Page 48 - sample pack

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Terracotta Army 兵马俑

Background

The Terracotta Army dates from 210 BCE and is a collection of terracotta statues of the warriors and horses of China’s frst emperor, Qin Shi Huang. They were buried underground and were only discovered in 1974 by some farmers in Xi’an, in the province of Shaanxi. The army is made up of over 8,000 terracotta soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses. It is possible that not all of the statues have been unearthed yet, and that there are still many underground waiting to be discovered.

The purpose of the army was to help the emperor rule another empire in the afterlife. The idea was to have everyone and everything that the emperor needed to help him rule his empire, so among the people in the army there are warriors, chariots, horses, strongmen, musicians and acrobats. The emperor wanted his army to help him fght enemies, and the musicians and acrobats to entertain everybody.

One of the most amazing things about the army is that all the soldiers look different – no two fgures have the same face. According to history, Qin Shi Huang was 13 when the frst terracotta fgures were made. The fact that he wanted to make sure each soldier was different may be the reason why the work started when he was so young.

Each of the fgures was made separately. The head, arms, legs and body were made and then joined together. Research into how the fgures were made has shown that 8 face moulds were probably used, with extra clay to add individual features. The fgures are life-like and life-sized – they are between 6 and 6.5 feet tall, and have different uniforms and hairstyles depending on their job. When they were frst made, the fgures were painted brightly, which made them look even more realistic. Over time, the colours have faded. They were also buried with real weapons, but robbers stole the weapons once they were buried.

Class activity: The emperor’s afterlife

Talk about all of the things the emperor would need to be buried with to be successful in his next life (think about food and clothes as well as his army of soldiers). If you have studied the Ancient Egyptians, make the connection between a similar belief in the afterlife and the necessity to take worldly goods with you for success in a future life.

Arts and crafts:

Make your own terracotta soldier

Use clay or playdough to make your own terracotta soldier. Younger children should use playdough, whereas older children can make their fgure with oven- or air-dried clay and let it set. The older children can then also paint theirs (in another class, perhaps). Younger children can practise making different fgures.

Playdough is easy to buy, but for an extra fun twist, try making your own playdough with the children:

Materials:

1) 1 cup of plain four 2) 1/2 cup of salt

3) 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar 4) 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil 5) 1 cup of water 6) Food colouring

7) A saucepan and a mixing spoon

Method:

1) Put the four and the salt into a medium-sized pan

2) Add the cream of tartar and one spoon of vegetable oil

3) Add a few drops of colouring to a large cup of water and then pour the mixture into the pan

4) Mix the ingredients together and gently heat the mixture on a stove until a dough forms in the pan

5) Let the dough cool completely, and begin to form it into a lump

6) Now you are ready to make models with the dough!

7) Keep the dough in an airtight container.

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