Xi 'an Terracotta Warriors and Horses.

Terracotta Warriors and Horses, namely the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, are the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units and the first batch of Chinese world heritage. They are located in the Terracotta Warriors Pit 1.5 km east of Qin Shihuang Mausoleum in Lintong District, Xi City, Shaanxi Province.

Terracotta warriors and horses are a category of ancient tomb sculptures. In ancient times, human sacrifice was practiced, and slaves were accessories of slave owners before their death. When they die, the slaves will be buried with the slave owners as sacrifices. Terracotta warriors and horses were made into sacrifices in the shape of troops (chariots, horses and soldiers).

196 1 On March 4th, the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor was announced by the State Council as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. 1March, 974, the Terracotta Warriors were discovered; From 65438 to 0987, the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang and the Terracotta Warriors Pit were approved by UNESCO to be included in the World Heritage List.

Known as "the eighth wonder of the world", it has been visited by more than 200 foreign heads of state and government, which has become the gold-lettered business card of China's splendid ancient civilization and is regarded as one of the top ten treasures of ancient tombs in the world.

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Historical background

Martyrdom is a cruel and barbaric funeral system that germinated with the disintegration of primitive public ownership and prevailed until slavery was established [9]? . The most prosperous era of human martyrdom was the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and there were martyrdom in the tombs of nobles in Shang Dynasty. In the Gong Ling area of Anyang Yin Ruins, more than 5,000 people have been martyred in more than a dozen tombs that have been excavated.

The Zhou Dynasty drew lessons from the tyranny of the Shang Dynasty and emphasized "Mingde Bao Min". The birth and implementation of Zhou Li greatly suppressed the phenomenon of martyrdom, but it was not eradicated. During the Spring and Autumn Period, countries competed for hegemony, the times were turbulent, and others were killed. During the Warring States period, the vassal states abolished the system of human sacrifice. In the first year (384 BC), Qin officially abolished the system of human sacrifice.

Social changes in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period prompted changes in burial customs, and human sacrifices appeared, that is, pottery figurines and wooden figurines replaced human sacrifices. The original meaning of "figurines" is human sacrifice. When human martyrdom gradually faded out of people's field of vision, "figurines" became proper terms for pottery sculptures, stone carvings and portraits in tombs.

The Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Qin Dynasty are typical and the peak of human sacrifice figurines. The reason why the Terracotta Warriors and Horses reached such a high level in scale and fidelity was not only the wisdom of craftsmen, but also the will of the first feudal emperor Qin Shihuang in history.

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