The Mortuary Army of Ch`in Shih Huang Ti

Through
the
swirling morning fog around
Xian rises the
tumulus of Ch'in
Shih Huang Ti
(Qin Shi Huang
in the modern
pinyin system),
the first emperor
of China. By
midmorning the
sun has burned
through, although the sharp bite of autumn is in the air, and in the busy plaza
at the entrance to the terra-cotta museum, busloads of tourists-come to see
the emperor's underground army-disgorge themselves amid a clutter of
shops. As at any of the world's other
great archaeological sites-the
Great
Wall, Pompeii, or the pyramids at Giza
or Chichen Itza, for example-postcards,
trinkets, and cheap replicas are in abundance. But once you enter the antechamber to the first hall, all of that is
shut out. The line of visitors funnels
through the sepia-tinged half-light toward a metal railing, and at first you can
see nothing but the huge arched ceiling
of the hall, stretching two football fields
in length away, and the slanting rays of
autumn sunlight heavily flecked with
motes of drifting dust. But then, at the
railing, you look down into the pit,
where the underground army waits, still
enclosed by steep walls of yellow Chinese
clay, and the sunlight
streaming
through side windows throws their stolid features into high ceramic relief. It is
as if a window has opened in time.
Reality can sometimes be a bizarre
mirror to mythology. This under-
I
I-I
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50
ground
army
is reminiscent
of the myth of
Jason and the
Argonauts. During his quest
for the Golden Fleece, the
Greek hero was
given the task of
sowing a field
with powdered
dragons' teeth.
From the furrows sprang a crop of warriors, whom he had to fight. In the yellow earth of Xian, peasants digging a
well in 1974 found no water, but rather
the first broken fragments of life-size
terra-cotta
figurines, the mortuary
army of Ch'in Shih Huang Ti, deliberately buried over two millennia earlier.
Cheng (259-210 B.C.) came to his
throne-and
took the title Ch'in Shih
Huang Ti, meaning the First August
Sovereign-at
a time when China was
divided into seven feudal states, each
battling the other six in an unending
war for supremacy. This period of Chinese history is called the Warring States
era (476-221 B.C.). After ensuring the
stability of his own throne, Ch'in waged
a ten-year war (230-221 B.C.) that ended
with the unification of all seven kingdoms under the Ch'in dynasty.
Ch'in recognized the need to solidify
his new empire with more than military actions. He codified the legal system and standardized everything he
could: currency, weights, measures, the
alphabet, even the axle lengths of chariots. He also imposed harsh laws and excessive taxes; levied large bodies of men
for the army or for corvees on titanic
construction projects that included imperial highways, palaces, and the beginnings of the Great Wall, incorporating
existing walls built by the northern
Warring States; and repressed learning,
burying as many as 460 scholars alive
and burning their books.
Perhaps his most ambitious project
was the construction of his mortuary
city near the Ch'in capital of Hsienyang (modern Xian). According to the
Shi-Chih (Historical Memoirs) compiled by the Western Han historian
Ssu-ma Ch'ien (c. 145-c. 86 B.C.), more
than 720,000 men spent over thirtyseven years building the twenty-squaremile complex, and it was still not complete at the time of Ch'in's death. This
vast mausoleum contained both inner
and outer cities, palaces, buried zoological gardens stocked with exotic animals, buried stables in which were
found the skeletons of horses, and the
sepulchral mound itself. Inside the tumulus, Ssu-rna Ch'ien wrote,
a foundation of bronze was laid and the sarcophagus placed thereon. Rare objects and
costly jewels were collected from the palaces
and the various officials, and were carried
thither and stored in vast quantities. Artificers were ordered to construct mechanical
crossbows, which if anyone were to enter,
would immediately discharge their arrows.
With the aid of quick silver, rivers were
made ... and a great ocean, the metal being
poured from one into the other by machinery. On the roof were delineated the constellations of the sky, on the floor the geographical divisions of the earth. Candles were
made from the fat of the walrus calculated
to last for a very long time.
It is not safe to leave such treasures
unguarded, so Ch'in Shih Huang Ti provided well for the security of his mortuary city and its furnishings. His royal artisans created over 8,000 life-size terracotta statues of soldiers and horses, his
armories equipped them with weapons
from the empire's armories, and for
over 800,000 days and nights this ghostly army has loyally guarded the
precincts of the first emperor's tomb.
The terra-cottas were discovered between 1974 and 1976 in three pits about
a mile east of the actual tomb, just
north of the causeway leading to the
sepulcher's eastern gate. These pits are
not simply huge holes. As befit the army
of a great emperor, the soldiers were
housed in vast subterranean structures
that were the equivalent of barracks: bi
lei; or "military breastworks." All three
pits contain structures built of earth and
wood. More than 3.5 million cubic feet
of earth was excavated to create the pits.
The superstructure was built of pine and
cypress beams up to thirty feet long. The
roof consisted of more than 300,000
cubic feet of reed and bamboo matting
plastered with clay and covered with
earth, and the floors were paved with
over 250,000 bricks. Only after these
structures were completed did work
begin on the terra-cottas themselves.
But they did not long outlast their emperor. Ch'in Shih Huang Ti died in 210
B.C. In 206 B.C., during the collapse of
the Ch'in dynasty, the pits were broken
into and looted by the rebels of Hsiang
Yu. They took some of the weapons and
burned the buildings, creating the chaos
found in the pits today.
T
he underground structures originally housing the terra-cottas were looted and burned by rebel armies in 206 B.C., resulting
in the jumble of statuary that appears to rise again from the dead. The terra-cotta army was part of a vast mortuary complex that contained palaces, stables, and exotic animals, and that took more than 120,000 workers over 31 years to build.
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A remarkable archaeological discovery, Ch'in Shih Huang Ti's clay army
teaches us a great deal about how the
Chinese military of the third century
B.C. looked and fought. The varieties of
battle dress ranging from soldiers in
the ranks to the ceremonial guards
and the commanding officers are all
portrayed in great detail. More than
10,000 weapons of the period have
been recovered in excavation. Most important, the soldiers and officers in
these pits are apparently arrayed in ancient order of battle, offering vital insights into the transformation of the
Ch'in army from a numerically inferior, technologically backward force into
a cohesive fighting body that successfully outfought all of its foes.
Ch'in Shih Huang Ti's terra-cottas are
also important as tangible evidence of
the military doctrines espoused by ancient Chinese scholars. Matters both tactical and strategic were heavily influenced by the Taoist teachings found in
the seven great Chinese military classics.
Most famous of these in the West are the
writings of Sun-tzu, whose Ping-fa, or
The Art of War, was probably written in
the fourth century B.C., and whose precepts have been successfully employed
even into the twentieth century.
Taoism is a Chinese religious doctrine, based on the writings of Lao-tzu
in the sixth century B.C., that teaches
that more is accomplished by doing
less. According to Lao-tzu's Tao-te
Ching (Classic of the Way of Power),
"Weapons are instruments of ill omen,
to be used only when unavoidable." But
acknowledging the historical reality
made adherence to that concept unlikely, the next best thing was to apply
Taoist fundamentals to practical military necessity. Or, as a late disciple of
Sun-tzu's teachings, Zhuge Liang,
wrote in the third century A.D.: "In ancient times, those who governed well
did not arm, those who armed well did
not set up battle lines, those who set up
battle lines well did not fight, those
who fought well did not lose, those who
lost well did not perish."
The terra-cottas graphically illustrate
many of the specific Taoist concepts applied to army tactics. Each of the three
THE CH'IN
EMPIRE, 210 B.C.
Defensive
l'1.I"\.I"\.I
Walls
miles
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MODERN
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C h'in Shih Huang Ti came to power during the Warring States era (476-221
-
B.C.), when China consisted of seven feudal kingdoms. With his conquest of
the last rival state in 221 B.C., he became the first emperor of a unified China.
pits represents a different military capability of the buried army. The main body
was found in Pit One, consisting mostly
of infantry, although chariots are present for command purposes. Special detached troops provide both vanguard and
rear guard, as well as flanking wings. Pit
Two contains a flexible mixed unit of infantry, cavalry, and chariots. In Pit Three
were found army headquarters, communications, and a ceremonial guard. Overall, the underground army complex covers more than 250,000 square feet.
Facing east across the front of Pit
One marches the army's vanguard of
204 skirmishers, in three rows of sixtyeight men. Behind them follows the
main body: 6,000 more soldiers in thirty-eight columns of mostly infantry,
with officers' chariots stationed at regular intervals. The infantry in this body is
of two main types: subordinate, or infantry that depended on the war chariots for their orders, and independent, or
infantry that had nothing at all to do
with the charioteers. Although most of
the warriors in these thirty-eight
columns are dressed alike, in armor and
leggings, soldiers of the vanguard are
more lightly clad for greater mobility.
The main body in Pit One is flanked
north and south by two rows of troops.
Three more rows cover the rear, two of
the rows facing east (the front) and the
third facing west (rear). Flank troops
are armed with long-range offensive
weapons such as bows and crossbows,
while the rear guard is armed, like the
main body it protects, with longhandled offensive weapons.
Prior to the Warring States era and
the Ch'in dynasty, combat usually took
place between chariots formed into relatively simple battle units. But the troop
dispositions of Pit Two, together with
the combination of weaponry found in
Pit One, clearly demonstrate the tactical
complexity that had evolved by the time
of the first emperor. (Pit Two, unlike
Pits One and Three, was never fully excavated, and it is not open to visitors.
Our knowledge of its contents is based
on trial excavations done at the time of
its discovery in 1976.)
Pit Two combines four smaller units
of mixed forces to create a fluid tactical
formation in a large, sweeping curve.
The first unit is a square of 334 crossbowmen. The "heart" of the formation is
a square of eight rows of twenty kneel-
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ing crossbowmen each, surrounded by
174 standing crossbowmen lining the
perimeter. At the northwest corner of
this unit stands a general and a middleranking officer, both armed with swords.
The second unit in the formation
holds the right side of the curve with
sixty-four chariots, arrayed in eight
rows of eight. The chariots are divided
into a left and right wing of two chariot
companies each (sixteen chariots to a
company). Each chariot is manned by a
driver and two guards. Although war
chariots were known to be armed with
lances, halberds, axes, and daggers, the
chariots found here carried only the
lance, battle-ax, and bow.
The center is held by a mixed force of
chariots, infantry, and cavalry. Among
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the nineteen chariots of this formation is
the commanding general's. His chariot
also carries a driver and an aide. Unlike
the second unit in the formation, these
chariots (not including the general's) are
divided into three columns. The 264 infantrymen in this unit are all deployed in
support of the chariots. Fourteen chariots in this unit are supported by eight infantrymen each, the standard number,
but two chariots each have twenty-eight
infantrymen in support, and three chariots have thirty-two each. The greater
numbers are found in closer proximity
to the command chariot. Also part of
this third unit are eight cavalrymen. It is
believed that these represent a mobile
reserve to compensate for the awkwardness of the chariots themselves.
The final unit in Pit Two holds the
left side with a mixed force of cavalry
and chariots,
arrayed into eleven
columns. Columns one and three each
contain only three chariots, while
columns two and four through eleven
are exclusively cavalry. Each of the nine
cavalry columns contains eight rows of
twelve horsemen.
In combat, these four separate units
were meant to coordinate into a large,
curved battle group of great mobility and
flexibility. This mixed force may be an
example of what Sun-tzu and other ancient Chinese scholars called the "ordinary" (cheng) and "extraordinary" (ch'i)
forces. According to Sun-tzu, a wise
commander uses the ordinary, or direct,
troops to engage, and the extraordinary,
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or indirect, to win. The difference is important, for while the cheng units fix the
enemy in position, the ch'i troops attack
unexpectedly and can determine a battle's outcome through shock and surprise. Ch'in Shih Huang Ti apparently
used such formations in his Ch'angp'ing campaign of 260 B.C., in which a
striking force of 5,000 cavalry sundered
the enemy army, supposedly resulting in
the annihilation of some 400,000 troops.
This is again reminiscent of Sun-tzu's
doctrines: "A military force has no constant formation, water has no constant
shape: the ability to gain victory by
changing and adapting according to the
opponent is called genius."
Army headquarters were found in Pit
Three. This identification was based on
the nature of the troops' armaments
found here, as well as the presence of
numerous items of luxury. The sixtyfour terra-cottas discovered here consist of an honor guard rather than combat soldiers. They line the corridors,
facing one another, armed mainly with
the shu, a spear that was used no
longer for actual combat, but rather for
display. On the east is a stable containing a single chariot, there for the sole
use of the commanding general.
Rank-and-file infantrymen in the pits
are of two distinct types, light and armored troops. The light troops, who
served as skirmishers, are found between the army's vanguard and the
main body. They wear puttees and long
belted coats, and they have arrow quivers on their backs. Dressed for easy mobility, they are most often depicted in
the act of drawing their bows. The heavy
infantry wear plate armor over long
coats. Except for kneeling warriors
drawing bows, the heavy troops are
all armed with either long-shafted
g
weapons, such as spears and halberds, ~
or crossbows. Other distinctions among ~
the troops are made in their facial features or hairstyles. It is believed that
more than 100 royal artisans labored for
years to provide each of the terra-cottas
with distinct facial characteristics.
Rank is distinguished by dress. Petty
officers wear black armor, as well as
hats made of a single flat plate. They
are armed with offensive weapons such
as bows or spears, showing that they
were expected to be in the midst of the
fighting. Both the commanding general
and his middle officers are armed with
swords, primarily for defensive purposes, indicating that their role during a
battle was to command the troop movements. Middle officers wear colored
armor and two-plated hats, and the
commanding general wears colored,
fringed armor, knotted front and back
with colored ribbons, and a hat of
pheasant feathers. Little remains today
of the original coloring, but microscopMHQ
55
I
·1,
ic analysis allows us to know that in antiquity these figures were brilliantly
painted: Red, purple, pink, blue, yellow,
orange, white, black, and brown were
all part of the spectrum
in which
Ch'in's army marched into battle.
Although the actual Ch'in armies
were known to have used both helmets
and shields, neither have been found in
these excavations. It is possible that
troops on garrison duty, as these terracottas may be said to be, were not required to wear them. Other archaeologists have speculated that the purpose of
the sculptors was to conspicuously show
the courage of their soldiers by not hiding them behind defensive equipment.
The armaments of the Ch'in army
were of three types. Long-range
offensive weapons, such
as the bow and
crossbow, were
used
by the
vanguard and
wings.
Second,
the
main body
carried
long-shafted
offensive
weapons such
as the spear, halberd, and yue. The yue
was a battle-ax often mentioned in ancient sources, but found for the first
time in these excavations. It consisted
of a bronze blade, approximately a foot
long, fitted into a long handle.
The final type of armament carried
by the Ch'in army was for close-in,
hand-to-hand combat. Such weapons
included the sword and the jin gou, a
double-bladed, crescent-shaped knife
that did not end in a point but could be
used for either hooking or stabbing.
It is important to recognize the effective mix of weaponry with which the
army was supplied. The bows and crossbows of the vanguard, flanks, and cavalry gave them the ability to engage the
enemy from a greater distance while
the heavy infantry closed with their
spears and halberds. This mix gave the
entire unit a combination of arms crucial to a well-balanced fighting force,
with both long-range offensive power
and a capability for close-in fighting.
Of all the weapons excavated among
these terra-cottas, only the lances were
made of iron; all other bladed weapons
were still bronze. As we know from archaeological sites elsewhere that the
other Warring States had a greater
quantity of iron weapons, it would at
least initially appear that the Ch'in
army fought its successful campaign
from a position of technological inferiority. But to contemporary wisdom,
this was not an insuperable weakness.
According to Sun-tzu,
Strength
is not just a matter of extensive
territory and a large population, victory is
not just a matter of efficient armaments, security is not just a matter of high walls and
deep moats, authority is not just a matter of
strict orders and frequent
punish-
ments. Those who establish a viable organization will survive
even if they are small, while
T
those who establish a moribund organization will perish even if they are large.
Nevertheless, it has recently been
questioned whether the technological
gap between Ch'in and the other Warring States was as great as had been assumed previously. In laboratory analysis
of the excavated weapons, the bronze
weapons and arrowheads of Ch'in were
found to be coated with a ten- to fifteenmicron layer of chromium, which kept
them sharper longer than the relatively
crude and brittle iron weapons of their
enemies. This was a sophisticated technique for the period, and it may actually
have given the Ch'in troops an edge. In
addition, weapons manufacture was one
of the areas that Ch'in Shih Huang Ti
standardized. Arrowheads and crossbow
bolts made in different workshops were
the same size and fully interchangeable.
By this time, chariots were on the
decline, because they were expensive to
build, required extensive training to operate, and were of little offensive value
in hilly, swampy, forested, or other inhospitable types of terrain. Perhaps the
most important factor in their decline
was the rise of the infantry as ancient
China's most prolific military branch.
Plentiful, easily trained, and armed
with relatively little expense, a body of
crack infantry could easily take advantage of the chariots' many weaknesses
and render them harmless.
Still, chariots played a significant part
in the army's operations, especially in
the command structure. Of the four
types of chariots found in the excavations, three were related to command
functions. First was the command chariot itself, carrying three passengers: the
general, the driver, and his aide. It was
fairly luxuriously equipped and decorated. From a round canopy hung a bell
and drum for signaling advances and retreats. To quote Sun-tzu again,
he terra-cottas provide important information about the battle
dress and armaments of all components of the army of that
period. At left, a crossbowman kneels in his plated armor. More
than 100 royal artisans worked for years to yive the terra-cottas
distinct features, like the three at riyht. The faces reflect not
only ethnic diversity but a variety of emotions as well.
An ancient
book of military
"Words are not heard,
order says,
so cymbals
and
drums are made. Owing to a lack of visibility, banners and flags are made." Cymbals,
drums, banners and flags are used to focus
and unify people's ears and eyes. Once people are unified, the brave cannot proceed
alone, the timid cannot retreat alone-this
is the rule for employing a group.
An auxiliary chariot rode at the head
of the cavalry column, without canopy,
bell, or drum. On board were a driver
and aide, leaving a space vacant for the
general in the event his command
chariot became disabled.
Intermediate-command
chariots,
drawn by four horses, were canopied but
did not have a bell or drum. They each
carried an officer, two warriors, and the
driver. Of the two found in excavation,
in Pit Two, one was at the right front
corner of the army, and the other in the
extreme front. They apparently led the
vanguard and gave the signal for battle
as they approached the enemy.
Finally, there were the ordinary
chariots, found in Pit One and apparently used for the main fighting. Also
drawn by four horses but lacking a
canopy, each was manned by two warriors and the driver.
Even though chariots were on the
decline, a truly independent cavalry did
not yet exist. Cavalry units are found
only in Pit Two, in support of the chari-
ots, and probably to be used primarily
when either the battleground was unfavorable for chariots or the cumbersome vehicles became bogged down.
(In most cases, there was a driver's aide
just to help extricate the chariot.) Cavalrymen stand to the left and in front of
their horses, holding the reins in one
hand and a bow in the other. Although
cavalrymen of this period were known
to wear swords, none have been found
in the excavations to date. The horses
wear carved saddles. Frequently their
manes are shaved and their tails knotted. All terra-cotta horses, whether
used by the chariots or by the cavalry,
are depicted with six teeth, signifying
strong animals in the prime of life.
Long recitations of numbers and
units hardly do justice to the impressive reality of the buried army. The visitor gazes down at row upon row of the
solemn army frozen in time, while the
domed roof echoes with the hushed
whispers of awed tourists. In areas
where excavation is not complete, shattered torsos, disembodied arms, and
rows of steadfast heads emerge from
the yellow Chinese earth, reminiscent
of a hundred battle scenes, but where
no battle has been. It is eerily evocative
of one of Sun-tzu's main precepts:
"Those skilled in defense hide in the
deepest depths of the earth .... Therefore they can preserve themselves and
achieve complete victory."
The depths of the earth around Xian
still hold unknown treasures. A Chinese
aphorism says, "Treat death as life," and
the rich archaeological plains are evidence that the Chinese monarchs did
just that. The region holds at least 800
tombs, as well as buried palaces, gardens, stables, and other accoutrements
for use in the next world. Scientists have
detected abnormal amounts of mercury
in the ground around Ch'in Shih Huang
Ti's tomb, enough to lend credence to
the Shi-Chih description of the tomb's
quicksilver rivers and oceans.
Other buried armies have been
found, too: In 1990, road workers
found pits containing 700 terra-cottas
of the emperor Ching Ti of the Han
dynasty. Unlike Ch'in Shih Huang
Ti's army, these figures are only two
feet tall, and they had arms of wood,
now lost through decay. It may be that,
as in other ancient societies, the pouring of wealth into the ground in the
form of mortuary endowments had
begun to impoverish the nation, and
this was reflected accordingly in the diminished offerings. Nevertheless, the
archaeological treasures of the Xian
plain are likely to be harvested for
some time to come.
IRAMEISTRICH,a frequent contributor
to MHQ, is a free-lance writer and
an independent television and multimedia producer.
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