The Fear of an After-Life War Caused The First Chinese Emperor to Build a Breathtaking Terracotta Army

The reason why the Terracotta Army exists

The first time seeing the terracotta army on TV, my child’s mind thought they were real humans transformed into clay by a curse.

But my imagination wasn’t entirely wrong.

The First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi, ordered the sculpturing of the Terracotta army to look like his real army.

Why?

He had ambitions beyond life on earth.

How Shi Huang became The First Emperor of China

At the age of 13, Shi Huang ascended to the throne of Qin.

His kingdom would later expand into an empire, but at a cost.

He had to fight the armies of six neighboring kingdoms. It was no easy task, but he was ambitious.

After Qin Shi Huang annihilated his enemies and took their states, he had to establish order.

He thus invented the title of emperor (皇帝= huángdì), changing his name to Qin Shi Huangdi.

The states he conquered didn’t fall apart thanks to Qin Shi Huangdi’s outstanding management skills.

Armed rebellions against a ruler were not as rare back then.

So, Qin Shi Huangdi issued a standard currency across the empire. He also gave a standard writing script making all states communicate in unison.

The first emperor was meticulous.

An Obsession With the Afterlife

Spirituality was a great part of ancient China.

Thus, a great leader like Qin Shi Huangdi had to be heavily invested in the topic.

He ordered many expeditions across East Asia, looking for ways to become immortal.

That’s how he came up with the idea of building an army for his afterlife ambitions.

That army is what’s now called the Terracotta Army.

For someone who built the great wall of China as a defense system, the Terracotta army seems to be a match for his breathtaking ideas.

Qin Shi Huangdi believed that his enemies though dead would be waiting to attack him in the afterlife.

Thus he prepared for an afterlife war in the land of the dead.

The Terracotta Army: A Force to Be Reckoned With

Six thousand men ready for battle. Imagine.

Convicted of his belief in an afterlife war, Qin Shi Huangdi ordered workers to replicate each soldier in his army into a clay model.

It makes sense to replicate the same soldiers that defeated his enemies in the first place.

Historian Sima Qian (145–90 BCE) wrote that over 700,000 workers were in on the project. Modern historians have reduced the number to 15,000.

Another account states that individual parts of each soldier had to be sculptured apart and then later assembled to perfection into one piece.

As you can see, the army is in battle formation and ready for action.

It’s said that the formation faced east because, strategically, that’s where Qin Shi Huangdi thought the enemies would attack from.

Farmers, namely Yang Zhifa, his five brothers, and Wang Puzhi, accidentally re-discovered the underground site in 1974 while digging a well.

Since that time, archeologists have found the following,

• 8000 clay soldiers are found in the underground Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
• The clay soldiers are in formation and separated into different ranks (infantry, archers, cavalry, and generals)
• Each individual soldier has their own facial features, hairstyle, and clothing
• In the formation, 520 horses are attached to 150 chariots in addition to 150 cavalry horses
• The clay cavalry horses were sculptured with saddles which means the horse saddle was invented earlier than modern history stated.

The Fictional Afterlife Battle: Qin Shi Huangdi vs Enemies (An Original)

On his deathbed, Qin Shi Huangdi drew his final breath.

And he knew it was time.

Time to order his 8000 troops to wage war. Time order his 150 chariots to charge. Time for a ghost war.

The afterlife soil trembles, and an army of angry, defeated soldiers run towards Qin Shi Huangdi’s meticulous formation.

They have been turned into demons of rage and anticipation of the day. A day for vengeance.

But, Qin Shi Huangdi was no fool, he died ready.

He wore his lucky war attire. He has spent ages readying his army for war.

The tension was palpable.

As soon as they saw the enemy, the many arrows flew into the grim skies of the underworld. It rained.

Many from the opposite side were hit, but it wasn’t enough.

The enemy side has been preparing too.

They recruited and made allies for ages. The demon soldiers were as many as rice grains in a ton of rice.

As they charged, a scene compared to nothing Qin Shi Huangdi had ever seen.

The two armies fought and fought — But never to exhaustion.

The battle is still raging and will continue for 10,000 years.

Qin Shi Huangdi hopes to be victorious in the afterlife, but he will need allies to win this war.

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Sources: history of China's terracotta warriors, Facts About China's Terracotta Army, Qin Shi Huang