The Terra Cotta Army: China's First Emperor and the Birth of a Nation

by John Man

Overview

The Terra Cotta Army is one of the greatest archaeological discoveries ever made. Over seven thousand life-size figures of warriors and horses were interred in the mausoleum of the first emperor of China—and each figure was individually carved.

Weaving together history and a first-hand account of his experiences in China, John Man tells the fascinating story of how and why these astonishing figures were created in the third century BC, and how they have become a symbol of China's history, culture, and society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786732067
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	04/08/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	308
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

John Man is a historian and travel writer with a special interest in Asia. His many acclaimed books include bestselling biographies of Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun, as well as The Great Wall and The Terracotta Army. He lives in the United Kingdom.

Table of Contents

List of Maps     vii
A Note on Spelling     ix
Acknowledgements     xi
Picture Acknowledgements     xiii
Preface: An Army of the Past and Present     xv
Origins
Discovery     3
The Grand Historian's Hidden Agenda     16
Warring States, Conflicting Ideas     27
From Prince to King     42
The Making of China     61
A Ruthless Frenzy     72
Beyond the Grave
The World to Come     97
Digging the Tomb     115
Making the Eternal Army     127
Sudden Death     157
Consumed by Fire     179
The Eighth Wonder
Six Thousand Characters in Search of a Role     205
New Marvels in Bronze and Stone     230
On Handling Treasures     247
To Be Revealed     257
Dates and Dynasties     269
Qin and the Terra Cotta Army in Context     271
Bibliography     275
Index     281

Editorial Reviews

A judicious exploration of the circumstances and meaning behind the terra cotta army interred with China's first emperor. In 1974, a clutch of Chinese farmers digging a well unearthed an army of clay soldiers: Confucian in their aura of strength and tranquility, more than 8,000 strong, life-sized, carved to capture specific characteristics of individual soldiers, complete with horses, crossbows and bronze arrowheads. They were the army of King Zheng, the First Emperor, who unified China's seven warring states (not to mention untold statelets and tribal areas) in a mere decade, from 230 to 221 BCE. They were never meant to be seen, avers historian Man (Attila: The Barbarian King Who Challenged Rome, 2006, etc.). The soldiers were symbolic sacrifices, a solution to the problem of conflicting, evolving Chinese beliefs and practices related to the afterlife. Traditionally, dead rulers were entombed with servants either killed or buried alive. This would not do for "a new, forward-looking dynasty"; besides, the First Emperor was a military commander trying to build a strong state, and "men dispatched into the next world cannot fight in this one." Working with the records at hand, the author delves as deep as he can into the emperor's Qin dynasty, everything from its laws and the Great Wall project to the import of bronze trigger mechanisms. Man draws the scene, summarizes, notes conflicts and conditions both before and after the immediate moment. He wonders about the cost and speed of the clay army's manufacture. He corrals the intrigues, affairs and treachery marking Qin history. What role did these intrigues play in the burning of the tomb? How might they have affected its construction? Didthe Red Guards later erase vital signatures? His virtuoso historical investigation is thorough and well-versed in the material, but also restless and informal, with an eye peeled for new ideas. Scholarly yet spellbound, skeptical yet open to belief.

Kirkus Reviews

Roanoke Times 5/11/0
“If you can’t make it to China anytime soon to see the warriors, do the next best thing: Grab a warm cup of tea, sink into your favorite reading spot and open The Terra Cotta Army to the preface. And begin.”
Library Journal, 6/15/08
“Brilliant and utterly readable…Reads much like an adventure story that offers fine access to this highly detailed subject.” 

Houston Chronicle China book roundup
“Provides essential background reading...Man is a genial guide…learned but not dry.”
Toronto Globe and Mail, 7/19/08
“[Man’s] travel journalism evocatively describes the terra cotta warriors as artifacts, and appropriately overwhelms us with their scale…Man’s prose attains precision and genuine awe.”
Charleston Post & Courier
“[Man] uses his skills as a travel writer to set the scene and fill it with vignettes...The folk stories and humorous incidents that salt the text prevent the dust of history from obscuring the glory of the story.”
Roanoke Times, 8/18/08
“[An] engaging foray into Chinese history.

From the Publisher