Editing Terracotta Army (section)

== History ==
[[File:秦始皇帝陵.JPG|thumb|right|The mound where the tomb is located]]
[[File:Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum (Terracotta Army).png|thumb|Plan of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum and location of the Terracotta Army ([[File:ROCA WO(Early 1929).png|20px]]). The central tomb itself has yet to be excavated.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=WILLIAMS |first1=A. R. |title=Discoveries May Rewrite History of China's Terra-Cotta Warriors |journal=National Geographic |date=12 October 2016 |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/china-first-emperor-terra-cotta-warriors-tomb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228210204/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/china-first-emperor-terra-cotta-warriors-tomb |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 February 2021 |language=en}}</ref>]]
The construction of the tomb was described by the historian [[Sima Qian]] (145{{ndash}}90 BCE) in the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'', the first of China's 24 dynastic histories, which was written a century after the mausoleum's completion. Work on the mausoleum began in 246 BCE, soon after Emperor Qin (then aged 13) succeeded his father as King of [[Qin (state)|Qin]], and Sima said that the project eventually involved 700,000 conscripted workers.<ref name="chinesetext"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/chinese-terra-cotta-warriors-had-real-and-very-carefully-made-weapons/2012/11/26/999b9cb4-2840-11e2-b4e0-346287b7e56c_story.html |title=Chinese terra cotta warriors had real, and very carefully made weapons |date=26 November 2012 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=19 October 2016 |archive-date=19 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019150519/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/chinese-terra-cotta-warriors-had-real-and-very-carefully-made-weapons/2012/11/26/999b9cb4-2840-11e2-b4e0-346287b7e56c_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Geographer [[Li Daoyuan]], writing six centuries after the first emperor's death, recorded in ''[[Commentary on the Water Classic|Shui Jing Zhu]]'' that [[Mount Li]] was a favoured location due to its auspicious geology: "famed for its jade mines, its northern side was rich in gold, and its southern side rich in beautiful jade; the first emperor, covetous of its fine reputation, therefore chose to be buried there".{{sfn|Clements|2007|p=158}}<ref>[http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B4%E7%B6%93%E6%B3%A8/19 Shui Jing Zhu Chapter 19] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017080845/http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B4%E7%B6%93%E6%B3%A8/19 |date=17 October 2012 }} 《水經注•渭水》'''Original text:''' 秦始皇大興厚葬，營建塚壙於驪戎之山，一名藍田，其陰多金，其陽多美玉，始皇貪其美名，因而葬焉。</ref>

Sima Qian wrote that the first emperor was buried with palaces, towers, officials, valuable artifacts and wondrous objects. According to this famous account, 100 flowing rivers were simulated using mercury, and above them the ceiling was decorated with heavenly bodies, below which lay the features of the lands of China which the emperor had unified. Some translations of this passage refer to "models" or "imitations"; however, those words were not used in the original text, which also makes no mention of the terracotta army.<ref name="chinesetext">[http://ctext.org/pre-qin-and-han?filter=d270 Sima Qian – Shiji Volume 6] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005004741/http://ctext.org/pre-qin-and-han?filter=d270 |date=5 October 2013 }} 《史記•秦始皇本紀》 '''Original text:''' {{lang|zh-hans|始皇初即位，穿治酈山，及並天下，天下徒送詣七十餘萬人，穿三泉，下銅而致槨，宮觀百官奇器珍怪徙臧滿之。令匠作機駑矢，有所穿近者輒射之。以水銀為百川江河大海，機相灌輸，上具天文，下具地理。以人魚膏為燭，度不滅者久之。二世曰："先帝後宮非有子者，出焉不宜。" 皆令從死，死者甚眾。葬既已下，或言工匠為機，臧皆知之，臧重即泄。大事畢，已臧，閉中羨，下外羨門，盡閉工匠臧者，無複出者。樹草木以象山。}} '''Translation:''' When the First Emperor ascended the throne, the digging and preparation at Mount Li began. After he unified his empire, 700,000 men were sent there from all over his empire. They dug down deep to underground springs, pouring copper to place the outer casing of the coffin. Palaces and viewing towers housing a hundred officials were built and filled with treasures and rare artifacts. Workmen were instructed to make automatic crossbows primed to shoot at intruders. Mercury was used to simulate the hundred rivers, the Yangtze and Yellow River, and the great sea, and set to flow mechanically. Above, the heaven is depicted, below, the geographical features of the land. Candles were made of "mermaid"'s fat which is calculated to burn and not extinguish for a long time. The Second Emperor said: "It is inappropriate for the wives of the late emperor who have no sons to be free", ordered that they should accompany the dead, and a great many died. After the burial, it was suggested that it would be a serious breach if the craftsmen who constructed the tomb and knew of its treasure were to divulge those secrets. Therefore, after the funeral ceremonies had completed, the inner passages and doorways were blocked, and the exit sealed, immediately trapping the workers and craftsmen inside. None could escape. Trees and vegetation were then planted on the tomb mound such that it resembled a hill.</ref>{{sfn|Portal|2007|p=17}} Although these elements of Sima Qian's account on the structure of the mausoleum have been seen as credulous in pre-modern assessments, the detection of high levels of mercury that were found in the soil of the tomb mound following the discovery of the mausoleum site have since given credence to Sima Qian's account.{{sfn|Portal|2007|p=202}} Additionally, the Emperor is well documented for building monumental statues in human form during his reign, such as the ''[[Twelve Metal Colossi]],'' which were a series of contemporaneous statues that are now lost but have been noted in historical records.<ref>{{Cite journal | author-link=Duan Qingbo |last=Qingbo |first=Duan |date=2022 |title=Sino-Western Cultural Exchange as Seen through the Archaeology of the First Emperor's Necropolis |journal=Journal of Chinese History 中國歷史學刊 |volume=7 |language=en |pages=67–70 |doi=10.1017/jch.2022.25 |s2cid=251690411 |issn=2059-1632 |doi-access=free|quote=}}</ref>

Later historical accounts have suggested that the mausoleum complex and tomb itself had been looted by [[Xiang Yu]], a contender for the throne after the death of the first emperor.<ref>[http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B4%E7%B6%93%E6%B3%A8/19 Shui Jing Zhu Chapter 19] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017080845/http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B4%E7%B6%93%E6%B3%A8/19 |date=17 October 2012 }} 《水經注•渭水》 '''Original text:''' 項羽入關，發之，以三十萬人，三十日運物不能窮。關東盜賊，銷槨取銅。牧人尋羊，燒之，火延九十日，不能滅。'''Translation:''' Xiang Yu entered the gate, sent forth 300,000 men, but they could not finish carrying away his loot in 30 days. Thieves from northeast melted the coffin and took its copper. A shepherd looking for his lost sheep burned the place, the fire lasted 90 days and could not be extinguished.</ref><ref>[http://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=4944 Sima Qian – Shiji Volume 8] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506071840/http://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=4944 |date=6 May 2015 }} 《史記•高祖本紀》 '''Original text:''' 項羽燒秦宮室，掘始皇帝塚，私收其財物 '''Translation:''' Xiang Yu burned the Qin palaces, dug up the First Emperor's tomb, and expropriated his possessions.</ref><ref>[http://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=65351 Han Shu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208140544/http://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=65351 |date=8 December 2015 }}《[[Book of Han|漢書]]·楚元王傳》：'''Original text:''' "項籍焚其宮室營宇，往者咸見發掘，其後牧兒亡羊，羊入其鑿，牧者持火照球羊，失火燒其藏槨。" '''Translation:''' Xiang burned the palaces and buildings. Later observers witnessed the excavated site. Afterward, a shepherd lost his sheep which went into the dug tunnel; the shepherd held a torch to look for his sheep, and accidentally set fire to the place and burned the coffin.</ref> However, there are indications that the tomb itself may not have been plundered.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4359774.stm |title=Royal Chinese treasure discovered |work=BBC News |date=20 October 2005 |access-date=3 December 2011 |archive-date=15 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061215145834/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4359774.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Discovery ===
{{nowrap|The Terracotta Army}} was discovered on 29 March 1974 by a group of farmers—[[Yang Zhifa]], his five brothers, and neighbour Wang Puzhi—who were digging a well approximately {{cvt|1.5|km}} east of the Qin Emperor's tomb mound at [[Mount Li]] (Lishan),<ref name="Agnew2010">{{cite book |last=Agnew |first=Neville |title=Conservation of Ancient Sites on the Silk Road |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n8YAyXzJE2IC&pg=PA214 |access-date=11 July 2012 |date=3 August 2010 |publisher=Getty Publications |isbn=978-1606060131 |page=214 |archive-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329073020/https://books.google.com/books?id=n8YAyXzJE2IC&pg=PA214 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170411-the-army-that-conquered-the-world |title=The Army that Conquered the World |first=Jonathan |last=Glancey |date=12 April 2017 |work=BBC |access-date=10 December 2019 |archive-date=28 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028094809/http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170411-the-army-that-conquered-the-world |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/emperor-qin/ |title=Emperor Qin's Terracotta Army |author=O. Louis Mazzatenta |magazine=National Geographic |access-date=22 November 2010 |archive-date=25 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225104704/http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/emperor-qin/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>The precise coordinates are {{Coord|34|23|5.71|N|109|16|23.19|E|type:landmark|display=inline}})</ref> a region riddled with underground springs and watercourses. For centuries, occasional reports surfaced of pieces of terracotta figures and fragments of the Qin [[necropolis]] {{Ndash}}roofing tiles, bricks and chunks of masonry.{{sfn|Clements|2007|pp= 155, 157, 158, 160–161, 166 }} This discovery prompted Chinese archaeologists, including [[Zhao Kangmin]], to investigate,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/20/612780909/archaeologist-who-uncovered-chinas-8-000-man-terra-cotta-army-dies-at-82 |title=Archaeologist Who Uncovered China's 8,000-Man Terra Cotta Army Dies At 82 |website=npr.org |date=20 May 2018 |last1=Ingber |first1=Sasha |access-date=21 May 2018 |archive-date=21 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521021410/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/20/612780909/archaeologist-who-uncovered-chinas-8-000-man-terra-cotta-army-dies-at-82 |url-status=live }}</ref> revealing the largest pottery figurine group ever found. A museum complex has since been constructed over the area, the largest pit being enclosed by a roofed structure.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/shaanxi-shanxi/xian/sights/historic/army-terracotta-warriors |title=Army of Terracotta Warriors |work=Lonely Planet |access-date=29 July 2016 |archive-date=21 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821173712/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/shaanxi-shanxi/xian/sights/historic/army-terracotta-warriors |url-status=live }}</ref>