Terracotta Warriors

In 1974, in Xian, 900km northwest of Beijing, peasant farmers unearthed some pottery while digging a well. This discovery led to one of the most significant archeological discoveries of the 20th century.

Around 220BC, Qin Shi Huang di conquered and united the warring states of China to become China's first Emperor. He built the Great Wall, and is said to have collected great works of art. He was also said to be obsessed with immortality. Upon becoming Emperor, he had 70,000 workers begin building his tomb, which took 11 years to create. Upon his death, his 3000 wives and concubines followed him to the grave.

Most of his city/tomb has yet to be excavated, but the army of over 7000 life-size Terracotta Warriors in battle formations that guard the city are an archeological wonder.

It is said that each warrior has a unique face, but that there are about 8 different molds for each of the warrior types.

Some of the people who have been here for much longer than I have flown out to see them in person. Unfortunately, this is not something I am able to do, however, there is an exhibit here in the Olympic Green that has five of the warriors on display.

Johnson and Johnson are sponsoring the display (as well as a touching memorial to the victims of the recent earthquake in Sichuan province). J+J are actively involved in the preservation of the Terracotta Warriors using anti-fungal treatments to prevent further decay.

The detail on these life-size figures is amazing, and it is hard to imagine that there are over 7000 of them. In Xian, there are many different types of warriors of various ranks and positions, including some on horses, as well as archers, and even jugglers.

The wall of the Johnson and Johnson exhibit contains murals of the warriors in their actual sites, and even these are haunting to look at. I can't imagine what it would be like to be there in person and to stare at this army in their trenches.