Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

The large majority of figures remain where they have stood for over 2,000 years, after being constructed in 210-209 BCE. The soldiers were discovered in 1974 after a group of farmers were attempting to dig for a well. A museum complex was constructed around the dig site so as not to disturb the original positions of the statues, though a very small number of the statues have been put on display in other museums. Though estimates put the number of soldiers at around 8,000, only about 1,900 of the figures had been excavated in the fifty years after the site was discovered.

The complex is one of the most visited sites on Earth. It is formally known as the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Answer: Qin dynasty

Qin Shi Huang declared himself emperor of a unified China, though there were several various monarchs who ruled parts of the country before him. His dynasty didn't last long, however, as only two other Qin rulers would rule before the long-lasting Han dynasty took control.

The Terracotta Army was meant to depict the soldiers in his forces, and it is in his mausoleum that the statues were buried. It is estimated that a total of 8,000 statues of soldiers were buried with him, along with several other figures.

Answer: Hong Kong

Known as Chang'an before the Ming dynasty came to power, Xi'an was the eastern terminus to the Silk Road, so the city was incredibly important in Chinese history. It is located in the landlocked Shaanxi Province. Xi'an became China's second most popular tourist destination in 2020.

Answer: False

Historians believe that between eight and ten molds were being used to create the warriors' faces, but each face was then modified with clay afterward with various facial features to make each soldier appear different. Carrying out this process on over 8,000 different figures must have been a monumental task; construction of the mausoleum and the terracotta warriors was completed by over 700,000 workers according to one contemporary Chinese historian.

However, one interesting nugget is that the large majority of the warriors' hands are identical, being cast from the same mold.

Answer: Malachite - brown

Cinnabar, azurite, and malachite are all minerals that were ground down into pigments and used in ancient Chinese art. Malachite is green in color and was used as a green pigment. Charcoal was created by burning wood and turning it into a black pigment. Brown pigments were made from local tree sap, with most historians agreeing that it was the sap of the Chinese lacquer tree that was used.

Answer: True

Because the terracotta statues were life-sized, it was impractical to craft them without using smaller individual pieces. These individual pieces were then fitted together with a process called "luting," which is when a slurry or slip is created from clay and water and applied to the cracks and crevices in order to create a solid piece.

While this slip can contain other ingredients, the one used on the Terracotta Army was just a simple combination of water and clay mixed in the correct proportions. Once applied, the whole statue is then fired.

Answer: Cannoneers

The Qin dynasty's army was ferocious and technologically-advanced for its time. It made use of several military technologies, and it was arguably their crossbowmen that helped the Chinese emperor conquer broad swathes of land (the crossbow was invented in China). They also made use of fast-moving cavalry and even chariots. The Terracotta Army demonstrates their use by including life-sized horses and Chinese chariots within its ranks. The variation between the different soldiers and their stations shows the incredible talent of the artists who crafted them. The replica of the chariot represents a chariot figure and horses crafted from bronze.

The first cannons were actually also invented in China, but they didn't appear until about 1,400 years later in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Answer: They were plundered by marauding forces as bronze was highly valued

Since the terracotta warriors' hands were crafted as though they were holding weapons, it was curious that the large majority of the figures held nothing. Archaeologists at first surmised that perhaps the weapons rusted to nothingness, considering they were made with simple bronze.

Yet, thousands of bronze artefacts, including weapons, were in fact found in the dig site, remarkably well-preserved. Scientists believe a mix of high tin content in the weapons and a fortuitous soil composition that lent itself well to preservation meant that the thousands of other weapons would not have degraded to nothingness. Instead, the Qin dynasty rapidly disintegrated after the death of Qin Shi Huang, and his tomb was raided. Evidence of charring even suggests that fires were set to destroy the incredible landmark. Luckily, a large number of terracotta figures weren't destroyed.

Answer: 600

The artists who created the horses did so masterfully, with chariot horses and cavalry horses amongst their creations. The use of horses during warfare helped solidify the Qin dynasty's military victories, so they were an important inclusion in many ways. The emperor was also buried with a cast of other supporting figures, including musicians, acrobats, and other officials.

Answer: False

Qin Shi Huang's tomb itself has been left alone for various reasons, including the fact that it is considered the final resting place of an historical figure and is sacred. Another reason archaeologists have given is that the tomb's contents are likely to deteriorate rapidly upon exposure to the air. If the tomb were excavated, estimates state that some delicate artefacts could face irreversible damage after only four minutes of exposure.