Notes on China’s First Emperor & Tomb
• One mile east of a 150-foot tall tumulus, a farmer and his 10-year old son struck the image of a clay soldier while digging a well in 1914. Sixty years later, in the same area, members of a commune made a similar discovery that was reported to the authorities. An immense pit, more than 200 feet (north to south) and 760 feet (east to west) was filled with the terra cotta fragments of more than 6,000 life-size soldiers.
• Excavation revealed ten rammed-earth walls running the length of the chamber, dividing the trench into 11 corridors. Each corridor contained hundreds of pottery figures with bronze crossbow arrow-tips, swords and other weapons. Clay horses were positioned four abreast in six of the corridors. In 1976, two additional trenches were discovered (Pits #2 & #3) that held horse-drawn battlewagons, cavalry, formations of kneeling archers and infantrymen. Many spearheads, antlers, and animal bones were found.
•Shiji (Records of the Historian) were written about a century after the death of the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di, (in 210 B.C.) whose burial mound lay one mile to the west. “The tomb was filled with models of palaces, pavilions, and offices, as well as fine vessels, precious stones, and rarities. Artisans were ordered to fix up crossbows so that any thief breaking in would be shot. All the country’s streams, including the Yellow River and the Yangzi, were reproduced in quicksilver and by some mechanical means made to flow into a miniature ocean. The heavenly constellations were shown above and the regions of the earth below.”
• Although it was common at the time for surrogates of a king’s courtiers and attendants to be buried with him so that they might continue to do his bidding in the afterworld, the account makes no mention of clay soldiers or horses. But it did offer archeologists a clue: when the emperor learned that workers had nearly finished his tomb the text says, he ordered them to lay the boundary of the surrounding funerary precinct 3,000 feet farther from the mausoleum complex. Therefore, the newly discovered pits were part of the emperor’s necropolis, and the terra cotta army likely represented his famous fighting force.
• Here was evidence that confirmed Sima Qian’s writing (from about 100 B.C.) of the unprecedented wealth and power of China’s first emperor. Few reigns were more influential, tumultuous or short-lived. Its government system, later known as “Legalism” called for harsh discipline: flogging, mutilation, castration, decapitation and other torments to all offenders, regardless of class. In 247 BC, the 13-year old Crown Prince Zheng succeeded his father to the throne, and with the influence of his advisor, Li Si, proceeded to build his empire during the next 36 years, during which time historians believe hundreds of thousands lost their lives. Spanning over 1,200 miles, China was united for the first time. Young Emperor Zheng took the name Qin Shi Huang Di: Huang meaning “august sovereign,” Shi meaning “first,” and Di meaning “divine.”
• Qin Shihuangdi divided the empire into 36 provinces and appointed a governor, military commander and a civil inspector to oversee each. The Historical Records say, “The powerful and rich people of the empire, amounting to 120,000 families” were then forced to quit their ancestral seats and move to Xian Yang, near the imperial capital. Special palaces were built for them there overlooking the Wei River.” Modern archeology supports this: 27 broad rammed-earth foundations have been uncovered (easily the foundations for palaces) and floor tiles that have the symbols of two vanquished kingdoms, Chu and Wei.
• Qin’s other reforms included: a standardized currency (small bronze disks pierced with square holes), standardized weights, measures, and axles, and standardized written characters. The system of severe punish-ment for those who broke the laws continued. Thousands were forced to work on building projects, such as his palace and the empire’s new road system (spoke-like to the north, south, east and west) which covered more than 5,000 miles. According to Sima Qian, more than 300,000 convict-laborers worked on the Straight Road. Other laborers were sent to work on the Great Wall. More than 700,000 workers labored on Qin’s colossal mausoleum.
• Li Si, to preserve order and stability, ordered all histories, poetry and philosophy burned. Any scholars who continued to discuss “forbidden works” were put to death. In 212 BC, 460 Confucian scholars were buried alive by order of the First Emperor. Only books on medicine, agriculture and divination were allowed.
• Qin Shi Huang Di was increasingly paranoid as years went on, and he never stayed in the same palace two nights in a row, but would move with his entourage each night. He ordered all his palaces in the vicinity of Xian Yang to be linked by covered, walled passageways so that he could move unseen. He made it a capital crime if anyone divulged his whereabouts. This self-imposed secrecy imperiled his dynasty and in the year 210 BC when he became ill and died, his few close advisors concealed his death, secretly plotting the successor. They sent a message to his older son, Fu Nu, commanded that he commit suicide (which he did) enabling a younger, weaker son to inherit the throne. A period of turmoil and strife ensued, toppling the Qin Dynasty.
• Within a few years, Li Si was executed, and the Second Emperor committed suicide. Various ministers deserted, the capital was threatened. The Second Emperor’s nephew, Ziyang, became the next king, ruling over a broken empire. A large army, led by Xiang Yu, determined to end the Qin Dynasty, beheaded Ziyang. Sima Qian records what happened: “They sacked the capital, burned the palaces and opened the tomb of the First Emperor. After 30 days of plundering, they still could not exhaust the contents of the mausoleum. Bandits melted the coffins for bronze as well as setting fire to it. The fire burned for more than 90 days.” Archeologists believe that the blaze set in the pits weakened the beams that were over the terra cotta army, causing the roof to collapse.
• One mile east of a 150-foot tall tumulus, a farmer and his 10-year old son struck the image of a clay soldier while digging a well in 1914. Sixty years later, in the same area, members of a commune made a similar discovery that was reported to the authorities. An immense pit, more than 200 feet (north to south) and 760 feet (east to west) was filled with the terra cotta fragments of more than 6,000 life-size soldiers.
• Excavation revealed ten rammed-earth walls running the length of the chamber, dividing the trench into 11 corridors. Each corridor contained hundreds of pottery figures with bronze crossbow arrow-tips, swords and other weapons. Clay horses were positioned four abreast in six of the corridors. In 1976, two additional trenches were discovered (Pits #2 & #3) that held horse-drawn battlewagons, cavalry, formations of kneeling archers and infantrymen. Many spearheads, antlers, and animal bones were found.
•Shiji (Records of the Historian) were written about a century after the death of the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di, (in 210 B.C.) whose burial mound lay one mile to the west. “The tomb was filled with models of palaces, pavilions, and offices, as well as fine vessels, precious stones, and rarities. Artisans were ordered to fix up crossbows so that any thief breaking in would be shot. All the country’s streams, including the Yellow River and the Yangzi, were reproduced in quicksilver and by some mechanical means made to flow into a miniature ocean. The heavenly constellations were shown above and the regions of the earth below.”
• Although it was common at the time for surrogates of a king’s courtiers and attendants to be buried with him so that they might continue to do his bidding in the afterworld, the account makes no mention of clay soldiers or horses. But it did offer archeologists a clue: when the emperor learned that workers had nearly finished his tomb the text says, he ordered them to lay the boundary of the surrounding funerary precinct 3,000 feet farther from the mausoleum complex. Therefore, the newly discovered pits were part of the emperor’s necropolis, and the terra cotta army likely represented his famous fighting force.
• Here was evidence that confirmed Sima Qian’s writing (from about 100 B.C.) of the unprecedented wealth and power of China’s first emperor. Few reigns were more influential, tumultuous or short-lived. Its government system, later known as “Legalism” called for harsh discipline: flogging, mutilation, castration, decapitation and other torments to all offenders, regardless of class. In 247 BC, the 13-year old Crown Prince Zheng succeeded his father to the throne, and with the influence of his advisor, Li Si, proceeded to build his empire during the next 36 years, during which time historians believe hundreds of thousands lost their lives. Spanning over 1,200 miles, China was united for the first time. Young Emperor Zheng took the name Qin Shi Huang Di: Huang meaning “august sovereign,” Shi meaning “first,” and Di meaning “divine.”
• Qin Shihuangdi divided the empire into 36 provinces and appointed a governor, military commander and a civil inspector to oversee each. The Historical Records say, “The powerful and rich people of the empire, amounting to 120,000 families” were then forced to quit their ancestral seats and move to Xian Yang, near the imperial capital. Special palaces were built for them there overlooking the Wei River.” Modern archeology supports this: 27 broad rammed-earth foundations have been uncovered (easily the foundations for palaces) and floor tiles that have the symbols of two vanquished kingdoms, Chu and Wei.
• Qin’s other reforms included: a standardized currency (small bronze disks pierced with square holes), standardized weights, measures, and axles, and standardized written characters. The system of severe punish-ment for those who broke the laws continued. Thousands were forced to work on building projects, such as his palace and the empire’s new road system (spoke-like to the north, south, east and west) which covered more than 5,000 miles. According to Sima Qian, more than 300,000 convict-laborers worked on the Straight Road. Other laborers were sent to work on the Great Wall. More than 700,000 workers labored on Qin’s colossal mausoleum.
• Li Si, to preserve order and stability, ordered all histories, poetry and philosophy burned. Any scholars who continued to discuss “forbidden works” were put to death. In 212 BC, 460 Confucian scholars were buried alive by order of the First Emperor. Only books on medicine, agriculture and divination were allowed.
• Qin Shi Huang Di was increasingly paranoid as years went on, and he never stayed in the same palace two nights in a row, but would move with his entourage each night. He ordered all his palaces in the vicinity of Xian Yang to be linked by covered, walled passageways so that he could move unseen. He made it a capital crime if anyone divulged his whereabouts. This self-imposed secrecy imperiled his dynasty and in the year 210 BC when he became ill and died, his few close advisors concealed his death, secretly plotting the successor. They sent a message to his older son, Fu Nu, commanded that he commit suicide (which he did) enabling a younger, weaker son to inherit the throne. A period of turmoil and strife ensued, toppling the Qin Dynasty.
• Within a few years, Li Si was executed, and the Second Emperor committed suicide. Various ministers deserted, the capital was threatened. The Second Emperor’s nephew, Ziyang, became the next king, ruling over a broken empire. A large army, led by Xiang Yu, determined to end the Qin Dynasty, beheaded Ziyang. Sima Qian records what happened: “They sacked the capital, burned the palaces and opened the tomb of the First Emperor. After 30 days of plundering, they still could not exhaust the contents of the mausoleum. Bandits melted the coffins for bronze as well as setting fire to it. The fire burned for more than 90 days.” Archeologists believe that the blaze set in the pits weakened the beams that were over the terra cotta army, causing the roof to collapse.