The Terracotta Warriors are figures made of terracotta built in the Qin Dynasty. They were used to protect the emperor, Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife. They were constructed in Xi'an. Construction started in 246 BC and involved over 700,000 workers, the emperor was 13 when the construction began. The Chinese used an assembly line style production, which was ahead of their time. They had a couple different style bodies with custom limbs and facial features. No two figures looked the same. The warriors were once painted with high detail, today only few figures have small amounts of paint. As seen in the picture at the right.
The warriors are located in 4 different pits. Pit one is 230 meters long and contains the main army, about 8,000 figures. Pit two has calvary, infantry units and Chariots. Pit three is the command post, containing high ranking officers. Pit four is empty and left unfinished.
The pits are a relatively new discovery, only discovered in 1974 by local farmers. After 25 years of tourism, in 1999 the figures were suffering from 9 different types of mold. This was caused by tourists breath and humidity changes. Also it has been said that the figures were oxidized grey from being exposed to the air. Recently the Sichuan Earthquake caused some damage to the warriors.
Qin Shi Huang
