Why Clay Soldiers and a Terracotta Army?
Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi declared himself the first emperor of China in 221 BCE. Though the Qin (pronounced “chin”) dynasty was short-lived, and ended with his death in 210 BCE, Qin Shi Huangdi consolidated power in China, ended the “Era of the Warring States,” and began the dynasty system that would last for 2100 years after his death. The terra cotta army is a symbol of his power and consolidation of China. Qin Shi Huangdi ordered the creation of his clay soldiers, a terracotta army, and replicas of soldiers, horses, chariots, acrobats, and real weapons to be used with this clay army as part of his funereal tomb, to help the emperor to rule over a new empire in the afterlife. Employing more than 700,000 laborers, the clay replicas and terra cotta soldiers may number more than 8,000, with only 1,000 properly excavated more than 35 years after their discovery. document.getElementById(‘adsense_placeholder_2’).innerHTML = document.getElementById(‘adsense_ad_2_hidden’).innerHTML; The emper
