Terracotta Army: Puzzle for the Living

The Terracotta Army of China is an exclusive display in a similarly unique scenery. It explains the origin of China and its construction upon the notion of eternal power in time and space. The molding of their thoughts happened through monumental buildings and cemeteries, which united China. It led to the formation of the Middle Kingdom, a sophisticated kingdom that lasted for more than two thousand years (Oppenheim, 56). The main focus of the exhibition was on the Han and Qin dynasties from 221 BC to 220 AD. They comprised a total of 325 artifacts from five royal gravesites, eleven museums, and more than ten different burial sites in Shaanxi Province. However, not a single object was ever shown in Sweden, but the Han Dynasty artifacts were displayed in Europe. The display concentrated on two themes: the unification of the vast empire and life after death for the emperors and their families. The Terracotta Army was constructed over 2000 millennia ago after the crowning of King Qin Shi Huangdi of Qin State (Nickel, 420). Li Si, the Prime Minister, was in charge of its design and layout while Zhang Han, the Senior General, oversaw the task (Quinn, 1975). Two years after Qin Shi’s demise, the construction was completed. It took around 700,000 men and nearly 40 years to finish Qin Shi’s burial site. In 1974, ceramic soldiers were found buried deep beneath the ground by farmers who were digging a well. Three pits were discovered by archaeologists and had horses, a massive army of life-sized-soldiers, and the remains of chariots. Subsequently, the discovery of a fourth pit also happened.

The soldiers ranged between 180 and 197 cm high depending on their position, and the generals were the tallest (Liu, 628). Some of the warriors from the mighty army were renovated, each having their characteristics. In comparison to the Greek sculptures, the soldiers had once been painted in bright colors (Wei, 1630). However, the paint faded away when they got unprotected from light and air on digging. Additionally, they seemed ready for battle to protect the dead emperor because they had been dressed in armor, equipped with real weapons, and organized in combat formation (Li, 495). The emperor’s intention for creating the underground burial chamber was to make it his palace in the afterlife. He aimed for lengthy life and everlasting existence, making sure that his army, court, and palace would follow him. Apart from guaranteeing that there would be life after death, the primordial Chinese also strived to discover a magical elixir to accomplish immortality. Therefore, the emperor directed out young women and men into the deserted South China Sea to search for the magical islands of Penglai, where the immortals were believed to live. Small figures with long cloaks symbolized immortals, and incense burners in the shape of mountains portrayed the made-up islands. The Chinese made bronze objects that symbolized the immortals and their peaks, believing that the objects would lure the immortals to visit (Li, 129).

After Qin Shi’s death, he was succeeded by his second son. The country did not flourish in his reign and fell victim to an uprising and civil war. The creation of the new Han Dynasty, 206 BC to 220 AD, reinstated stability leading to a long-lasting unification of China (Erlich, 62). It took over Qin’s burial ground, where the warriors and servants were produced in smaller sizes that were utterly different from the norm. Sacred objects which at a time were ceremonial, and made from precious metals like jade were dug up, along with thousands of terracotta figures. Some of them were realistic representations of imperial soldiers, acrobats, musicians, concubines, and servants. The other objects discovered showed everyday activities, like tools for obtaining food supply. Figures made from earthenware and arms made from textile and wooden materials were found near the Han dynasty capital of Chang’an, in Emperor Jingdi’s grave. Unfortunately, the objects were made from perishable materials, and only their naked bodies survived (Gao, 4087). They included burial items like soldiers, eunuchs, servants, and domestic animals such as goats, dogs, sheep, and pigs. The excavation of these items is one of China’s most significant architectural discoveries since there were over 10,000 objects. In 1965, over 2,000 painted earthenware figures were found in Yangjiawan, at a Han dynasty grave (Gao, 4090). The objects were similar to the ones mentioned above, and the belief was that the tomb was General Zhou Bo’s resting place, an individual who died in 169 BC along with his son Zhou Yafu. The army excavated in this location gave much-needed insight into the costumes, military strategies, weapons, and fighting formations used during the Han dynasty.

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The Han dynasty always sought to extend its territory through the use of military expeditions. For centuries, there were mutual exchanges made between the pastoral people of Mongolia, Central Asia, and the Chinese people. The changes made to the dynasty’s burial grounds can be traced back to their encounters with empires from the West, such as the Persian, Greek, and Roman empires (Thomas, 2000). The inspiration to create terracotta soldiers can also be linked to China’s interactions with individuals from Iran and Central Asia. Emperor Qin’s fascination with putting long inscriptions on mountainsides and stones as a protective measure may also be attributed to these interactions (Erlich, 43). The display of China’s terracotta army is currently located beneath the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in the Rock Galleries in Stockholm. The galleries compose an impressive network of tunnels constructed between 1939 and 1940, a perfect setting for the exhibition of these objects. The terracotta army is fascinating because these figures, despite being created by humans and modeled from human bodies, they were not supposed to see the light of day. They were hidden from sight to send a message to the people that the emperor was the sovereign power. It was also a tactic for leaders to exert their control over various ethnic groups, religions, political entities, and customs.

Material culture is the facet of social reality found in the tools, written records, architecture, clothing, and objects in the environment created by humans. It is composed of the creation of these objects, their uses, how they were trades, and their impact on society’s behaviors, rituals, and norms. Studying material culture is an essential part of studying art (Knappett, 232). It allows us to appreciate and understand the complicated lives of the individuals who created and interacted with the objects. Therefore, the different ideas, habits, and beliefs found across the world are easier to understand through these objects (Barringer,23). The wealth of a society is typically based on the commodities that they possess, which fulfill various human needs, like sustenance or enjoyment. Therefore, the quantity and diverse nature of useful things are what society has to determine its success. The value of commodities also heavily relies on the labor used to create them since the more complicated it is to make, the higher the value an object has (1867). The Terracotta army was created after the birth of one of the world’s most significant empires. It was commissioned by a government that wanted to exert its immeasurable power on the people. The army profoundly impacted people’s lives from different ethnic groups, ecosystems, and religions, and its effect was felt over millions of kilometers. It is rumored that the objects were created as a means of propaganda since it was a central ruler’s extraordinary display of strength (Clark, 76). The emperors mobilized all the materials, knowledge, and labor they could to create the army, which was a feat of splendor like no other.

The emerging empires used the Terracotta army to control ideas, people, and resources, which is why we must understand it. A study was published in 2018, where the objects were reverse-engineered to understand society during the Han dynasty (Martinon-Torres, et al.). It was discovered that the laborers were divided into specialized units, further broken down into incredibly versatile groups. It ensured that the creation of these objects was efficient. The study also found that during the Qin’s regime, the entire population was forcefully registered and divided into mutual responsibility groups means to serve the state. They were punished and rewarded based on their service’s extent, which might explain the structure of the mausoleum where the Terracotta army was discovered (Menkina, 124). To this day, the Terracotta army is still a puzzle to the living, especially since its creation was not for them.