Terracottas, silk road, ancient capital - Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor 441; Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor 1442; Chinese calligraphy 00216; Xi’an wind and percussion ensemble 00212
What and Why
Hands down, one of the most awe-inspiring UNESCO WHS that I have visited. There is simply no other expression to emote when you see from your eyes thousands of distinctive terracottas excavated from a subterranean mausoleum the size of a few football pitches. These terracottas contain warriors, statesmen, chariots, horses and were sculptured to an extreme degree of realism.
The mausoleum is situated in the city Xi'an (Chinese: 西安), which is widely considered as one of the main starting point of the ancient silk road. The silk roads were an interconnected web of routes linking the ancient societies of Asia, Central Asia, Western Asia and the Near East, and contributed to the development of many of the world's great civilisations. Though silk was the major trade item exported from China, many other goods and ideas were exchanged, including religions, philosophies, sciences, and technologies.
It is important to realise that the silk road was spread across amost half the globe with a very diversified cultural heritage canvas, panning from East Asia to Western Europe via Middle East and Central Asia. As a result UNESCO proposed that due to the vast scale of the silk road that UNESCO WHS applications be divided into distinct separate corridors: in this corridor China to Central Asia.
Toponymy
Xi'an is the transliteration of its Chinese name meaning peace in the west. The apostrophe must be included to show it is two Chinese words and distinguishes its pronunciation from the single syllable xian, which leads to a few other words. The name derives from its ancient name Chang'an (長安), meaning long peace.
See
Xi'an, and formerly Chang'an was an ancient capital for more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, from Qin (秦) (221 BCE) to Tibet (Tibetan: བོད་ཆེན་པོ, Bodchenpo) (763 CE). During the Tang (唐) dynasty, Chang'an and China experienced its heydays and Chang'an was the world's largest metropolis with more 1 million population during the 8th century CE. In particular it was during this period that China opens its door to the west for trades, religious and cultural exchanges and further enhance its global importance.
Silk was technically not produced in Chang'an, but rather near the Yangtze River Delta (长江三角洲, Changjiang sanjiaozhou) where water is abundant. However since Chang'an was the then capital of China, it was clearly where it was traded. Hence it was widely considered as one of the main termini of the silk routes.
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (秦始皇陵)
The main draw, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (秦始皇陵, Qinshihuangling) and the associated terracotta army (兵马俑, bingmayong) is the entire citadel-mausoleum, modelled around places of the same era, where the tomb mound is located at the centre. The tomb mound itself at present remains largely unexcavated and undiscovered.
Unfortunately, most visitors are just too focussed with the terracottas and forget about the real tomb itself.
Construction of this massive subterranean mausoleum started soon after first Emperor Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇, né 趙政, Zhao Zheng) ascended the throne in mid- 2nd century BCE when he was still aged 13, although its full-scale construction only started after he had conquered the six other major states and unified China in 221 BCE. The mausoleum is 76-m tall shaped like a truncated pyramid modelled after similar palaces of the time. The tomb is hence divided into inner and outer 'cities': The circumference of the inner city is 2.5 km while the outer is more than 6 km. While the surrounding city with terracottas are being dug out constantly, the tomb itself is yet to be excavated.
According to the scientific exploration and partial excavation, the underground palace is constructed with a very good underground drainage system. The historian Sima Qian's (司马迁) text the underground water table is estimated to be at a depth of 30 m and is close to the tomb. Sima's text also indicates that mercury has been used to mimic a shiny moat around the citadel, which was partially supported by the anomalously high levels of mercury in the area of the tomb.
Once you enter the terracotta camps and see the terracotta fields above, all mouths will go wide open. There are four open fields with thousands of terracottas and seeing them is just simply jaw-dropping. Each field is around the size of three to four football pitches. All the terracottas are individually sculptured and no two is identical and represent the diverse ethnical origin of the army. As mentioned the extreme level of realism of these sculptures is beyond belief and to a degree surreal and technically way ahead of its time. To illustrate this even strands of hair are sculptured. There are a number of distinctive types of terracottas:
warrior
standing archer
kneeling archer
general
cavalry
chariot
horse
These terracottas were at one time thought to be a mummy. Fake news: Each statue is a solid sculpture and is definitely not a sarcophagus. The chariot below is another highlight of museum. These terracottas were also coloured based on the trace pigments found in various digs.
Silk Road Monument (丝绸之路起点碑)
As mentioned, the silk road was a network of constantly evolving trade routes which connected the East and West, and was central to the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions from the 2nd century BCE until the 18th century CE. Since Xi'an (Chang'an) was one of the main termini of these trade routes, to mark its importance and to attract tourist monies, the city marks this starting point by a rather ugly-looking monument, called Silk Road Monument (丝绸之路起点碑, sichiuzhilu qidianbei).
Plaque describing the silk road.
Daming Palace (大明宫)
Daming Palace (大明宫, Daminggong) was the imperial palace complex of the Tang dynasty, located in its capital Chang'an. It served as the imperial residence of the Tang emperors for more than 220 years. The main building sites was destroyed during the war at the end of the Tang dynasty. The current historic site is a partial reconstruction of the palace from the ruins.
The palace is now a very modern museum, detailing the history of Tang dynasty and showing the ruins.
The site is massive and one can imagine the majesty of the palace before the destruction.
There are a number of pedestals indicating the former sites of smaller palaces or pavilions.
This one is the purple altar (紫宸殿, Zichendian), which used to be the working area for the emperor.
Other reconstruction of imperial lives.
Weiyang Palace (未央宮)
The Weiyang Palace (未央宮, Weiyanggong), meaning the eternal palace, was the main imperial palace complex of the Han (漢) dynasty. The palace was the largest palace complex ever built, covering almost 5 km2 in area, which is more than 10 times the size of Vatican (Latin: Vaticano). All is left now is just plain ruins after the palace was looted, invaded and totally destroyed.
Big Swan Goose Pagoda (大雁塔)
The Big Swan Goose Pagoda (大雁塔, Dayanta) is an exceptionally important Buddhist pagoda built in the mid-7th century CE during the Tang dynasty. The structure was rebuilt in the early 8th century CE during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian (武則天, née 武曌, Wu Zhao) during the Ming (明) dynasty.
One of the pagoda's many functions was to hold artefacts of the Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautama) brought from India by the famed Xuanzang (玄奘, né 陈祎, Chen Yi). As a result the pagoda has become a major pilgrimage site for Chinese Buddhists. Xuanzang is probably the most revered Buddhist in Chinese history as his contribution to Buddhism is literally incalculable. Please refer to the blog in Nālandā (Hindi: नालंदा) regarding his journey to the west.
Xi'an fortification (西安城墙)
Xi'an fortifications (西安城墙, Xi'anchengqiang) are the defensive ramparts built during the 14th century CE by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋) during the founding the of Ming (明) dynasty. It is one of the largest and also the best preserved defensive ramparts in China and has a perimeter of around 14 km, enclosing also 14 km2 of the inner citadel. As the silk roads have been developed before its constructions, the fortications do not form part of the silk routes UNESCO WHS.
Some simple trivia: The height of the ramparts is around 12 m and there are 18 gates that enter the citadel. The walls are illuminated at night and many people stroll around the walls for a walk. Try to see if you can complete a loop.
Bell Tower of Xi'an (西安钟楼)
Bell Tower of Xi'an (西安钟楼, Xi'anzhonglou) is the main landmark of the inner Xi'an citadel and one of the grandest of its kind in China. The Bell Tower, built in the late 14th century CE, contains several large bronze-cast bells from the Tang (唐) Dynasty. The tower is located right in the centre of Xi'an, at the intersection of the four streets of the east, west, south and north. It is the largest and most preserved one amongst the many bell towers left over from ancient China.
Buy and Do
Calligraphy art (书法)
Plenty of tourist traps selling various forms of terracotta souvenirs outside the Mausoleum. Xi'an is actually famous for its paintings and calligraphy art, which is available in various small districts inside the city. Check the earlier blog on Chongqing (重庆).
Incredibly during my few trips to Xi'an, I was unable to find any major silk shops around.
Xi'an guyue (西安鼓乐)
Xi'an guyue (西安鼓乐), is the regional Chinese ritual music genre featuring a type of wind and percussion ensemble, and has now established itself as a must-go show due to the recent tourism boom. The music is split into two categories based on performances, sitting and walking parade, and into repertoires based on original messages and also musical instruments: sheng (笙) transmitting Buddhist messages, se (瑟) transmitting secular messages and drums, transmitting Taoist (道, dao) messages. These music dates back to the Tang (唐) dynasty when then Chang'an was in its heydays.
This genre of music has become a must-see in Xi'an and is all around the remparts. Unmissable, although the show can be a bit lengthy.
Eat and Drink
Biangbiang mian (biangbiang 麵)
Xi'an has a large Muslim population and much of its local food is influenced by Central Asian cuisine: for instance, meat skewers, mutton soup and Chinese buns / hamburgers with mutton (羊肉泡馍, yangrou paomo). One of the must-try local food is the biangbiang mian (biangbiang 麵). You see I cannot even type the Chinese for this noodle. Honestly the only reason why I (or most other non-locals) savour it is to know the Chinese word biang, which is itself almost unwritable. It claims to be the Chinese word with the highest number of strokes, and literally this word has no meaning, but just the sound of the dough hitting the worktop biang. The noodle itself is a bland sour-hot soup with no particular excitement.
The noodles are thick and wide like a thick tagliatelle or banmian (板面), but nothing special for a Chinese.
Getting There and Around
The mausoleum is around 20 km away from Xi'an city centre. All the monuments are a bit far from each other, although Xi'an is well served by local buses. The entrance fee to the mausoleum is a whopping CNY 150¥, while other monuments are equally pricey! Spend at least a week in Xi'an to get the feeling of the silk road.
UNESCO Inscriptions
No doubt thousands of statues still remain to be unearthed at this archaeological site, which was not discovered until 1974. Qin (d. 210 B.C.), the first unifier of China, is buried, surrounded by the famous terracotta warriors, at the centre of a complex designed to mirror the urban plan of the capital, Xianyan. The small figures are all different; with their horses, chariots and weapons, they are masterpieces of realism and also of great historical interest.
This property is a 5,000 km section of the extensive Silk Roads network, stretching from Chang’an/Luoyang, the central capital of China in the Han and Tang dynasties, to the Zhetysu region of Central Asia. It took shape between the 2nd century BC and 1st century AD and remained in use until the 16th century, linking multiple civilizations and facilitating far-reaching exchanges of activities in trade, religious beliefs, scientific knowledge, technological innovation, cultural practices and the arts. The thirty-three components included in the routes network include capital cities and palace complexes of various empires and Khan kingdoms, trading settlements, Buddhist cave temples, ancient paths, posthouses, passes, beacon towers, sections of The Great Wall, fortifications, tombs and religious buildings.
Chinese calligraphy has always been more than simply a tool for communication, incorporating as it does the element of artistry for which the practice is still valued in an age of ballpoint pens and computers. Indeed, calligraphy is no longer the basic tool of intellectuals and officials but has become the preserve of professional artisans and amateur enthusiasts. Whether they are recording information or simply creating beautiful forms, calligraphers’ brushes are used to ink five different styles of script, known as ‘seal’, ‘official’, ‘cursive’, ‘running’ and ‘regular’. The art may appear on any writing surface – even the rocky walls of cliffs – but it is especially common on letters, scrolls, works of literature and fan coverings. Today, in addition to traditional master-apprentice instruction, calligraphy is also taught at school. Many ceremonies that mark national celebrations and religious rituals incorporate the practice and calligraphy has itself proved influential on modern art, architecture and design. In its distinctive Chinese form, calligraphy offers an important channel for the appreciation of traditional culture and for arts education. It is also a source of pride and pleasure for the Chinese people and embodies important aspects of the country’s intellectual and artistic heritage.
Xi’an wind and percussion ensemble, which has been played for more than a millennium in China’s ancient capital of Xi’an, in Shaanxi Province, is a type of music integrating drums and wind instruments, sometimes with a male chorus. The content of the verses is mostly related to local life and religious belief and the music is mainly played on religious occasions such as temple fairs or funerals. The music can be divided into two categories, ‘sitting music’ and ‘walking music’, with the latter also including the singing of the chorus. Marching drum music used to be performed on the emperor’s trips, but has now become the province of farmers and is played only in open fields in the countryside. The drum music band is composed of thirty to fifty members, including peasants, teachers, retired workers, students and others. The music has been transmitted from generation to generation through a strict master-apprentice mechanism. Scores of the music are recorded using an ancient notation system dating from the Tang and Song dynasties (seventh to thirteenth centuries). Approximately three thousand musical pieces are documented and about one hundred fifty volumes of handwritten scores are preserved and still in use.
References
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