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EmperorQinShihuang＇sMausoleumandtheTerra-cottaWarriorsandHorsesMuseum
EmperorQinShihuang(259-210B.C.)hadYingashissurnameandZhengashisgivenname.HenametothethroneoftheQinatage13,andtookthehelmofthestateatageof22.By221B.C.,hehadannexedthesixrivalprincipalitiesofQi,Chu,Yan,Han,ZhaoandWei,andestablishedthefirstfeudalempireinChina＇shistory.
Intheyear221B.C.,whenheunifiedthewholecountry,YingZhengstyledhimselfemperor.HenamedhimselfShihuangDi,thefirstemperorinthehopethathislatergenerationsbethesecond,thethirdeventheonehundredthandthousandthemperorsinproperordertocarryonthehereditarysystem.Sincethen,thesupremefeudalrulersofChina＇sdynastieshadcontinuedtocallthemselvesHuangDi,theemperor.
Afterhehadannexedtheothersixstates,EmperorQinShihuangabolishedtheenfeoffmentsystemandadoptedtheprefectureandcountysystem.Hestandardizedlegalcodes,writtenlanguage,track,currencies,weightsandmeasures.ToprotectagainstharassmentbytheHunaristocrats.EmperorQinShihuangorderedtheGreatWallbebuilt.Allthesemeasuresplayedanactiveroleineliminatingthecauseofthestateofseparationanddivisionandstrengtheningtheunificationofthewholecountryaswellaspromotionthedevelopmentofeconomyandculture.TheyhadagreatanddeepinfluenceuponChina＇s2,000yearoldfeudalsociety.
EmperorQinShihuangorderedthebooksofvariousschoolsburnedexceptthoseoftheQindynasty＇shistoryandculture,divinationandmedicinesinanattempttopushhisfeudalautocracyintheideologicalfield.Asaresult,China＇sancientclassicshadbeendevastatedanddestroy.Moreover,heonceordered460scholarsbeburiedalive.Thoseeventswerelatercalledinhistory“theburningofbooksandtheburyingofConfucianscholars.”
EmperorQinShihuang,forhisownpleasure,conscribedseveralhundredthousandconvictsandwentinforlarge-scaleconstructionandhadoversevenhundredpalacesbuiltintheGuanzhongPlain.Thesepalacesstretchedseveralhundredliandhesoughtpleasurefromonepalacetotheother.Oftennobodyknewwhereherangingtreasuresinsidethetomb,wereenclosedalive.
EmperorQinShihuang＇sMausoleumhasnotyetbeenexcavated.Whatlookslikeinsidecouldonlybeknownwhenitisopened.However,thethreepitsoftheterra-cottawarriorexcavatedoutsidetheeastgateoftheouterenclosureofthenecropoliscanmakeoneimaginehowmagnificentandluxuriousthestructureofEmperorQinShihuang＇sMausoleumwas.
No.1PitwasstumbleduponinMarch1974whenvillagersofXiyangVillageofYanzhaitownship,LintongCounty,sankawell1.5kmeastofthemausoleum.In1976,No.2and3Pitswerefound20mnorthofNo.1Pitrespectivelyafterthedrillingsurvey.Theterra-cottawarriorsandhorsesarearrayedaccordingtotheQindynastybattleformation,symbolizingthetroopskeepingvigilbesidethemausoleum.Thisdiscoveryarousedmuchinterestbothathomeandabroad.In1975,amuseum,housingthesiteofNo.1andcoveringanareaof16,300squaremeterswasbuiltwiththepermissionoftheStateCouncil.ThemuseumwasformallyopenedtopubliconOct.1,theNationalDay,1979.