The Dark Story of the Terracotta Army Statue and Emperor Qin’s Strange Obsession

A drought hit the village of Xi’an in 1974, and a group of farmers took the initiative to dig a water well in Xi’an, Lintong District, Shaanxi Province. But while digging, they suddenly found human-sized statues of soldiers. Not just one or two, but more than 8,000! This amazing discovery opened up a dark story from centuries ago.

Discovery of Terracotta Army Statues

On the day of March 29, 1974, a group of farmers who were beginning to despair over the drought that had hit their region took the initiative to dig a water well. The water well was located in Xi’an, Lintong District, Shaanxi Province. The city of Xi’an is about 1500 km from the city of Shanghai and is also the first capital of China.

The Xi’an region itself has been established since the 2nd century BC. During this time, the region was under the rule of successive emperors. Emperors who have ruled are the Zhou Emperor, Han Emperor, Qin Emperor, and Tang Emperor, who ruled until the 12th century.

Farmers then carried out excavations. But while digging, they found statues dressed as human-sized soldiers. The number of statues reached more than 8,000. These statues became known as the Terracotta Army Statues. Terracotta itself comes from the Italian word “terracotta,” which means soil.

What is interesting about these statues is not only their enormous number but also the fact that their faces are not the same. Everything is different, as if it were made to be similar to the original. If you pay attention to the statues, they are dressed in war clothes with different details according to their position.

In addition to the discovery of life-size statues, this discovery also succeeded in finding horses that were the size of real horses.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Strange Obsession

The discovery of thousands of terracotta statues in Xi’an then opened a big question: for what purpose were these statues made? Then the story behind the dynasty that ordered this extraordinary construction was revealed. A dark story of the Qin Dynasty

At that time, Xi’an was under the rule of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. This emperor was so famous. Not because of his success in developing the country, but because of his cruelty. It was 246 BC, and the 13-year-old Qin Shi Huang was already on the throne. Emperor Qin was known for his fear of death and obsession with staying young.

Therefore, he sent thousands of people to search for herbal medicines to fulfill his crazy obsession. In fact, he was so afraid of death that the 13-year-old Emperor ordered the construction of a gigantic tomb that could accommodate thousands of statues of soldiers with positions ranging from major generals to lowly soldiers complete with horses. He believed that the statues would live and accompany him in his next life.

According to records and information from the Record of the Grand Historian that Chinese historian Sima Qian presented, it took 36 years and more than 700,000 artists to create this terracotta statue. The terracotta statue construction project is also said to be the second largest project in China after the Great Wall of China.

The dark story of the construction of the terracotta statue was revealed. When construction was about to end, the emperor ordered to close all the exits of the cemetery. The terrible thing is that thousands of workers are trapped alive in that place.

It is said that this was done by the Emperor so that the location of the tomb remained secret and uncovered. To trick people about the location, mounds of grassy soil were made on top of it that resembled hills.

Current Terracotta Statues

Since its discovery in 1974, the process of excavation and work is still ongoing. For thousands of terracotta statues, it even takes several teams of archaeologists from China and England to keep the statues in good condition, considering the statues are thousands of years old.

All the statues are dressed in armor, complete with iron swords. Some horses were also found to be plated in gold, silver, and copper. These findings certainly require a reliable forensic team as well as extraordinary care.

But behind this extraordinary discovery that has even become one of UNESCO’s world heritage sites, the people of Xi’an do not feel it. They claimed that since the discovery of the statues, people have flocked to their village to carry out excavations, which resulted in the displacement of farmers in the area. The once-green village has now turned into a giant terracotta tomb.