Chinese takeaways: meeting Terracotta army

 Jan and I were shocked at the crowds last April at the Vatican. Those crowds were dwarfed--not just by the remarkable terra cotta army of QinShi Huangdi (秦始皇帝) the first emperor of China whose name even gave the country its name throughout most of the last two Millennia (at least outside "Chin"a). I believe someone said there would be 15,000 visitors the day we were there (in peak season it can exceed 60K--which I couldn't imagine). Considering so many features of this site, that shouldn't be a surprise. It is incredible on many counts.

Here is my take on the iconic picture that everyone must take: do notice the dark line on upper right: those are all people gawking from that angle. This is one of three large buildings--albeit the biggest.

I had to photograph the sign: truer words were never said!

This isn't really fair: there were quite a few statues in glass boxes--and it wasn't hard to get up close...

It was fascinating to see how different one soldier was from the next.

There is enormous significance in their dress, hairstyles etc. that reveal whether they were Han or a minority, and their status.

As a Greek, I couldn't help marvel at how the Chinese had also achieved incredible realism in sculpture=albeit a few centuries AFTER the Greek classical period.

Just a few more glimpses..

These, like ancient Greek sculptures, were painted with bright colors that fade as soon as the statues are exposed to light. Many are left in the ground as a consequence.

Yang Zhifa (杨志发)

After touring much of the vast site of the terra cotta army we were guided to the shop where Yang Zhifa--the farmer most credited with finding the army--was holding court as it were, and signing a lovely book about the site. Of course, as a bibliophile, I had to get it!

Proof positive I was there...His signature looked authentic enough, although he carries his 92 years lightly. Cynics be silenced!

I was impressed at how often we saw Chinese in ancient costume. The past lives on!