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The Terracotta Army is one of the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. The site, dating from 210 B. C., was discovered in 1974 by several local farmers near Xi’an, Shaanxi province. The Terracotta Army was buried with the first emperor that united China in 221 B. C., Ying Zheng (260–210 B. C.), who declared himself as Qin Shi Huangdi, meaning the first emperor. Their purpose was to help rule another empire with Shi Huangdi in the afterlife.

The terracotta figures vary in height (184–197cm) according to their role, the tallest being the Generals. Only about 1,000 soldiers have been excavated so far; archaeologists estimate that there are over 7,000 soldiers (infantry to generals), 130 chariots with horses, and 150 cavalry horses. The terracotta figures were manufactured both in workshops by government labourers and by local craftsmen. The head, arms, legs and torso of each figure were created separately and then assembled.

Then a fine clay slip was added, and details such as eyes, mouth, nose and details of dress were carved into the clay while it was still pliable. Additional pieces such as ears, beard and armor were modeled separately and attached, after which the whole figure was fired at a high temperature. [1, 2] The statues were vividly painted; and although most of that paint has worn away, traces of it may be seen on some of the statues.

The imperial tombs of the Northern Sung Dynasty (960–1127), the Sung Mausoleums, are in western Gongxian County, Henan Province. The stone statues guarding the gates are finely sculpted, demonstrating that Sung Dynasty stone sculptures had gradually discarded a pronounced mythical air and begun to display a sense of real life. These reflected the artistic creativity of Sung Dynasty laboring people and the unified system of stone sculpture of the Northern Sung period. Emperor Zhen Zong was buried in 1022. Scattered around his mausoleum are sixteen mounds, sites of structures long vanished. In front of the mausoleum, the spirit path is lined with 48 stone sculptures. On each side are fourteen human statues, two sheep, two tigers, two horses, a unicorn, a phoenix, an elephant and an ornamental pillar, and in front of the mausoleum is a stone altar.

Baocheng, Minglout and Five stone altar of Chongling, 18th c.

The Royal Mausoleum of Qing, Changling.

Terracotta Army, Qin Dynasty, A charioteer with outstretched arms that once held the reins of his steed, 210 B. C. Terracotta, height 187 cm.

Tomb of Qin shi Huang Di, Xianyang.

Terracotta Army, Qin Dynasty, A standing archer, 210 B. C. Terracotta, height 187 cm.

Tomb of Qin shi Huang Di, Xianyang.

Terracotta Army, Qin Dynasty, Generals are the tallest and Heaviest members of the army, 210 B. C. Terracotta, height 202 cm.

Tomb of Qin shi Huang Di, Xianyang.

Terracotta Army, Qin Dynasty, A dismounted cavalryman and his horse, 210 B. C. Terracotta, height 186 cm.

Tomb of Qin shi Huang Di, Xianyang.

Stone figure of a military guarding the sacred way of the Royal Mausoleum of Ming, 15th-16th c. Stone, height 210 cm.

The Royal Mausoleum of Ming. Changling, North-West of Peking.

The Ming Dynasty Tombs, also known as “Thirteen Ming Tombs,” are north of Peking. The location of the Ming Tomb was chosen based on the theory of geomancy and Feng Shui. The layout of the mausoleum is closely combined with natural environment factors such as mountains and rivers, with each tomb built against the mountain and facing the river. The sacred walkway that leads to the Ming Tombs is flanked by giant stone statues, leading to the Changling, which is the tomb of Emperor Yongle. The Eastern Qing Tombs were first built in 1663, following the model of the Ming Tombs. A twelve-meter-wide “sacred way of the spirit” is paved with bricks and lined by stone statues of animals, soldiers.

There are no relics of carved stone in China to be compared in importance or antiquity with the ancient monuments of Egypt, Chaldea, and Susa. The chief materials of Chinese buildings have always been wood and bricks, so that stone is generally used only for architectural accessories and for the decoration of interiors. The origin of sculpture in stone, like that of many other Chinese arts, is very obscure, in spite of all that has been written on the subject in native as well as in foreign books. In Chinese books, its indigenous origin and development are always taken for granted, and it seems natural to accept such views until the contrary be proved.

The treatment of the human figure in sculpture of a later period is indicated in the photograph of one of the colossal men in armor which guard the entrance of the mausoleum of the emperor Yung Lo (1403–24), about twenty-five miles north of Peking.

Another figure appears in the background, and two of the three gates leading to the tomb are seen in the distance. The avenue of approach is lined with monoliths of men and animals carved in blue limestone. The military mandarins, six in number, have mailed coats reaching down below the knees, close-fitting caps hanging over the shoulders, a sword in the left hand and a marshal’s baton in the right. The civil officials have robes with long hanging sleeves, tasselled sashes, bound with jade-mounted belts, embroidered breastplates, and square caps. The animals which follow, facing the avenue, include two pairs of lions, two of unicorn monsters, two of camels, two of elephants, two of kilin (mythological monsters) and two of horses. One pair of each animal is represented standing, the other seated or kneeling.

Stone elephant at the tomb of the Zhezong emperor, 1022. Stone, height 240 cm. Tomb Zhezong emperor, China.

Chariot with a three-man team including the charioteer, 210 B. C. Terracotta, height 190 cm. Shaanxi Museum, Xi’an.

Changling, Ming Tombs.

The Ling’en Gate, 1450–1500.

The Royal Mausoleum of Ming, Changling.

A good illustration of the t’ing, which is so characteristic of Chinese architecture is the large sacrificial hall of the emperor Yung Lo. The tombs of the Ming Dynasty, called colloquially Shih san Ling, “Tombs of the Thirteen (Emperors),” are, as the name indicates, the last resting-places of thirteen of the Ming emperors. The first was buried at Nanking, his capital; the last near a Buddhist temple on a hill west of Peking, by command of the Manchu rulers when they obtained the empire.

The emperor Yung Lo (1403–1424), who made Peking his capital, chose this beautiful valley for the mausoleum of his house. It is six miles long, thirty miles away from Peking to the north, and the imperial tombs are in separate walled inclosures dotting the slopes of the wooded hills which skirt the valley with its rows of colossal stone figures.

At the end of the avenue one comes to a triple gateway, leading to a court with a smaller hall, and passes through to reach the main courtyard with the large sacrificing hall, where, by order of the Manchu emperors, offerings are presented to the long-deceased ruler of a fallen dynasty by one of his lineal descendants selected for the purpose.

The hall is mounted upon a terrace with three balustrades of carved marble extending all around, ascended by three flights of eighteen steps in front and behind, leading to three portals with folding doors of tracery. It is 70 meters long by 30 meters deep, with a massive tiled roof supported by eight rows of four pillars each. The columns, of persea nanmu wood, are 3.5 meters around at the base and over 20 meters high to the true roof, under which there is a lower ceiling, about 10 meters from the floor, made of wood in sunken square panels painted in bright colours.

The ancestral tablet is kept in a yellow-roofed shrine mounted upon a daïs, with a large, carved screen in the background, and in front stands a sacrificial table with an incense urn, a pair of pricket candlesticks and a pair of flower vases arranged in a line upon it.

Leaving this magnificent hall and passing through another court, planted like those preceding with pines, arbor vitæ trees and oaks, one comes to the actual tomb. A subterranean passage, forty yards long, leads to the tumulus, the door of which is closed by masonry, but flights of steps, east and west, lead to the top of the grave terrace. Here, in front of the mound, and immediately above the coffin passage is the tombstone an immense upright slab, mounted upon a tortoise, inscribed with the posthumous title, “Tomb of the Emperor Ch’êng Tsu Wen.” The tumulus is more than half a mile in circuit, and, though artificial, looks like a natural hill, being planted with trees to the top, which include the large-leafed oak (Quercus Bungeana).