BlogHop

A creation of awesome scale and accomplishment-an unforgettable symbol of the power of China’s first emperor, ” says Jeffrey Riegel of the University of California at Berkeley. A strong morning sun spotlights the grandeur of armored soldiers leading a horse-drawn chariot past the serrated roof line in Pit1. Intent on unifying his conquests, Qin Shi Huang standardized weights and measures, written language, and currency-including the bronze ban liang coin(left). His massive public works projects-among them the Great Wall-demanded hundreds of thousands of forced laborers and huge tax levies. A split bronze tiger(below) testifying to the authority of the bearer would prevent possible mutiny: Only a general with the emperor’s matching half could procure troops from a provincial prefect. “Qin Shi Huang wanted an army with him after he died,” says museum director Yuan. ” His underground empire was a miniature of his real one.”More than 700,000 laborers toiled 36years building his monument. At the age of 49, after an 11-year reign as emperor, Qin Shi Huang died while on a journey in search of the elixir of life. Four years later a rebel army set the mausoleum ablaze. “Qin Shi Huang gave impetus to all of Chinese history,” says Yuan. “He did some bad things, Yes; but he did more good than bad.”