Emperor’s afterlife army

Hugh & Colleen Gantzer travel to Xi’an, where creator of the Great Wall of China,
Emperor Qin Shihuang, had built another wonder — a terracotta army of 8,000 life-size
warriors and horses — presumably to serve as his guardians in the afterlife

WE went to Xi’an in quest of warriors who could never die, because they had never lived. Xi’an, pronounced She-aan, is a beautiful old, walled, town, which, initially, reminded us of a very, very, updated Panaji. Their road-dividers have trees on them and, under the avenues on both sides of the road, are the inevitable cycle tracks. The tinkling chimes of commuters’ cycle bells sound a proletarian angelus in many Chinese cities.

On our way in, we had noticed a pagoda and a temple at the end of the road on which our elegant stood. A board in front of the Dagen Temple and Da Yan Pagoda proclaimed its Indian connection: -

Our Indian scholars spell this Buddhist monk-historian’s name in another way and they admit that much of what we know of our land in that age is thanks to the meticulously kept chronicles of this man. We call him Hiuen Tsang. When we asked a monk what a mural in the temple fronting Hiuen Tsang’s pagoda depicted, he said that it showed the goddess of mercy. It did, however, seem to be strongly influenced by Indian imagery, particularly those of Ganga, and Jamuna.

The main attraction was a memorial to another great man: the Emperor Qin Shihuang. More than 22 centuries ago, he abolished the feudal system, codified the law and simplified the script. He was also responsible for the only man-made structure visible from the moon: the Great Wall. He built that stupendous barrier to stop the cold desert from encroaching on the rich farmlands of China and to exclude the ‘northern barbarians’.

For all his achievements, however, he was a very insecure man. And so he created a massive insurance against the uncertainties of death, carefully destroying all records of his fantastic folly. Indeed, it had been so well concealed for over 2,000 years that if farmers had not started digging a well in March 1974, it would not have been found. The rural folk unearthed some baked clay figurines, informed the government, and one of the greatest discoveries of modern archaeology was announced to the world.

We drove 25 km along a superb highway, through vineyards and fields of maize, towards the Qiling (Chilling) mountains. After a while the old fields gave way to brightly decorated stalls lining our road. When the archaeologists made their amazing discovery, the government took over the lands of the farmers and gave them the right to open souvenir stalls. But the farmers are happy with the arrangement. "We farmed because we had nothing else to do" they said. "But it was hard work, an uncertain living. Today, the tourists come all the time: easy work, better earnings. Every reason to be happy!"

The reason for their happiness lies underground. It was here that Emperor Qin Shihuang had 8,000 life-size warriors and horses created, presumably to serve as his guardians in the after life. It was an incredible achievement.

We ran the gauntlet of the farmers-turned-souvenir-sellers and stepped down into a landscaped and paved forecourt. Most of the warriors had been left standing in the three vaults in which they had been positioned. Hangar-like structures had been built over them and they are accessed thorough superbly designed museums that explain all one needs to know about the terracotta army.

We saw reassembled chariots and weapons made of bronze. We learnt how each of the hollow figures had been sculpted separately of a clay made of washed loess, a fine and windblown yellow dust, and quartz sand; the fired heads were fitted only after the bodies had been baked; and then each figure had been painted. A few of the warriors had been removed from the pits and placed in display cases. They were extraordinarily lifelike. Their uniforms, facial features, headwear and even hairstyles were varied.

We stood on the fenced-off platforms and looked down at the pits where archaeologists were still at work, cleaning up the Emperor’s terracotta legions. In Pit No. 1 there were 6,000 horses and warriors in battle array. Two hundred and four warriors formed the vanguard of the army. These were followed by 30 files of chariots alternating with more infantry. To the right and left of this formation were two lines of infantrymen facing outwards. Right at the back were lines of rearguard infantrymen.

Amazingly, he had had this incredible army and the Great Wall completed in his reign of just 11 years. Only a megalomaniac, obsessed with himself, could have achieved this: levying tax after crippling tax, destroying hamlets and villages that lay in the path of his obsession, forcing his own people to become slaves to complete his projects on time. In India, at that time, the non-violent faith of Buddhism had swept across the land after the victorious emperor Ashoka had converted to this faith. In China, however, the despotic Emperor went on a tour to assess the mood of his people and died under mysterious circumstances in 210 BC. The long-suffering farmers rose up in revolt and China’s first empire collapsed.

There seems to be a dramatic lesson written in those comparative histories but, as the cynic said, ‘History is His-story.’ Other people, other nations, other neighbours, might have another take on it.

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