Characteristics of the Terracotta Warriors

Characteristics of the Terracotta Warriors thumbnail
Characteristics of the Terracotta Warriors

The Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang consists of thousands of life-sized ceramic statues depicting soldiers and horses in the Imperial Guard. They are impressive not only for their numbers--more than 8,000--but because of the variety of poses and features they display. They were uncovered in a trio of pits in Xian, China, arranged in formation as the soldiers of the time would be.

  1. The Emperor

    • The statues were built at the behest of the first emperor of Qin, who became the first emperor of China in 221 BC.

    Purpose

    • The terracotta warriors were designed for the emperor's mausoleum in order to serve as his army in the afterlife.

    Discovery

    • The terracotta warriors were buried with the emperor upon his death in 210 BC. They were discovered in 1974 by Chinese farmers digging a well.

    Characteristics

    • The terracotta warriors' individual body parts (arms, legs, torso) were built separately. They could then be assembled into the final statue.

    Uniqueness

    • The warriors varied in height according to their station. Clay was added over eight basic facial templates to provide an individual identity for each one.

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  • Photo Credit Common domain photo.

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