The Terracotta Army
I watched a show on Discovery HD a few weeks ago with Eli 5.6 (5.5 at the time) called Secrets of Ancient China. It's an amazing show, and the picture quality is spectacular.There was a segment on the show about the Terracotta Army, and it was truly incredible. If you've never heard this story, the first Emperor of Qin (around 210 B.C.) had life-size figures of his soldiers built out of terracotta.
Eight thousand of them.
Even more incredible, each figure had a unique face made from a mask of a soldier in Qin's army. And there were figures of horses as well.
This army was a legend in Chinese history for centuries. Then, in 1974, they were uncovered by farmers digging a well.
This why the figures were built: Qin Shi Huangi (the Emperor) wanted an army with him in the afterlife.
Imagine that. Talk about a badass--this guy wasn't satisfied with being an Emperor in one world. He was going to take an army with him and kick ass in the afterlife, too.
The show is coming on again February 9 at 2 p.m. EST.
The Wikipedia entry, which is very good and has some excellent pictures, is here. And you can look at the website for the official museum here.
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