Qin Tomb
The mausoleum of the "First Qin Emperor" Ying Zheng , also known as Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BCE), was built over a period of thirty-seven years with as many as 720,000 workers involved. Situated at the foot of Mount Lishan, 35 kilometers east of Xi'an, the mausoleum consists of an inner city that was 1,355 meters long and 580 meters wide and an outer city that was 2,165 meters long and 940 meters wide.
Excavation of the central tomb has not yet begun, but since 1974 archaeologists have been unearthing a subterranean army of thousands of life-size terra-cotta warriors and horses, guarding access to the main tomb. Each figure is a faithful representation of a distinctive individual. The mausoleum continues to turn up surprising discoveries as archaeologists work patiently on the site. An excavation in 2000 unearthed what probably represented the Supreme Court in the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), adding a civilian dimension to the burial that had been regarded as all military.
The magnificent mausoleum bespeaks the power and achievements of the First Qin Emperor, who unified China for the first time in its history, standardized weights and measurements, the monetary system, and the written language, and linked sections of the existing walls to form what is known as the Great Wall. The mausoleum came onto the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987.
Further Reading
Cotterell, Arthur. (1989) The First Emperor of China. Harmondsworth, U.K.: Penguin.
Wu, Xiaocong. (2000) Valiant Imperial Warriors 2200 Years Ago—Terra-cotta Armored Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum. Xi'an, China: Xi'an World Publishing Corporation.
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