Terracotta Warriors: Legacy of China's First Emperor

Introduction: A Monument to Eternity

The Terracotta Warriors from the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (221–206 BC), are a marvel to behold. This massive monument to humanity's desire to secure a place in eternity is measured by the lifelike, life-size replications of Chinese soldiers, horses, chariots, musicians, officials, acrobats, and warriors arranged in three pits at the emperor's gravesite. The Terracotta Army, as it is known, consists of some 8,000 painted terracotta warriors along with hundreds of horses and chariots.¹ It is the duplication of a real, life-size army — now discovered and stored at the Museum of the Terracotta Warriors in Shaanxi, China, as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Terracotta Warriors symbolize the first Qin emperor's desire to be as great and fortified in the afterlife as he was in the living world. However, the fact that they lay submerged in wet soil for two thousand years, unknown to history, reveals the extent to which Shih Huang ultimately failed to establish a lasting historical legacy. This paper argues that, in spite of their long disappearance from history, the terracotta warriors at the burial place of Shih Huang — first emperor of the Qin Dynasty — are a fitting remembrance of the man who unified China and inaugurated the era of empire, while also serving as an indictment of his inhuman ambitions.

The Necropolis and Its Scale

The first point to make about the terracotta warriors is that these life-size replicas of human beings were not created merely to furnish soldiers — they were part of constructing an entire city: a legacy in death for one who had accomplished so much in life. Shih Huang wanted a necropolis — a city of the dead — where his soul could find repose. The terracotta warriors are just one aspect of this vision. As A. R. Williams, writing for National Geographic, has shown, the true grandeur of this city has only recently begun to be appreciated: nearly 40 miles of underground space were devoted to this city of the dead, containing parks, gardens, stables, offices, gold, silver, jewelry, halls, and walls — all surrounding the vast tomb of the late emperor.²

On the eastern edge of the tomb stand thousands of terracotta warriors in row upon row, hundreds upon hundreds of them, buried beneath 16 feet of soil. These giants of imperial grandeur each bear unique facial features, indicating that every figure, at least from the neck up, was given an individual personality.³ The scale and individuality of the army together speak to the immense organizational capacity of the Qin state and the emperor's singular obsession with perpetuating his power beyond death.

The Four Excavated Pits

While the tomb of the emperor remains sealed, the site has been excavated in four main pits, each revealing aspects of the emperor's achievements during his lifetime. The first pit was discovered in 1974 and contains the majority of the soldiers — approximately 6,000 figures. The pit itself spans about 150,000 square feet. Most of the figures are officers, some are generals, and rows of archers are also visible.

The second pit was discovered two years later and covers 65,000 square feet. It contained chariots, horses, cavalrymen, and officers, as well as over a hundred kneeling archers and 170 crossbowmen. The warriors in Pit 2 are considered some of the most exquisite in the entire collection. Pit 3 was discovered the same year and is considerably smaller at 5,500 square feet. In this pit are found the high commanders of the terracotta army — all 68 of them facing one another. A fourth pit was excavated but was found to be empty.

While many weapons were stolen from the gravesite in the chaotic period following the emperor's death, many others remained. Even after 2,000 years, some still retain a degree of their lethal capacity — testament to the remarkable preservative power of the encasing mud. Crossbows, bronze arrows, and bronze swords were among the recovered weapons, including one powerful crossbow type that had never previously been found in China, though scholars had read of its existence in historical texts.⁴

Shih Huang's Achievements and the Army's Symbolism

This is the particular noteworthy aspect of the terracotta warriors — they are not mere ornament, nor solely representative of a belief about the afterlife; they are also a testament to the accomplishments of Shih Huang, founder of the Qin dynasty. His major achievement was the unification of China, bringing diverse peoples of the Asian landmass together under one government. This achievement is comparable in scope to Charlemagne's founding of the Holy Roman Empire in the 8th and 9th centuries AD. Both leaders conquered territories and demonstrated great military prowess. Yet their aim was not mere destruction but construction: they sought to unify, where other combatants had sought only to conquer and destroy.

Shih Huang was so influential that, although his dynasty would last only 15 years, the title of emperor that he created would be borne by Chinese rulers for two thousand years thereafter. In this respect, he resembles the first Caesar of ancient Rome. His terracotta warriors are a testament to his accomplishments in life — to his capacity to settle so much of China and retain power while doing so. The terracotta soldiers are a reflection in death of his authority in life.

Conclusion: Monument or Accusation?

Shih Huang could not protect his legacy on earth, but at least his 8,000 terracotta soldiers could protect his sleeping ground in the afterlife. As of now, only four of the pits have been excavated, but there are a hundred more, indicating that this sprawling city of the dead was as impressive as any living city Shih Huang oversaw during his reign.¹³ Shih Huang spared no expense in erecting his final resting place: it truly is a monument to his power and his accomplishment.

And yet, with the slaughter of its engineers that it might remain a secret, and with the pillaging of its contents, the final burial place and its long disappearance from history serve more as an accusation of the first emperor's inhuman aims than as a celebration of his grand achievements in the name of humanity and Confucian ideals. The Terracotta Army endures as one of the world's most remarkable archaeological discoveries — but it endures, ultimately, as a monument to contradiction: the simultaneous grandeur and failure of a man who unified a civilization yet could not unite even his own household.

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