tomb. When he died 27 years later in 2006 BC he was buried here. After he died there was a major revolution and it is believed that shortly after his death there was a battle in the area that resulted in a lot of damage, both from the soldiers deliberately destroying some of the warriors and from fires. 

The warriors are in rows with earth ramparts between them. These ramparts originally supported a wooden roof that was covered with cloth and earth to “bury” them about 5 meters deep. Quin  was a ruthless emperor (as most sound to be). He did not like Confucious and tried to wipe out his followers – he had all his books burned and buried alive 300 of his followers.

Closer to the tomb, inside the walls they have found other pits that are not open yet. One pit contains acrobats, musicians and other entertainers. Another contains bronze models of horses with carriages and chariots. They know there is more but haven’t opened any more pits yet.

The mound under which the emperor is buried is 50 meters high, they know he is buried 30 meters below ground level, that his body is in a bronze coffin on a river of mercury.

As we drive through the city we learn that it is the only completely walled city in China and you can walk around the walls. It was the capital for many years and has a lot more treasures. A few years ago another site of warriors was located, these are smaller and are also being excavated. There is at least one pit open to the public at that location as well. If you do decide to visit Xi’ An go for more than one day. From what we  ow understand you need at least three days to get a good view of everything there. 

As usual Gary is mobbed by the teeny boppers. A group spoke with our guide and she told me that they said I was very beautiful and they wanted their picture taken with us. I had been up since about 5 am, I was have a really, really bad hair day, we had just had lunch and eating with chopsticks I was wearing at least half the lunch on my shirt, we had been in an airplane for two hours and then a two hour drive in a hot car that was not air conditioned. I think when she passed the request on to us something got lost in translation!

At night we went to a Tang Dynasty dinner and show.