The Terra Cotta Warriors
Chinese workers first discovered the amazing Terra Cotta Warriors accidentally when they were digging a well in 1974. Then archaeologists began to dig at the site and found sculptures of 6,000 soldiers made of terra cotta clay. These soldiers stood around the tomb of Emperor qin
Before the time of Emperor Qin (221-210 B.C.E.),the Chinese buried slaves and soldiers with their rulers. The slaves and soldiers accompanied their masters into the next life to help and protect them. This burial tradition ended with Emperor Qin. He substituted a clay army for a huan one. The soldiers in his tomb were life-size statues of warriors who were dressed and ready for battle.
The warriors carried spears and other combat weapons. Each one wore an army uniform that showed the soldier's rank and that was painted red or green. Some also wore brown or black armor. There were different types of warriors, including archers, infantry,and charioteers.
The faces of the soldiers ere all different, and each face had a unique expression. The head and hands of the soldiers were removable. The artists designed and painted these pieces of the body separately in order to make each soldier look different. Even the statues of horses had different poses.
the height of the normal soldiers ranges from 5 feel 8 inches (1.7 meters) to 6 feet 2.5 inches (1.9 meters). those that rode the chairots were 6 feet 2.5 inches (1.9 meters). the commanders were the tallest of all the soldiers.
they stood 6 feet 5 inches (1.95 meters) the height represented yhe different degree of importance of the soldiers.
the clay figures from the tomp show the high quality of ancient chinese art and they give people today a first-hand glimpes of life at that time