Terracotta Warriors, China

 The mysteries and majestic Terracotta Warriors.

When you see these babies, go in with an open mind and take your time. It will be a hard day with tourist flocking from every corner. It will be a struggle to get close to the railings for your peak, but once you are there take a good, long and hard look. Remember you might only see this once and it will be one of those wonders you remember forever.

Each warrior is so different from the next, you’ll think your looking at real people, oh wait , they were once. Each warrior is modelled off the artists that created them. Each so unique, its kind of freaky to look at really.

Each warrior was reconstructed by archaeologists and in one of the pits you can see the process, that can take up to 2 years for one warrior. There are 3 pits to see and the museum, where you can shake hands with the farmer who discovered the warriors, around two thousand years after they were created.

So, now why were they created, you ask? Well, way back when an Emperor decided to build his tomb with all the luxuries he would need in his after life. Jewels, gold and food, of course. But he needed horses, so he put horses in a pit with some feed and buried them, so they either, starved to death or suffocated, whichever came first. But wait, he needed women, “lets chuck them in a pit and bury them” he decided. Them came the warriors, “lets kill… Oh wait! We can’t kill the warriors, they know how to fight and might kill me in the after life because I killed them first. I know! Lets replicate them out of terracotta!” Thus the Terracotta Warriors were born! Ahhh, the life of an ancient rich guy.

Ok, so this all sounds a little negative, sorry. I’m actually thankful for the gift he has offered the world. Without his selfish choices we would never have beauty and history such as this. It truly does give a remarkable tale to those statues. A tale that is a lot more in depth and that has lasted the ages, which I am so so grateful for.  It really was an amazing experience and I want to see them again and marvel at their beauty. Each is so detailed and stunning, its a shame they weren’t intact when found.  When you look down in the pits you will see piles of rumble with half bodies, arms, legs and even horse parts. All terracotta, of course, not really parts. As I stood there my mind wondered and created stories – the warriors fighting in the planes of the underworld, as they fell their Terracotta bodies resembled their injures. Horses falling in battle along with the soldiers on their backs, fighting for what they were created for. Each warrior had a story in my mind, my head was full of wonder and images. Just magical.

  

H xx