Xi'an

August 3: Xi'an

Xi'an is the oldest city in China. It is credited with being one of the four cities of civilization (along with Athens, Istanbul, and Rome). By 700 A.D., the city had a population of 1 million people! Thirteen dynasties used Xi'an as their capital city. There are old Chinese characters there made around 246 B.C. by the first emperor, Qin Shihuang. He was the first to unify the seven different areas that became known as China (middle kingdom). At age 13, he ordered his mausoleum to be built. It took 750,000 workers 37 years to complete it all according to his wishes. Although invading armies had destroyed and looted some of what had existed, the area then went undiscovered for centuries.

We flew into Xi'an and hired a driver for the day. Our first visit, due to a translation error, was to a market that is built upon the beginning of the Silk Road. We got a brief tutorial on how silk is woven into fabric. A single pupa is used for lighter clothes; a double for items such as hats and blankets. It was a bit interesing, especially the clothes of the old emperor and empress.

We then made our way to the terracotta soldier pits. Our guide explained several things to us. We already knew the dragon represented the emperor. Any common man seen wearing the dragon was immediately killed. The phoenix represented nobility. The emperor's chariot had a roof in the shape of a turtle shell, which represented long life. The driver of this chariot had to kneel because nobody could be taller than the emperor. The mountains surrounding the area are still mined for gold and black jade, which can be found nowhere else in the world. Jade represents good protection and was the stone of the imperial family.

The mausoleum of the first emperor lies below a hill of grass. It once contained a huge model of China itself and was protected by crossbows. The pits that stretch out for a mile beyond the mausoleum is where much of the treasure was buried. The pits closest to the emperor's burial ground are filled with the richest treasures. Pits 10 and 11 were not found until 2001. The soldiers here had armor made of black jade. The armor weighed 20 kilos. The weapons had chrome plating, a technique which was not rediscovered until 1937.

The first pit was discovered by farmers who were digging a well in 1974. If the farmers had been even only 1 meter over, they would never have discovered the pits. Farmers before had been buried over the pits, and relics every once in a while had been found. However, the people just thought they were bits and pieces of things. The farmers at the well found the true treasure. Coincidently, one of them is still alive today and we got to see him. The timing of this find was great in that it was near the end of the Cultural Revolution. Any sooner in time, and the soldiers would have most likely been destroyed with other historical artifacts.

The soldiers themselves were made outside of the pits and baked for a week in over 1,000 degrees. There are 11 entrances into the pits, through which the soldiers were carried and carefully arranged in battle formation. Each soldier has a different face and the signature of the craftsman who made him. The soldiers are characterized by their clothing, their hairstyle, and height. For example, only 7 generals have been found thus far. Their shoes point upward, they are taller, they have two knots in their hair, and they have knotted ropes on their uniforms. Most of the soldiers are of Han ethnicity; the other minority groups can be seen with longer hair and slightly different features.

Pit 1 contains the soldiers without armor. These were the newer recruits, and it was a sign of bravery to enter battle without even a helmet or weapon. There are horses here, and there are wheel indentions indicating chariots, but they have not yet reconstructed a chariot. Unfortunately, Pit 1 is brightly lit in a hangar. When they opened Pit 2 in 1994, they learned to keep them darker. Pit 2 contained mixed military forces with more cavalry (3000). Pit 3 contained many bronze weapons and evidence of religious sacrifices. It was the command center where the soldiers would pray and get their orders. Pit 4 is empty. Pit 11 contained the entertainers to the emperor such as acrobats and dancers. This will open in 2012 (along with Pit 10).

Sadly, when the discovery was made, much damage had already occurred. The walls and floors of the pits were made from brick, but the roof was made from wood that was not local. The roofs had collapsed upon the soldiers. Only one was found intact. He is now known as the "lucky warrior," and he was a kneeling archer found in Pit 2. He still has some of the original lacquer as well. It took 8 years just to uncover Pit 2. One half of Pit 1 is known as the hospital, where the soldiers get reconstructed before they are placed back to their original point of discovery. It takes two archaeologists 6 months to restore one soldier. The soldiers are restored using the original clay of the pits. The soldiers were painted using a "pink" lacquer because that represented a real skin color,but they are not going to relacquer them. The other half of Pit 1 is restored, but the archaeologists are still working to uncover the rest. It is in Pit 1 that most of the soldiers stand, facing east. So far, 8,000 have been discovered throughout the pits.

It was truly an amazing experience to see this working site and to see firsthand the craftsmanship from 2,200 years ago! We also rode a cable car up the Li Mountain and visited the Hot Springs. This is where many of the emperors would come during the winter to warm up. It was also where Chiang Kai Shek resided while fighting the Communist forces during the civil war. We flew back to Tianjin that night. I would stay longer if I were to go again because there is so much more to see, including the Han and Ming tombs. The city is smaller in size than the other two we have visited thus far, but it is very touristy and busy nonetheless. The smog was here as well....

Oh, and bamboo, the pan (spelling?) tree, and the crane also represent long life.