Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor in Chinese history to unify the six kingdoms and realize the unification of the world. His life was illustrious but also full of controversy.
He was on the throne for 25 years and the emperor for 12 years. He unified weights and measures, unified coins, developed land and water transportation, and enabled the system of three princes and nine ministers. But at the same time, he also had the notoriety of “burning books and ignoring Confucian scholars”, harsh punishments, great joy, and even living. The system of burial.
The famous Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang have always had a terrible legend that they were fired from living people.
The grand mausoleum of Qin Shihuang
When it comes to the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, we have to mention that the cause of Qin Shihuang’s death was that Qin Shihuang, known as the “Eternal Emperor” in 210 BC, died on his fifth tour. The real cause of his death has been debated for many years, some say that he died of illness, and some say that he was murdered to death. The confusing cause of death of the First Emperor also cast a layer of mystery on his mausoleum.
Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum was built less than a year after his accession to the throne. He succeeded to the throne in 247 BC and started construction in 246 BC.
According to the known data, Qin Shihuang Mausoleum has two walls, the height is about 10 meters, the inner wall is more than 3,800 meters long, the outer wall is more than 6,200 meters long, with a total area of ??56 square kilometers, and the top of the mausoleum is over 110 meters high.
It is said that the Qin Dynasty recruited 720,000 people to build the mausoleum. Such a huge project has been included in the list of world cultural heritage protection.
The warrior figurines in the imperial mausoleum are 1.8 meters high, and the horse figurines are 1.5 meters high and 2 meters long. And according to the level, these terracotta warriors are divided into generals, military officials, material officials, archers, warriors, soldiers and so on.
The most rare thing is that the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the First Emperor’s Mausoleum have thousands of people and thousands of faces. They have different images, expressions, costumes and even hairstyles.
For Qin Shihuang, who had great military exploits, the most proud thing in his life was the great achievement of unifying the six kingdoms, so it is understandable that he chose to have the army to be buried with him.
The mysterious excavation process of Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum
The scale of Qin Shihuang’s mausoleum is amazing. It is said that Qin Shihuang was obsessed with the art of immortality, and “seeing death as life” burned the Terracotta Warriors and Horses with living people, hoping that he could enjoy the same treatment in the world after his death. Follow yourself and you will be immortal.
The Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang was discovered by local villagers in Lintong County, Shaanxi Province in about 1974. It is said that when archaeologists were conducting excavations, they could not find a suitable location for the pit for half a month. At that time, a white-bearded old man pointed out: “You guys follow me.”
Everyone strangely followed the old man to a place about 200 meters away from the well. The old man stopped and said to the excavating staff with a smile: “You don’t need to shovel, the side of the pit is right here.”
Everyone was surprised and delighted at the time, and they continued to work with a shovel half-believingly, but they actually dug a pit the next day. This figurines pit is 230 meters long, 62 meters wide, and about 6 meters above the ground. There are a total of about 6,000 warrior-shaped pottery figurines in the huge army formation. Such a magnificent ancient army formation stunned the archaeologists.
The terrifying legend of the tomb robber
The terracotta warriors and horses that were just unearthed at that time were vivid, colorful, and different in style. It was impossible to imagine what kind of skilled craftsmen could produce such a wonderful work under the technical level of the time.
So there is a legend that these terracotta warriors and horses were watered and fired by living people, and it is said that the terracotta warriors and horses are “living people” and spread from the mouth of a group of tomb robbers.
In 1997, the famous Terracotta Warriors and Horses were widely spread, and they were inevitably coveted by many lawbreakers.
A group of tomb robbers saw the so-called “business opportunity”, so they dispatched to steal some and sell it to earn some money for their own style.
On a dark and windy night, this group of people secretly came to the tomb of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses that had not yet been excavated, ready to dig some.
This group of people was divided into two groups, one group watched the cars on the top of the pothole, and the other group went down the pit to steal the Terracotta Warriors. Just as they were searching in full swing, they suddenly found a few dark shadows.
The group of people who were guarding it, thinking it was the police, immediately notified their accomplices to come up and prepare to escape. Who knew that in a split second, they were already surrounded by shadows!
When these shadows swayed close, they realized that these shadows were not police at all! They were the terracotta warriors, and they were resurrected!
Some of these terracotta warriors have heads, some have no heads, but without exception, they all walked towards them with halberds in their hands. This group of tomb robbers screamed in fright, but they couldn’t run away…
This incident added a layer of horror to the legend of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses being poured by living people. There are different opinions. Many people believe that the Terracotta Warriors and Horses were poured by living people. The Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang was buried deep underground for thousands of years. The reason why these terracotta warriors are secretly guarding.
Are the Terracotta Warriors really made from living people?
Qin Shihuang’s reputation for brutality has always been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. People praised his great achievements and criticized him for his inhumanity and severe punishment. Therefore, in this context, many people believe that Qin Shihuang would choose to be buried alive.
In fact, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, social changes led to changes in funeral customs, and a new way of burial with figurines appeared. This method is to use pottery figurines, wooden figurines, etc. to replace human sacrifice.
The original meaning of “figurines” refers to human sacrifice, but when human sacrifices gradually faded out of people’s field of vision, “figurines” became the proper noun for pottery, stone and human figures in tombs. The Qin Terracotta Warriors are a typical example of the burial of human beings with figurines, and it is also the pinnacle of the burial of human beings with figurines.
A cracked terracotta warrior reveals the truth
The terracotta warriors and horses that were just unearthed at that time had bright and harmonious paintings. During the excavation process, it was found that some of the terracotta warriors and horses still retained bright colors when they were just unearthed, which is pleasing to the eye.
However, after being unearthed, due to oxidation by oxygen, the color will disappear in a very short period of time, turning into white ash, and only a little trace of residual painting can be seen.
After a terracotta warrior in Xi’an was cracked, experts and scholars conducted a detailed investigation and found that it was hollow inside, and there was no trace of human tissue.
The craftsmanship that amazes us indeed exists in the hands of the craftsmen of the Qin Dynasty. It is these talented and skilled craftsmen who have left such a spectacle to our descendants for us to study and study.
There are still many unsolved mysteries in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, waiting for us to use more advanced science and technology to unearth.
There are still many unsolved mysteries in such a huge mausoleum, which attracts us to explore… We hope that in the near future, we will be able to fully understand the truth of Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum!