I attended my first Johns Hopkins Alumni Chapter event today, which included a lecture and access to the Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor exhibit at the National Geographic Museum.
During the lecture, I learned how China was originally a kingdom comprised of several territories and ruled by the privileged with family connections. The laws and taxes of each territory were different, and a counsel maintained the peace amongst the territories. However, Qin Shi Huang Di, a territory ruler, disrupted the kingdom by taking over other territories to eventually create the first empire of China. Between 211 B.C. and 207 B.C., Qin ruled all of China with legalism, where the same laws applied to everyone, and he neutralized everything from currency to the size of the roads. Also, during Qin’s reign, he had a massive tomb constructed with thousands of terra cotta soldiers, generals, musicians, and other items to take care of him during his afterlife.
Through the lecture, I gained more appreciation for the exhibit, which featured over 100 objects such as 15 life-sized figures, weapons, coins, pottery, armor, roof tiles, animals and photos from Qin’s tomb, which was discovered in 1974. The exhibit provided detailed information about Qin’s dynasty and the purpose of each artifact. For example, each warrior looked different (e.g. hairstyles and clothing) to signify his level of importance in the dynasty. In addition, a warrior’s position told a story about his role (e.g. a warrior knelt down represents an entertainer and a warrior with hands out represents a chariot driver.) The time and detail that went into each object were amazing, especially since they were preserved for over 2000 years.
To date, archeologists have excavated over 1,000 artifacts. However, it is estimated that over 7,000 more exist so I hope to see an expanded Qin exhibit in the future.
