Terracotta Warriors in Xian, China

We saw the 8th Wonder of the World today: the Terracotta Warriors of Emperor. During his lifetime, this was the Emperor Qin Shihuang who united China and built the Great Wall of China. He lived in about 221 B.C. He presided over many armies during his lifetime and he built the underground army of over 7,000 soldiers to take with him to the next life.

We found out that the Terracotta Warriors were discovered in 1974 by peasants who were digging for water. We also learned that they received the equivalent of about 65 cents in US currency from the Chinese Government for their discovery.

One of the peasant-discoverers was signing the guidebook in the museum giftshop. I stood in line to buy the book. As I reached the front of the crowd, I picked up a book and moved toward him to have it signed. All of a sudden, he stood up, waved a fan wildly in my direction, and started screaming loudly. He looked so angry! I wondered if I had offended him and protocol by picking up the book myself. Then, he picked up a sign that said "no photos" and waved that and I realized that it was the woman just behind me who had drawn his wrath with her camera. There was a lot of pent up fire and venom in his face that I got to see, although I'm not sure where it was coming from.

The Terracotta Warriors are incredibly detailed in their artistry, including having the sole of the shoe of the kneeling archer showing tread. I'm attaching a few of the many photos I took.