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A Beautiful Book Chock Full of Photos and History!
This book, published in 2012, is the exhibition catalog for the largest (to date) traveling exhibit of the First Emperor's Terracotta Army. I was able to see this exhibit in 2013 – and what a fabulous exhibit it was. This book is not just a reminder of what was seen, it offers additional detail and history.The first four chapters cover the years before Ying Zheng, King of the state of Qin, renamed himself Emperor. The text tends to be a little scholarly but interesting: "While conducting his war of unification ... [he] ordered replicas of the famous palaces of the conquered states to be built along the north bank of the Wei. These were filled with treasures and beautiful women captured from the other states.... By forcing 120,000 rich and influential families from the former six states to move to the capital, he simultaneously increased the city's prosperity and kept these powerful families under surveillance."As King of Qin, Zheng ruled for 25 years while consolidating states into one huge country. Then he ruled another 10 years as Emperor Qin Shi Huang. He created a master bureaucracy, miles of roads and canals and standardized laws. He was brutal, efficient, effective and incredibly wealthy. He wouldn't have otherwise been able to build his incredible funeral complex, of which the terracotta army is just one part.The First Emperor died in 210 b.c.e. He left two sons, both of whom were dead by 207 b.c.e. For all its power, the Qin dynasty was finished. Just like that.I'm not complaining, because it's this obscurity which probably saved his burial effects so that I could be wowed 2200 years later. The terracotta army figures look fabulous now, but as "China's Terracotta Warriors" shows us, it has taken a lot of people a lot a work to excavate and reassemble them.What is particularly fascinating to me, is how they were were originally painted. Garishly painted, for that matter. And creatively. Paint remnants show that they had different skin tones as well as different clothing colors.This is a beautiful book. It's 302 pages with each page a giant 12" x 9". All the better to show off the photos, maps and illustrations. There's some 68 full page photos, 6 double-wides and 273 smaller.I can also recommend the 2014 NOVA program on the Terracotta Army as a compliment to this book. They show how the warriors and their weapons were made: Nova: Emperor's Ghost ArmyTogether they are great stuff for a history lover!Happy Reader
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Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2017
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2013
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Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2016
The first four chapters cover the years before Ying Zheng, King of the state of Qin, renamed himself Emperor. The text tends to be a little scholarly but interesting: "While conducting his war of unification ... [he] ordered replicas of the famous palaces of the conquered states to be built along the north bank of the Wei. These were filled with treasures and beautiful women captured from the other states.... By forcing 120,000 rich and influential families from the former six states to move to the capital, he simultaneously increased the city's prosperity and kept these powerful families under surveillance."
As King of Qin, Zheng ruled for 25 years while consolidating states into one huge country. Then he ruled another 10 years as Emperor Qin Shi Huang. He created a master bureaucracy, miles of roads and canals and standardized laws. He was brutal, efficient, effective and incredibly wealthy. He wouldn't have otherwise been able to build his incredible funeral complex, of which the terracotta army is just one part.
The First Emperor died in 210 b.c.e. He left two sons, both of whom were dead by 207 b.c.e. For all its power, the Qin dynasty was finished. Just like that.
I'm not complaining, because it's this obscurity which probably saved his burial effects so that I could be wowed 2200 years later. The terracotta army figures look fabulous now, but as "China's Terracotta Warriors" shows us, it has taken a lot of people a lot a work to excavate and reassemble them.
What is particularly fascinating to me, is how they were were originally painted. Garishly painted, for that matter. And creatively. Paint remnants show that they had different skin tones as well as different clothing colors.
This is a beautiful book. It's 302 pages with each page a giant 12" x 9". All the better to show off the photos, maps and illustrations. There's some 68 full page photos, 6 double-wides and 273 smaller.
I can also recommend the 2014 NOVA program on the Terracotta Army as a compliment to this book. They show how the warriors and their weapons were made: [[ASIN:B00O9ZSJMI Nova: Emperor's Ghost Army]]
Together they are great stuff for a history lover!
Happy Reader
A Beautiful Book Chock Full of Photos and History!
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2016
This book, published in 2012, is the exhibition catalog for the largest (to date) traveling exhibit of the First Emperor's Terracotta Army. I was able to see this exhibit in 2013 – and what a fabulous exhibit it was. This book is not just a reminder of what was seen, it offers additional detail and history.Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2016
The first four chapters cover the years before Ying Zheng, King of the state of Qin, renamed himself Emperor. The text tends to be a little scholarly but interesting: "While conducting his war of unification ... [he] ordered replicas of the famous palaces of the conquered states to be built along the north bank of the Wei. These were filled with treasures and beautiful women captured from the other states.... By forcing 120,000 rich and influential families from the former six states to move to the capital, he simultaneously increased the city's prosperity and kept these powerful families under surveillance."
As King of Qin, Zheng ruled for 25 years while consolidating states into one huge country. Then he ruled another 10 years as Emperor Qin Shi Huang. He created a master bureaucracy, miles of roads and canals and standardized laws. He was brutal, efficient, effective and incredibly wealthy. He wouldn't have otherwise been able to build his incredible funeral complex, of which the terracotta army is just one part.
The First Emperor died in 210 b.c.e. He left two sons, both of whom were dead by 207 b.c.e. For all its power, the Qin dynasty was finished. Just like that.
I'm not complaining, because it's this obscurity which probably saved his burial effects so that I could be wowed 2200 years later. The terracotta army figures look fabulous now, but as "China's Terracotta Warriors" shows us, it has taken a lot of people a lot a work to excavate and reassemble them.
What is particularly fascinating to me, is how they were were originally painted. Garishly painted, for that matter. And creatively. Paint remnants show that they had different skin tones as well as different clothing colors.
This is a beautiful book. It's 302 pages with each page a giant 12" x 9". All the better to show off the photos, maps and illustrations. There's some 68 full page photos, 6 double-wides and 273 smaller.
I can also recommend the 2014 NOVA program on the Terracotta Army as a compliment to this book. They show how the warriors and their weapons were made: [[ASIN:B00O9ZSJMI Nova: Emperor's Ghost Army]]
Together they are great stuff for a history lover!
Happy Reader
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