Terracotta Army

Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
UNESCO World Heritage Site
LocationLintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
CriteriaCultural: i, iii, iv, vi
Reference441
Inscription1987 (11th Session)
Websitebmy.com.cn
Coordinates34°23′06″N 109°16′23″E / 34.38500°N 109.27306°E / 34.38500; 109.27306
Terracotta Army is located in China
Terracotta Army
Location of Terracotta Army in China
Terracotta Army
Simplified Chinese兵马俑
Traditional Chinese兵馬俑
Literal meaningSoldier and horse tomb-figurines
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinBīngmǎ yǒng
Wade–GilesPing1-ma3 yung3
IPA[píŋmà jʊ̀ŋ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationBīng-máah yúng
JyutpingBing1-maa5 jung2
Southern Min
Tâi-lôPing-bé ióng

The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his afterlife.

The figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE,[1] were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The figures vary in height according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army hold more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remain in situ in the pits near Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.[2] Other, non-military terracotta figures have since been found in other pits, including those of officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.[3]

  1. ^ Lu Yanchou; Zhang Jingzhao; Xie Jun; Wang Xueli (1988). "TL dating of pottery sherds and baked soil from the Xian Terracotta Army Site, Shaanxi Province, China". International Journal of Radiation Applications and Instrumentation, Part D. 14 (1–2): 283–286. doi:10.1016/1359-0189(88)90077-5.
  2. ^ Portal 2007, p. 167.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).