China in World History

The First Empires 23

discovered the head of such a warrior, and this has led Chinese archae-

ologists to one of the most spectacular discoveries of the twentieth

century, more than 7,000 life-sized terra cotta warriors in full battle

formation, with row upon row of infantry, bowmen, and spear carriers,

commanded by offi cers in four-horse chariots. The sight of this excava-

tion outside the old Qin capital (near today’s Xi’an) offers a truly awe-

some glimpse into the long-lost power of the Qin state in the age of its

great conquests.

Confucian historians have long claimed that the First Emperor

buried alive some 460 Confucian scholars who criticized his rule in

212 bce and one year later burned all non-Legalist works the govern-

ment could collect. Today, historians have cast serious doubt on these

stories and have shown that many of the stone inscriptions left by

the First Emperor and his court paid utmost attention to questions of

court rituals and music, all derived from earlier Zhou understandings

that we now identify as Confucian. So the Qin should be seen more as

These life-sized (6 to 6 1/2 feet high) terra cotta warriors, in battle formation
adjacent to the tomb of the First Qin Emperor in Shaanxi province, were intended
to protect the emperor’s tomb in the afterlife. In three pits near the tomb,
archaeologists have discovered 8,000 warriors, 130 chariots with 520 horses,
plus 150 cavalry horses, all made of terra cotta, most of which have not yet been
excavated.Photo by Brad Stern