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The Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin (221-209 BC), is one of the earliest and largest imperial mausoleums of ancient China. It is situated at the north foot of Mount Li in Lintong County of Shaan'xi Province.

According to 'A Biography of the First Emperor of Qin' in The Historical Memories, he started the construction of his palace and the mausoleum as soon as he acceded to the throne. After his unification of China, he had about 700,000 people working on two massive projects, the Great Wall and the Mausoleum, which took eleven years to complete. It is said the outer coffin in the underground vault was cast in bronze.

The vaults containing the terra cotta warriors and horses were discovered in 1974. These terra cotta figures stood in rows in full battle array. Of the three vaults excavated thus far, the No.1 vault is the largest, extending 230 metres long and 62 meters wide. The total area covered is 14,260 square meters. There are some 6,000 terra cotta figures found in it, mainly soldiers.

The No.2 vault is 20 meters apart to the northeast of the No. 1 vault, which covers 6,000 square meters and houses 1,000 terra cotta objects, mainly war chariots and cavalrymen. These look like a battle formation of combined arms. The No.3 vault is in the northwest of the No.1 vault. This vault seems the command post of the forces in the other two vaults. There are 73 terra cotta warriors, carrying hand weapons and standing around a chariot, which carries the commanders.

The No.1 vault is open to the public and there are more than 6,000 figures lined up in good order in a pit about five meters deep. The soldiers and horses are in full battle formation. The formation begins with a row of vanguards and then there are three commanders who wear armor and the rest wear short battle dresses. Such a formation is an embodiment of the military thinking of the First Emperor of Qin, faultless military and sharp alertness of the troops. It was this formation that enabled him to conquer the six other rival states.

In the exhibition hall, there is a terra cotta figure of a general that stands almost two meters tall. He wears a headgear shaped like a pair of dragons, and a field robe covered by a suit of scaled armor with a long sword hung at the waist. With his flowing beard and eyes staring straight ahead, he imparts an air of self assurance, fortitude and resourcefulness. It is so indistinguishable from a real person so that it can be compared to the Greek sculptures. No wonder that the Terra Cotta Warriors of the Qin Mausoleum is reputed as 'the Eighth Wonder of the World.'

Written by our column writer Hao Zhuo and edited by Jun Shan.

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