One of the most amazing exhibitions to open in London can be seen from 13th September at the British Museum. More than 100 artefacts have been loaned to the Museum by the Museum of the Terracotta Army and the Cultural Relics Bureau of Shaanxi Province. Most of the items come from the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi, First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty.
Curators at the British Museum have temporarily transformed the Round Reading Room into an exciting exhibition area. This is the first time that the Round Reading Room has been used for such a purpose.
The Exhibition
The Museum is displaying twelve complete life-size warrior figures with horses and chariots plus acrobats, strongmen, musicians and bureaucrats. Nearly one hundred other items, including coinage, jewellery, armour and weapons, are supplemented by audio-visual presentations telling the story of Qin Shihuangdi's ambitions, achievements and his meticulous planning for the afterlife. This is a breathtaking exhibition never to be forgotten.
The First Emperor – Qin Shihuangdi
Qin Shihuangdi was originally named Ying Zheng. He became King of Qin as a boy of thirteen and from 221BC, after conquering and uniting the surrounding regions, he pronounced himself "First August and Divine Emperor: 'Emperor' to separate himself from his ancestors who were merely kings and dukes, 'August and Divine' to show that he was equal to god. The word 'China' is derived from 'Qin'.
Qin Shihuangdi is remembered for several things. He ruled with ruthless barbarity unifying the numerous warring tribes of the region and transforming China into a powerful political entity. He also simplified and encouraged trade by standardising both the monetary system and the weights and measures system. He ruled that one single script must be used nationwide. He was obsessed with control, precision and uniformity and even ruled that the axle widths of all carts must be the same so that the carts would fit easily into ruts on the roads that he built.
The Discovery of the Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army was discovered in 1974 and forms part of a massive archaeological site that includes Qin Shihuangdi's tomb and four large pits covering a total area of approximately sixty square kilometres. The warriors were there to defend the tomb. The tomb itself, occupying some 400 square metres is still sealed.
The warriors were discovered in three of the pits covering an area of approximately 25,000 square metres. One pit contains the main army. Infantry and cavalry occupy the second pit and the command post is located in the third pit. A fourth pit was discovered empty, presumably left incomplete on the death of Qin Shihuangdi.
There are at least 7000 terracotta soldiers and 1000 have been preserved. Every soldier had individual features and his own personality. Most of the original pigments have disappeared and some individual features are worn but still the details are incredible. You clearly see the details of a suit of armour: the higher the rank the smaller the links of the armour. Armour with smaller links was more expensive to make and more comfortable to wear and therefore only worn by high ranking officers. You can also distinguish between the different head gear worn by different warriors.
It took more than thirty years to construct the site, from 246BC to 210BC and more than half a million people worked on it. The site is not yet fully excavated and Chinese archaeologists have decided not to open the tomb itself as it may contain high levels of mercury.
The exhibition runs from 13th September 2007 to 6th April 2008. For more details visit the British Museum's website.
