Our Trip to the People's Republic of China

Day 07
Terra Cotta Soldiers Reproductions Factory

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

The pagoda in Xi’an is actually a recreation of the one in India according to the tale of "The Gift of the Wild Goose."

We learned that the Monkey King of Chinese folklore was actually a human monk, who after a long absence, became famous by bringing quantities of sacred Buddhist writings from India. Over time, the folk tales corrupted into calling him the king of monkeys. The monk spent the remainder of his life translating the teachings he had imported.

Silk Quilt Factory

Noodle Banquet

Qin Shi Huang’s Terra Cotta Warriors Museum

On the bus trip to the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum, the guide told us the Chinese version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." The Chinese folk tale is known as "A Kingdom Lost for a Concubine." The story was supposed to have occurred in the mountains that we were passing.

Before we went through the museum and excavation areas, we were led into an Omnimax theater for background information on what we were about to see. We held onto handrails as a movie swirled around us on the circular wall. The movie, in English, began with scenic shots of the Yellow River area, then recreated battle scenes and the emperor’s court.

In early 1974, while digging a well on the northern slope of Mt. Lishan, about 35 km west of Xi’an, farmers discovered a pit containing some ancient bronze weapons and broken terra-cotta warriors. By 1976, archeologists had found three pits.

Near the theater entrance, one of the farmers who had discovered the first pit now makes his living by autographing guidebooks.

Nearly 8000 warriors comprise the terra-cotta army intended to guard the tomb, actually an underground palace, of the first emperor. The warriors are now being called Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World, because they were created at the same time and by same emperor who created the Great Wall. Each warrior has a different face and details of clothing. Craftsmen used a variety of molds to create the body parts. Then the warriors were assembled and the final details carved. [See The First Emperor.]

From the theater, we went to Pit 1, the largest of three excavation pits. (Pits are numbered in the order of their discovery.) A great vaulted ceiling is built over the excavation area. Vertical rows of soldiers faced us as we entered the main room.

Warriors were made slightly larger than life size to create awe. Each pit represents a different division of the army. More than 6000 soldiers and a few horses and chariots were found in Pit 1; 1400 soldiers and cavalry in Pit 2; and 68 officers in Pit 3. A fourth pit was empty. The intent was to have four full divisions, but the work stopped when the emperor’s son was overthrown.

A no-picture rule was posted at the main pit. Our guide repeated dire warnings about film being confiscated from the rule-breakers. However, as we stood over the open pit, flashbulbs went off everywhere, and the guards seemed not to care. In the pit were excavation equipment and workers in hard hats.

The wonder of the creation of so many soldiers is matched by the persistence of the archeologists. Modern craftsmen are recreating the army by putting together the shards like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. The figures at the front of the pit have been repaired. A back area contains figures still under reconstruction.

Glass cases on the visitor’s mezzanine level provided us with close-ups of the human figures and a horse. Another building houses a multi-story museum with many artifacts from the dig, including weaponry, harnesses, and several sets of miniature bronze horses and carts. Among the wonders was a chrome-plated sword. Before its discovery, scientists did not know that a Bronze-Age culture had the technology to use chrome. Another curiosity was the locking mechanism to prop up a large umbrella. It had a sophistication that could have been put to greater uses, but was never exploited.

Stage Opera of the Tang Dynasty

Warriors with royal yellow silks, brass helmets and medieval weapons greeted us at the door and ushered us to an upstairs dining room within the theater complex. When I stood up, I could see at the main stage area through a large plate-glass window.

Immediately behind our table, two girls in bright yellow kimonos sat on a foot-high stage, serenading us on ancient string instruments. We were told that the hairstyles and kimonos that we associate with Japanese geishas actually originated in Tang Dynasty China. Envoys during that period brought the fashions to Japan.

"Gee," Pat remarked, "I never knew that Chinese music sounded so much like Blue Grass!"

We gradually realized that the girls were playing American tunes and probably had been all along. The group at our table started singing to the music, and soon the whole room joined in such timeworn ballads as "Way Down Upon the Swanee River" and "I Wish I Were in Dixie."

After dinner, we trooped back downstairs. Mother, Pat and I were seated at a table on a raised platform behind diners who were just finishing their meals. We ordered from a beverage menu. Our tour leader, Robin, was quite nice in ensuring that Pat’s aisle seat had a good vantage for videotaping. One of the ladies from the tour group tried unsuccessfully to coax one of the single men to join our table. Before the curtain rose, the all-female orchestra played an overture. Both musicians and performers were dressed in the Tang fashion. This included massive, rounded hairdos, held in place with elaborate combs that stood out from their faces.

An announcer with a cultured British accent introduced each act and gave an historical background. The show opened with a great pounding of huge drums and gongs that would do a marching band proud. These were traditional instruments that replicated findings from archeological digs. Next, formations of ladies floated across the stage like swans. They trailed and twirled long ribbons in imitation of clouds. During one of the acts, performers entered the room right behind our table. The actors, dressed as the emperor and his court, formed a procession to the front of the room.

The final, featured performer was flutist who trilled his Pan pipe in high-pitched notes to imitate birdcalls. I found him quite annoying.