CHINA: Terracotta Army prepares to visit London

Record ID: 607367

  • Title: CHINA: Terracotta Army prepares to visit London
  • Date: 20th August 2007
  • Summary: PEOPLE PACKING UP TERRACOTTA WARRIORS MAN UNTYING ROPE PEOPLE TRYING TO MOVE TERRACOTTA WARRIOR PEOPLE WORKING TO PACK UP TERRACOTTA WARRIORS VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CHECKING AND DISCUSSING THE PACKING
  • Embargoed: 4th September 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,History
  • Reuters ID: LVAA7CUW30F8WHN4RYIKINP407PZ
  • Story Text: China's Terracotta Army is carefully packed for a trip to London where it will form part of a major exhibition at the British Museum.
    China's terracotta warriors are being wrapped up and loaded into special crates for a long voyage to Great Britain, where they will be displayed at the British Museum in London. The exhibition will run for six months, beginning on September 13.
    In addition to the twenty clay warriors, the largest number of the iconic statues ever to leave China, there will be another 100 artefacts travelling, including coins Emperor Qin introduced to the country. There will also be a significant number of first-class objects coming from within the emperor's tomb.
    Over 2,200 years ago, Emperor Qin Shihuang unified China for the very first time. But his ambition stretched beyond his lifetime. In order to be able to rule China in his afterlife, his people spent over 38 years making the clay figures - called the Terracotta Army, or Qin's army.
    Instead of protecting the emperor in his afterlife, this army was forgotten for thousands of years until it was discovered in March 1974 by local farmers in Shaanxi province, drilling a water well.
    The Terracotta Army is 8,000 strong. Each statue is unique and was individually crafted in 221BC. The magnificent clay figures were originally painted in colors but 2,000 years underground made them lose their hues when they were exposed to daylight after excavation.
    Sun Ning, a Beijing based curator, said the Terracotta Army is a national symbol and source of pride for the Chinese.
    "The Terracotta army is very representative. It's the image of the Chinese nation throughout history. This is a classic cultural symbol,"
    she said.
    "We are emphasising our cultural identity. We are showing ourselves to the world. We are saying we are not only a young fast developing country but also an ancient cultural nation," Sun said.
    These larger-than-life terracotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in battle formations are the star features at the museum in Xi'an that covers an area of 16,300 square metres, divided into three sections. They are replicas of what the imperial guard looked like.
    The Terracotta Warriors and Horses are one of the most important archaeological find of all times, and were heritage listed by UNESCO in 1987.
    ENDS.
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