The Qin kingdom occupies a special place in the history of ancient China. It was its ruler who, having destroyed the rest of the kingdoms of the Zhangguo (Warring States, 453-221 BC) period, created a single public education, covering a significant part of the territory of modern China. This ruler was a Qin wang named Zheng, who went down in history as the first emperor of the Qin Empire - Qin Shi Huangdi (r. 221-210 BC).

Qin Shi Huang is perhaps one of the most famous historical figures in ancient Chinese history. His name can be put on a par with the names of Sargon of Akkad, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Lenin, when it comes to leaders who did something during their reign that shook the foundations of contemporary societies to the ground and radically changed the life of not only their native state but also many neighbors. The names of these people will forever remain in history, because their deeds mark the end of one historical era and the beginning of a new one.

Each generation seeks to understand why these leaders were able to accomplish their grandiose deeds - because of their genius or just because, by a coincidence of historical circumstances, they were at the pinnacle of power in time. Another big mystery is their death. Often premature, untimely, it always gives rise to versions of whether the death was caused by natural causes or violence. This also applies to Qin Shi Huang.

In the composition of the one who lived at the turn of the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. historian Sima Qian shi chi("Historical Notes") it is reported that the emperor died in 210 during his next trip around the country. The death overtook the sovereign suddenly and at the most inopportune moment. There is reason to believe that he did not die a natural death. The suspicions of historians fall on a not very high-ranking, but influential official from the management of the imperial stables. taipu head of the emperor's departure cefulin by the name Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao was very close to one of the emperor's twenty sons, his favorite, Hu Hayu, whom he will soon enthrone against the will of his father. Apparently, Zhao Gao also gained confidence in the emperor himself, since he entrusted his beloved son to him. Sima Qian seems to be pushing the idea that Zhao Gao planned the assassination in advance. Zhao Gao's further actions, his victory in the struggle for power, will show that he could well go for it.

If we accept the hypothesis that it was Zhao Gao who planned the assassination of the emperor, then we must admit that he chose the most convenient time for this - the emperor was far away from the capital. If the emperor died a natural death, then again we have to admit that Zhao Gao did an excellent job of taking advantage of the situation. He had many allies at court.

The formation of the new Qin as a pan-Chinese state had just begun, and the will and determination of the emperor were needed to continue the transformation. But both the nobility and the people are tired of the ongoing global changes. As often happens, many began to believe that without this restless ruler they would immediately begin to live well and calmly, or maybe the old order would return. No one knew that wars would soon break out, which for almost ten years would shake the Celestial Empire: its north, the Huang He valley, and its rice-growing south, the Yangtze valley.

There was no emperor, but a historical precedent appeared in East Asia: it became clear that the creation of a single state was possible, and the path back to separate political entities of the Warring States period was historically doomed. The new state of the Western Han (206 BC - 8 AD) was already formed on the basis of the Qin experience, gradually over several decades.

By the ninth month of 210, the procession with the body of the emperor returned to the capital. Qin Shi Huang wanted to see his eldest son Fu Su as the successor, but by the will of Zhao Gao, one of the emperor's younger sons, Hu Hai, was placed on the throne, and he began to rule with the title of Ershi Huangdi (210-207 BC).

It is surprising with what ease the court and the metropolitan bureaucracy went for it. The calculation of the conspirators was justified: after all, Fu Su often argued with his father and was seemingly in disgrace, while Hu Hai was his father's favorite, accompanied him in the imperial detour and could seem like a successor. He suited most of the courtiers.

Thus began a new era. The Qin Empire still existed, but it was already doomed.

Discoveries at Mount Lishan

Emperor Qin Shi Huang was buried in the same ninth month of 210 in a tomb near Mount Lishan.

The tomb of the emperor began to be built in 246 BC, that is, long before the birth of the empire. Construction lasted 36 years, until the death of the emperor and, apparently, did not stop after his death. Only after the fall of the empire in 206 BC. work was stopped.

AT shi chi it is said that about 700 thousand people were involved in the construction in total. Workers were brought from various, including the most remote, regions of the empire. In addition, convicted criminals constantly worked here.

Sima Qian, who lived a hundred years later than these events, left a description of the tomb, the authenticity of which raises some doubts: after all, the historian used sources, probably of literary origin, and not documentary-historical. Here is what he wrote: “They went deep to the third waters, filled [the walls] with bronze and lowered down the sarcophagus. The crypt was filled with [copies] of palaces transported and lowered there, [figures] of officials of all ranks, rare things and extraordinary jewelry. The masters were ordered to make crossbows, so that, [installed there], they would shoot at those who would try to dig a passage and make their way [to the tomb]. Large and small rivers and seas were made of mercury, and mercury spontaneously overflowed into them. On the ceiling they depicted a picture of the sky, on the floor - the outlines of the earth. Lamps filled with fish fat renyu in the hope that the fire will not go out for a long time "

The organizers of the mourning facility tried to do everything to secure the tomb from looting, and they succeeded. The same Sima Qian writes: “When the emperor’s coffin had already been lowered down, someone said that the masters who made all the devices and hid [values] knew everything and could talk about hidden treasures. Therefore, when the funeral ceremony was over, and everything was covered, they blocked the middle door of the passage, after which they lowered the outer door, tightly walling up all the artisans and those who filled the grave with valuables, so that no one came out of there. [Above] they planted grass and trees [so that the grave] took the form of an ordinary mountain” (translated by R.V. Vyatkin).

The burial complex is located at the northern foot of Mount Lishan, 35 km. east of the provincial capital of Shaanxi Xi'an. Total area 56, 25 sq. m. It includes, first of all, the tomb of the emperor, a mausoleum with a terracotta army. Other objects worth mentioning were also found in the area: a kind of small "zoo" with figures of rare animals and a serving character, a stable, the tombs of the emperor's children, mass graves of the builders of the complex, two chariots. More recently, in 1998, a place where armor and helmets were stored was excavated, figures of 12 acrobats and a bronze tripod were found elsewhere, and in 2000 figures of low-ranking civil officials were found.

In the course of archaeological research, it was found that the tomb itself is located inside a high mound, which in plan is a square with sides of 345 by 350 m. There were two ramparts around the tomb - internal and external. For some reason, its excavations have not been carried out to date. I would like to believe that it was only because the scientists were not sure that they would ensure the safety of the finds that could be destroyed in the air. In other words, except for those who conducted research - by the way, at the end of the infamous "Cultural Revolution" - and a number of top government officials of the PRC, no one knows yet whether the tomb of the first emperor actually exists and what it looks like. But even what archaeologists discovered was enough to understand that we are talking about the discovery of world significance.

In combat formation

The date of the opening of the "terracotta army" is known for sure. On March 29, 1974, peasants from the village of Si-yang, who were digging a well, came across fragments of a terracotta sculpture of an ancient warrior. Already in 1975, a museum was created here, and in 1976 intensive excavations began, as a result of which four underground structures were discovered, each of which is a rectangular chamber.

Let's describe one of them. The chamber of the third sector was located at a depth of about 5 meters, the distance from the floor to the ceiling was 3.2 meters. The floor is paved with brick, which is quite well preserved. The load-bearing structures of the walls and ceiling are made of wood. To prevent water from entering the interior, the walls and ceiling were additionally covered with a layer of clay. In some places, the clay has collapsed, but on the whole it has played a protective role, which ensured the relatively good preservation of many sculptures.

The total number of sculpted sculptures is most likely close to 8 thousand, but so far 6 thousand warriors and about 90 horses have been identified. Restoration work is constantly ongoing, according to the data of the early 2000s. 1225 images of warriors and 88 horses were restored. The warriors were arranged in the order corresponding to the military formation of the Qin army. Their height varies from 175 to 196 cm, so it can be assumed that this is not an army as such, but a “guard” (in addition, some deliberate exaggerations made by the sculptors are noticeable).

The custom to accompany the burials of the nobility with figurines existed even before Qin Shi Huang, at least from 384, when the Qin Xian Gong (384-362 BC) forbade sacrificing people to accompany the dead, but the reconstruction of an entire army - so far the only known case in ancient Chinese history. The warriors are depicted in full growth, in combat attire, their hairstyles and facial features are so individual that scientists have seen portrait images in them. You can see the wrinkles on the general's forehead and the smile on the young warrior's face. It should be noted that portrait images were not characteristic of the traditions of the population of the Middle Huang He (the ancestors of the modern Han people, the state-forming ethnic group of the PRC). This suggests that the inhabitants of the river located in the valley. Weihe, a western tributary of the Huanghe, Qin, belonged to a different religious culture.

Anthropometric measurements made it possible to draw some conclusions about the ethnic composition of Qin Shi Huang's army. The corresponding analysis was carried out by the famous ethnographer and anthropologist Professor N.N. Cheboksarov on the material of 22 images. His results are presented in the book "The Ancient Chinese in the Age of Centralized Empires". According to N.N. Cheboksarov, many of the presented warriors belong to the East Asian race of the Pacific Mongoloids: they have a not very wide, but high face with strongly protruding cheekbones, an oblique arrangement of the axes of the palpebral fissures inclined to the nose, the presence of an epicanthus - the so-called " Mongolian fold" at the inner corner of the eye. A number of features (a wide nose with a low nose bridge, thickened lips, a specific shape of the nasal openings) indicate the connection of the Qin population with the southern Mongoloids. The presence of a denser tertiary hairline (moustache, beard) than that of the Mongoloids allows us to suggest an admixture of a Caucasoid element. This is due to the possible connections of the Qin steppes with the peoples of South Siberia and Central Asia. In other words, among the Qin warriors there were many steppe dwellers, who later joined the Han ethnos. Indeed, in 2006, scientists from Shanghai Fudan University analyzed the DNA of 50 builders of the tomb and found that some of them were Caucasians.

The story of the "terracotta army" is most convenient to lead, as if visiting these sectors one by one. I must say that they have not yet been fully excavated and the degree of preservation of the figures in each of them is different. Some have already been restored, some will never be restored. It is important that scientists have reconstructed how their battle formations originally looked.

The first sector, oriented from east to west, is the largest - 230 m long and 62 m wide. It is established that the infantry and chariot personnel were arrayed in battle formation facing east. The infantrymen were placed along the perimeter in front and rear lines in three rows, each of which had 68 archers and crossbowmen. On the flanks, the infantrymen are lined up in two columns. In nine inner columns stood warriors armed with picks, spears and swords. Some of them are dressed in military uniforms, others are wearing armor. In 1, 2 4, 6, 8, 9 columns, five war chariots were located on the same line between the rows of soldiers. Each chariot, drawn by four horses, was served by a driver and two warriors.

1087 warriors, 32 horses and 8 war chariots were restored here. It is assumed that in total there can be up to 6 thousand warriors, 160 horses and 40 chariots.

The second sector was opened 20 meters northeast of the first. Its configuration resembles the letter "L". Here the soldiers were lined up by branch of service: archers, chariots, and cavalrymen leading their horses. In total, images of 900 warriors, 89 chariots, 356 horses harnessed to chariots, and 116 saddled cavalry horses are expected to be found here. It was established that on the left flank in the vanguard there were 160 archers who knelt down on one knee, and 172 standing in full height. Behind them, in three columns, 108 cavalrymen were placed, standing in front of their saddled war horses, there were also 6 chariots. To the right of them there are three more columns of 6 chariots, even more to the right are 8 columns with 8 chariots in each. Between them a different number of soldiers. Currently, this sector has been partially excavated in 16 different places, the degree of preservation of the material is not very good, the figures of many warriors are either decapitated or broken into pieces.

The third sector, although small in size, is very important: after all, it is here that the command staff of the army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is located. Its configuration resembles a horseshoe. It was established that there were 68 human figures here, and in the center there was a painted and varnished chariot drawn by four horses. This chariot was guarded by an escort of four warriors. At the moment, fragments of 64 figures have been identified, all except 5-6 are incomplete or in a poor state of preservation. Also found were bronze weapons and, oddly enough, fragments of deer antlers and animal bones. These finds, according to scientists, indicate that a sacrificial ceremony was held here.

Excavations in 1995 showed that the fourth sector, located between the three previously found, is completely empty. It differed little from the previous three: width 48 meters, length - 96, depth - 4.8. This circumstance gave rise to many hypotheses and discussions. After all, the troops in the first and second sectors form the left and right flanks of the army, and it is logical to assume that the forces of the center should have been in the fourth sector, but for some reason they are not. The most likely version is as follows: since the emperor died unexpectedly, they simply did not have time to make this part of the army.

Terracotta Warriors

The figures of warriors are made of baked clay. Initially they were painted in different colors, archaeologists managed to find traces of green, red, purple, blue and white color, and the faces were covered with a layer of flesh-colored paint. The weight of each figure varies from 150 to 300 kg. They were made in parts, which indicates the mass production and the existence of large workshops. Interestingly, the torso, head and arms are empty inside, but the legs are not. The heads were made separately, from two halves, which were then glued together, after which specially fashioned ears, nose, and hair were attached to them. The expressions of the eyes and the lines of the mouth were supposed to reflect the character of a person, so a number of scientists believe that many images were made from life. The finished sculpture was dried, after which it was placed in an oven, where the temperature reached 950-1050 degrees. It is remarkable that we know the names of 80 masters who made these images, since they were inscribed on the clothes, shoes or weapons of warriors.

Warriors belonging to different branches of the military differ in hairstyles, hats, clothes, weapons and shoes. They look straight ahead, have a slender posture, and some foot soldiers are depicted in a fighting stance. The facial expression is concentrated, tense. The nature of the formation, weapons and equipment, as well as the morale of soldiers and officers testify to high level military construction in the Qin empire.

The figures of military leaders and commanders are the highest (up to 196 cm). Their robes are quite exquisite, and spiritualized faces give out representatives of the upper strata of society, while ordinary soldiers have poorer uniforms and rougher faces, which indicates their belonging to the common people.

Higher military leaders wore a special headdress with two "ears", their neck, chest, shoulders and back were decorated with elegant bows. Their robes are somewhat longer than those of other warriors, they go down below the knees. On top of them they wore armor made of leather and felt, protecting their shoulders and chest, and below the belt was fixed known from ancient times. V-shaped protective "apron", covered with a pattern resembling fish scales.

The clothes of middle-ranking officers were somewhat different and varied depending on the type of troops. In general, armor was worn over a shorter military robe, which protected the chest, stomach, groin, and also the shoulder part of the arms.

The full-length archers are dressed in normal military attire and have no armor. Placed in front of the formation, knelt down arrows, whose height is 1.2 m, on the contrary, are protected by powerful armor.

The infantrymen are dressed in military uniforms. Some are unarmed, others hold spears.

The drivers also had armor over their robes. In some, the gripping reins of the hands are covered with special plates. Their postures convey movement, both of their arms extended forward. Of course, neither the reins nor the wooden parts of the chariots have been preserved. But the horses with large watchful eyes and powerful muscles look like they are alive. Their mane is neatly cut, and the bangs are carefully combed with a parting in the middle.

Almost all warriors wore mustaches, and some generals wore beards. Everyone's hair is carefully tucked away in a complex hairstyle standard for the type of troops.

The weapons that the terracotta warriors are armed with, according to experts, correspond to the real weapons of that time. It can be divided into three groups: daggers and swords; peaks and klevtsy; bows and crossbows. A total of approx. 10 thousand items of weapons, including triggers for crossbows, metal arrows and spearheads and 17 bronze swords. The largest sword is almost a meter long, and the shortest is 81 cm. Special attention archaeologists were attracted by a sword, the length of which is 90 cm, and the width does not exceed the width of a willow leaf. Narrower and longer than most of the known analogues of this period, it gave the warrior a certain advantage in battle. Surprisingly, the sword remained sharp, due to the presence of a chromium oxide coating on its blade.

Companions of the emperor

Around the burial of Qin Shi Huang, several other burials were arranged, as if accompanying the main one. First of all, 17 burials should be named, apparently belonging to the sons and daughters of the emperor, who were killed after his death. They found gold, silver, bronze, iron, jasper and other items.

To the east of the tomb, a kind of stable was opened, where there were skeletons of horses and ceramic figures of grooms. Horses, apparently, were buried alive in the ground, only some of them were previously killed and placed in wooden logs. Next to the figures of people are their tools.

In August 1978, as a result of trial pitting to the west of the location of the "terracotta army", archaeologists discovered a fragment of a certain product decorated with gold. Two years later, in December 1980, two chariots were excavated, each with two spoked wheels and four horses. Together with them, one of the oldest horse harnesses in China was discovered. The chariots are heavily damaged. They were not made in full size, but were reduced by half against the original copy. It is assumed that these are the remains of genuine chariots used by the emperor during inspection trips around the country.

As a result of painstaking work, archaeologists and restorers managed to restore them literally piece by piece.

Ahead was an open chariot, called gao che, it, according to researchers, was used for military purposes, for example, as combat escort. A rather high folding umbrella was installed above the wagon, which gave the driver the opportunity to drive while standing and have a wider view. The driver stands behind a wall that covers the entire lower part of the body. A crossbow is attached to the shield from the front under the left hand of the charioteer, and a case for arrows is attached to the left near the left wall of the chariot. Behind the driver is a bronze sword. He also had a shield painted, apparently, with patterns from the southern kingdom of Chu, which are characterized by rounded lines. Elements of the Chu symbolism can also be seen on some parts of the horse harness and removable fragments of the umbrella stand.

The second chariot, named an che, closed. It was made of 3462 gold, bronze and silver parts and was a wagon with two barred windows and front door from the back side. Her weight exceeded 1200 kg. The sloping domed roof, made of thin bronze sheet, rested on 36 pillars, which, as noted, corresponds to the number of districts of the Qin empire. The roof protected from bad weather not only the passenger, but also the driver. The interior of the chariot was quite luxurious. This is evidenced by fragments of paintings depicting clouds, dragons, and phoenixes. The remnants of silk fabric suggest that the walls of the wagon were lined with silk, and pillows made long journeys less tiring.

The skillful technique of making bridles and reins is striking: they are assembled from bronze cylinders 1 cm long.

In 1998, 200 meters southeast of the imperial tomb, archaeologists discovered the remains of more than a hundred people from among those who participated in the construction of the burial complex. There was also grave goods: shovels, spades, adzes, wedges. Work continues and scientists expect new interesting discoveries.

***
The burial complex of Qin Shi Huang perfectly illustrates the fact that the emperor himself, as well as his subjects, the Qin people of the steppes, ideally corresponded to the task of conquering and forcibly uniting the agricultural ethnic groups of East Asia into a new single state. It was impossible to resist his powerful, well-equipped and disciplined army.

Nevertheless, as history has shown, Qin Shi Huang was a brilliant military man and diplomat, but he turned out to be unprepared to manage a new type of state in peacetime. He boldly led huge armies into battle, but could not keep the overgrown bureaucracy under his control. He unerringly selected talented generals, but proved unable to find equally talented and dedicated administrators and senior officials. It was these military leaders (Zhang Han and his subordinates Wang Li, She Jian, etc.) who stood up for Qin after the policy of the all-powerful temporary worker Zhao Gao led to the collapse of the empire and, having no reliable support in the rear, fought valiantly, knowing full well their doom . I would like to think that among the commanders, officers and soldiers of the "terracotta army" there are these valiant warriors.

At that time, China was divided into 7 independent kingdoms. Local kings were constantly at enmity with each other, weakening and ruining their states.

And Ying Zheng set out to become a great ruler. He gathered a huge army, and captured all the neighboring lands. He killed kings, leveled capitals to the ground, and established his own rules everywhere.

Ying Zheng spent 17 years in wars, killed thousands of people in battles, but achieved the unification of all of China under his rule.

Big deal! The great ruler is not fit to live with the old childhood name, and he took on a new name, befitting his status, Qin Shi Huang, which means "The First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty"
AT official language a number of new terms were introduced to reflect the greatness of the ruler: from now on, the emperor began to call himself Zheng, which corresponds to the Russian "We" used in imperial decrees. The personal orders of the emperor were called zhi, and his orders throughout the Celestial Empire were called zhao.

Since Ying Zheng was the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, he ordered himself to be called Shi Huangdi - the First Highest Emperor.

Qin Shi Huang - united China under his rule in 221 BC. e., dividing the country into 36 provinces, ruled by officials appointed by the emperor.

The colossal campaign to unify the Celestial Empire was completed in 221 BC, after which the new emperor carried out a series of reforms to consolidate the conquered. First, the city of Xi'an appointed the capital of his entire empire. He introduced strict standards for everything: money, measures of weight and length, writing, construction, even the width of the axle for carts, so that carts could easily get from one end of the mighty empire to the other. Naturally, the standards of the Qin kingdom were taken as a model. All previous history has been declared irrelevant. In 213 BC the ancient chronicles and books of all conquered kingdoms were burned. Buried alive in the ground more than 460 scientists suspected of disloyalty to the new regime.

But Qin Shi Huang was not only wise, but also extremely cruel. For any disobedience to the new laws - death. At the same time, the simple death penalty was the lightest punishment. The following types of death penalty were common: breaking out the ribs, tearing with chariots, boiling in a large cauldron, chopping in half or into pieces, quartering, decapitation, and after the execution, putting the head on a pole in crowded places. Especially dangerous crimes were punishable by the execution not only of the guilty person, but also of all his relatives in three generations, and, given that the Chinese had large families, this measure often applied to thousands of people.

At that time, wild tribes of nomadic Huns attacked China from the north. They ravaged the lands, and the inhabitants were taken into captivity.

To defend the northern borders of the Empire, Qin Shi Huang began to combine disparate defensive structures into a single one - the Great Wall of China, stretching for almost 4 thousand kilometers. It was built over 10 years from rammed earth and stone blocks by more than 2 million people (soldiers, slaves from prisoners of war and criminals). Those who died from overwork, according to legend, were immured in the wall. Construction conditions: bare steppe, periodic raids of tribes and half-starved existence. The watchmen's legs were cut off so that they could not run from the towers when the nomads attacked. The Great Wall claimed an unprecedented number of victims, now the modern Chinese say that every stone in the wall is someone's life.

By the time of the creation of the empire, Qin Shi Huang was forty years old, which is a considerable age for those ancient times. The time has come to search for immortality - old wounds bothered, age affected, and it was planned to reign for another thousand years. In search of a miraculous elixir, he examined ancient manuscripts, interrogated sages, sent expeditions to big ships in search of a magical herb that, according to legend, bestowed immortality.

In the end, Qin Shi Huang issued a decree that the emperor would live forever. Therefore, even after his death, his body remained in the throne room for a long time, and the ceremonies were carried out in the same way as if he were alive.

The death of the emperor was somehow absurd. Like any eastern ruler, Qin Shi Huang had a harem, and there were several thousand concubines in it. One of them killed the first emperor of China by sticking a large needle into his ear while he was sleeping. This happened in 210 BC, when Qin Shi Huang was 48 years old.

Already from the moment of ascension to the throne, Qin Shi Huang gave the order to begin the construction of his tomb. And 30 kilometers from the city of Xi'an, near Mount Lishan, in 38 years, 700,000 workers built an entire burial city - a huge underground complex designed as a mirror image of the capital of the Qin dynasty.

The mausoleum of the emperor was a palace surrounded by two walls of mud brick. The outer stretched for more than six kilometers, the inner - about four kilometers long. Behind the inner wall is the mausoleum itself: a rectangular underground structure half a kilometer long and somewhat less wide. Several tunnels lead to it. The entire complex covers an area of ​​60 sq. km.

The crypt was filled with copies of palaces transported and lowered there, figures of officials of all ranks, rare things and extraordinary values, countless treasures, including the golden throne of the first emperor.

On the floor of the tomb was a huge map of the world, with rivers and oceans made of mercury.

To protect the emperor and his wealth, terracotta warriors were buried 1.5 km east of the royal tomb. Initially, Qin Shi Huang was going to bury 4,000 real warriors, but such an attempt could cost the life of himself and his empire. And the advisers still managed to convince the emperor to create clay ones, numbering more than 8000, as well as about 200 horses. Harness, weapons, details of weapons of this mysterious army were real. The figures were molded from real warriors, so that after death the souls of the warriors could move into sculptures and continue their service to the Emperor.

All wars were facing east. It was there that the kingdoms defeated by the great tyrant were located. The statues were made with jewelry precision and amazing diligence. No identical faces can be found. Among the warriors are not only Chinese, but also Mongols, Uighurs, Tibetans and many other nationalities. The sculptors made the only deviation from reality in growth. The height of the statue is 1.90-1.95 meters. Of course, Qin's soldiers were not so tall. The weight of a warrior is about 135 kilograms. Finished sculptures were fired by craftsmen in huge furnaces at a temperature of 1,000 degrees. Then the best artists painted them in natural colors in accordance with the table of ranks.

The soldier is dressed in a short robe and chest armor without decorations, his hair is tied in a knot, there are windings on his legs and shoes with a rectangular toe. The officer is wearing chest armor with decorations, a high hat, and boots on his feet. The general has scaly armor with decorations and a hat in the form of two birds. Archers with bows and crossbows, in bibs and short robes. All details of clothing or hairstyle strictly correspond to the fashion of that time. Shoes, armor are reproduced with amazing accuracy.

To establish this army, a foundation pit was dug the size of a football field, and when the army took its places, From above, the ancient masters laid solid tree trunks, mats on them, then 30 cm of cement and 3 m of earth. Then grass was sown, and the army disappeared. Disappeared for good, not a single chronicler, not a single robber found out about her.

After the death of Qin Shi Huang, they buried him in a golden coffin and placed it in the middle of a sea of ​​mercury.

The masters made and loaded crossbows so that they would shoot at those who would try to get into the tomb. The heir to the throne ordered to bury alive all the wives and 3 thousand concubines of the emperor, thousands of his slaves, dancers, musicians and acrobats, as well as 17 sons and some ministers.

Then 70 thousand workers were driven there, who equipped and built the crypt with their families, servants who knew about its location. And then the jade doors closed... The entrance was walled up, a hill 120 meters high was poured on top, bushes and trees were planted on the hill so that no one would guess how to get there.

The tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is inviolable to this day. The Terracotta Army faithfully serves their Emperor, and neither grave robbers nor archaeologists have disturbed him so far.

For more than 2000 years, no one in the whole world knew where the grave of the emperor and his army was located, until in 1974 a simple Chinese peasant Yan Ji Wang and five of his friends decided to dig a well. They did not find water, but found a full-length statue of an ancient warrior at a depth of 5 meters. This was the main battle formation of Qin Shi Huang - about 6,000 pieces. Yan Ji Wang turned into a millionaire in an instant. Now he writes books about his discovery and signs autographs for tourists every day.

Today, a whole city has arisen on the site of a historical find. A huge roof was built over the "army", like over a large railway station. So far, far from all the warriors have been excavated, because most of the statues were crushed once by a collapsed roof and a load of earth, they have to be restored piece by piece.

Three large pavilions hide the funeral army of the first Chinese emperor from the weather. Three crypts with a total area of ​​more than 20 thousand square meters. meters

The excavations have been going on for more than 25 years, and there is no end in sight. In 1980, scientists unearthed a second column - about 2,000 statues.

In 1994, an underground general staff was discovered - a meeting of top military leaders.

However, there is an opinion that the found army is only one of the few guarding the Emperor's necropolis.

The meaning of making such an army, which only thousands of sculptors and tens of thousands of workers could create, apparently consisted in beliefs that forced ancient kings from Northern Europe to Japan to take wives, slaves and slaves, warriors and servants with them to the afterlife. But if the leader of the Vikings or Scythians was limited to dozens of victims who were killed on his grave, then the death of Qin Shi Huang, the Master of the Universe, resulted in the death of thousands of people - everyone who knew access to the tomb. Although by that time human sacrifices were no longer practiced in China, everyone who should have served the deceased was sent to a better world with a despot.

But no matter how impressive the finds in the tombs of warriors, whose number continues to grow, the main attention of archaeologists is turned to the tomb of the emperor.

Archaeologists have begun laying exploratory pits to determine what is under and around the hill. These works are carried out carefully and slowly.

According to the Chinese press, in ten recent years more than forty thousand pits and trenches were drilled in the area of ​​​​the tomb on an area of ​​​​more than ten square kilometers. But this explored area is about a sixth of that occupied by the tomb and its accompanying structures.

When pits were being laid in order to determine the size and configuration of the mausoleum, archaeologists twice came across tunnels pierced in ancient times by robbers. Both tunnels ran into the wall of the mausoleum, but did not penetrate through it. And although the western and southern walls of the tomb have not yet been fully explored, according to indirect data, scientists are becoming more and more convinced that the emperor's mausoleum was not destroyed and plundered, as the chroniclers reported. This allows us to hope that everything inside the mausoleum has remained the same or almost the same as on the day when the jade doors were closed.

And one more curious detail - in the soil samples of the hill there is an increased content of mercury. She could not get there in a natural way, therefore, the reports of the historian Sima Qian that there was a huge map of the world on the floor of the tomb, with rivers and oceans made of mercury, are true.

So far, only three crypts have been discovered 1.5 km east of the tomb, containing thousands of terracotta figurines (known as bin ma yun) and two sets of huge bronze chariots and horses to the west of the mausoleum.

For many centuries, robbers have tried to find treasures in the imperial tombs. Some of these attempts cost their lives. Surprisingly, the clay soldiers, as best they could, guarded the spirit of their master. It is said that not a single human skeleton was found among the excavated statues.

Today, even the clay from which the walls are made has become golden. One clay brick from the Qin Shi Huang era is worth tens of thousands of dollars. The owner of just one brick can exchange it, say, for a decent mansion in the vicinity of Beijing.

Looking into the empty clay eyes, covers involuntary trembling. There is something there, inside. It may be true that the souls of the warriors after their earthly lives inhabited the shells prepared for them, and now they are forced to languish in terracotta bodies forever, to protect their king, despite the past millennia.

By about 480 BC. e. On the territory of ancient China there were seven kingdoms that were constantly at war with each other. By 221 BC. e. The Qin kingdom conquered all other kingdoms. Under the rule of King Qin was a colossal empire. He called himself Qin Shi Huang, which means "the first emperor of China."

To prevent powerful nobles from rebelling against their emperor, Shihuangdi ordered them to move to the capital Xianyang. Here he could keep them under vigilant control. The weapons that belonged to the nobles' own troops were taken away and melted down.

Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of new roads and canals in ancient China in order to establish links between different parts of the empire. He also forced everyone to use coins of the same coinage, to use a single system of measures and weights. These measures made it possible to revive trade between subjects of the vast empire.

Qin Shi Huang, in order to make sure that his orders were clear to everyone, introduced a single type of writing throughout the empire.

Burning of books and burial of scribes

Qin Shi Huang was convinced that people are vicious and that they should be forced to obey the law by force. Any disobedient is subject to severe punishment. He ordered to burn all the books that contradicted his views. The scientists who dared to rebel were thrown into a pit and buried alive. material from the site

When in 210 BC. e. Qin Shi Huang died, he was buried in a huge tomb, guarded by an army consisting of more than 7,500 life-size sculptures of warriors. The warriors were made of terracotta (a type of ceramic) and their weapons were real. All warriors had different faces. Terracotta warriors, placed around the tomb, reliably guarded their emperor. It is said that the set crossbows shot at anyone who tried to enter the tomb.

Qin Shi Huang took the royal throne when he was only 13 years old. After 26 years, when the kingdom of Qin under his rule conquered other small states in the territory of the Celestial Empire, he became the first emperor of China. He became famous for building grandiose structures such as the Great Wall of China and for creating the largest country in the world. He received a bad reputation because of his cruelty to his subjects.

Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China.
Artwork: Yuan Fang/The Epoch Times

The years of Qin Shi Huang's life are 259-210 BC. He was born in the Warring States Period (770-222 BC), when China was fragmented into small states. The strong of them absorbed the weak, and as a result, about seven kingdoms began to rule in the territory of the Celestial Empire. By the end of this segment of history, the kingdom of Qin had become one of the most powerful.

After unifying China, Qin Shi Huang proclaimed himself "the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, which will endure forever and ever." So for the first time in the history of the Middle Kingdom, the ruler declares himself emperor.

In order to consolidate power in a country with such a vast territory, Qin Shi Huang issued a series of decrees, changing the political system. He abolished all feudal privileges and created a centralized administration, which exceeded in authority any local authority.

Streamlined Qin Shi Huang and writing. The unification of the language helped to maintain the same throughout the wars and all sorts of upheavals. He also standardized weights and measures, created a unified monetary system, determined what should be the length of the "axle of the cart" and the width of the roads.

At the same time, Qin Shi Huang began several major construction projects, including a magnificent imperial palace and an extensive transportation network that stretched over 6,000 kilometers. And in order to protect the empire from the invasion of northern nomads, Qin Shi Huang deployed the erection, which is recognized as one of the most magnificent military installations in the history of mankind.

It seemed to the first emperor of China that such architectural masterpieces were not enough to perpetuate his name, and he began to dream of finding ways to immortality. In the later years of his reign, Qin Shi Huang sent sea vessels to find the elixir of immortality.

Nevertheless, the emperor understood that he could not live forever - death does not understand the rank. Probably for this reason, he ordered to build for himself a tomb of incomparable splendor and beauty, known as "". Around his tomb were lined up about nine thousand life-sized warriors made of baked clay and painted - a whole fighting army with weapons, chariots and horses.

At that time, the Qin Empire became the largest country in the world. It is believed that the name "China" in English language(China, China, Chin) comes from "Qin" (pronounced more accurately as Chin). Many Chinese historians credit Qin Shi Huang for creating such a powerful empire.

However, despite the transformations that strengthened the country, Qin Shi Huang was known as a tyrant who tightened the laws and made the life of his subjects difficult and miserable. Therefore, his name has become synonymous with cruelty in China. He introduced many unbearable taxes and compulsory labor service. During the Qin Dynasty, the population was about ten million people, and two million were forced to work on its grandiose construction projects.

The first emperor of China expanded the scope of punishment. For the crime of the law, in addition to the perpetrators themselves, their relatives and neighbors bore the so-called group responsibility. During his reign, freedom of thought was suppressed and people became overly controlled. Qin Shi Huang ordered the burning of precious ancient books and the killing of thousands of scholars who reproached him for his inhumane methods in government.

A few years after his death, due to numerous uprisings, the powerful Qin dynasty collapsed. According to Chinese historians, the empire lasted only fifteen years (221-207 BC) precisely because of the cruelty of Qin Shi Huang, as well as the heavy burden of taxes.