The terra cotta warriors of China have long held my fascination.
I have therefore often gone back to that day in September 2004 when I had the chance to tour the site in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.
I was mesmerized, to say the least. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around several things.
How on earth did the ancient sculptors ensure that none of the 8000 warriors look like one another, just like humans? How did they get them underground, with their weapons and horses even, long before backhoes and such tools and equipment were known to man? After all, one terra cotta warrior is said to weigh an average of 380+ pounds plus the additional weight of their weapons, the 130 chariots, and the 670 horses. And at what cost? One documentary mentioned that the foundation material used was a composite of the very cheap (dirt), the not-so-cheap (sticky rice), and the priceless (human bodies). How much work did the 700,000 workers put into the
38 square mile-project? And what about into the mammoth structures that now house the site of one of the world's greatest archaeological finds?
There are many more questions. But one issue stood out as sadly unsettling to me after watching a National Geographic documentary on the subject.
It is amazing the length man would go to achieve a vision. Yet how sad that he does so for something that is needless after all.
In the end, what determines the real worth of something, of anything, is the purpose for which it is used.
It pays to delve into and beyond what went into an achievement in order to arrive at a valid assessment of even a most impressive monument like the terra cotta warriors mausoleum. The initial awe could be tainted, but the resulting perception is more balanced, closer to the truth.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/china-first-emperor-terra-cotta-warriors-tomb/
The documentgay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUg5afTOqb0
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