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Famous warriors of emperor's tomb
By UNESCO website |
May 5, 2013, Sunday
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THE mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, where the famous Terracotta Warriors are found, is the largest preserved example in China. It is a unique architectural ensemble with a layout echoing the then capital, Xianyang, now part of the Xi'an metropolitan area in Shaanxi Province.
The mausoleum is also associated with an event of universal significance: the first unification of the Chinese territory in a centralized state created by an absolute monarch, in 221 BC.
The first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (Ying Zheng: 259-210 BC) arranged for his burial place long before his accession to the seat of supreme power. When he became king of Qin in 247 BC, Ying had his geomancers choose a favorable site at the foot of Mount Li.
About 700,000 workers toiled unceasingly until the death of the emperor in order to construct a subterranean city within a gigantic mound.
The mausoleum, 35 kilometers from Xi'an, is still marked by a 43-meter high mound. Pit 1 contained a veritable army of 1,087 warriors, the infantry and cavalry corps standing in battle formation with archers protecting the flanks. Today it is estimated that there are potential 6,000 statues of warriors and horses in that one pit alone.
Two other pits were discovered just north of Pit 1 and were found to contain similar items.
The mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage in 1987.
The mausoleum is also associated with an event of universal significance: the first unification of the Chinese territory in a centralized state created by an absolute monarch, in 221 BC.
The first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (Ying Zheng: 259-210 BC) arranged for his burial place long before his accession to the seat of supreme power. When he became king of Qin in 247 BC, Ying had his geomancers choose a favorable site at the foot of Mount Li.
About 700,000 workers toiled unceasingly until the death of the emperor in order to construct a subterranean city within a gigantic mound.
The mausoleum, 35 kilometers from Xi'an, is still marked by a 43-meter high mound. Pit 1 contained a veritable army of 1,087 warriors, the infantry and cavalry corps standing in battle formation with archers protecting the flanks. Today it is estimated that there are potential 6,000 statues of warriors and horses in that one pit alone.
Two other pits were discovered just north of Pit 1 and were found to contain similar items.
The mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage in 1987.
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