Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Whoa! Terracotta Army Belongs to an Empress!!!
Okay - I'm trying to restrain myself. I wanted to write something like HISTORIAN LOBS NUCLEAR MISSILE AT COMMIE DIE-HARDS, or something like that, LOL! Here's the story reported by AFP:
Terracotta army 'may have belonged to empress'
(AFP) – 12 hours ago
BEIJING — China's famed ancient terracotta army which surrounds the tomb of the nation's first emperor actually belonged to a female ancestor, a historian told a state-owned newspaper Wednesday.
The army of life-sized figures discovered near the northern city of Xi'an is usually thought to be guarding the burial site of Qin Shihuang, who presided over the unification of China in 221 BC and declared himself the first emperor.
But historian Chen Jingyuan told the Global Times he believes the emperor's ancestor Empress Xuan, who died 55 years before Qin's birth, was the real mastermind behind the army.
Chen presents his evidence in his new book "The Truth of Terracotta Warriors," which details discrepancies such as the army's distance from Qin's tomb and the hairstyles and clothes of the warriors which he says indicate they belonged to the empress.
"The hairstyle, the ancient Chinese characters found on some unearthed warriors and other evidence indicate the owner of the warriors was Empress Xuan," he told the paper.
The clothes of the warriors were also painted in many colours, in contrast to the sombre black-clad soldiers of the emperor.
"Empress Xuan, the so-called 'Empress Dowager Cixi of ancient times,' was one of the most powerful women in China's history.
"During her reign, the Qin State was thriving and flourishing. This prosperity meant that this powerful woman had enough money to conduct such a huge project," Chin told the daily.
But other historians and archaeologists disagree with his findings.
Rest of article.
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