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WASHINGTON: A very special exhibit arrived in Washington from China. The artifacts from more than 2,000 years ago have been described as one of the most important archaeological finds of all time.
An army is invading Washington and everyone is very excited. These are the terra cotta warriors of Emperor Qin Shiuangdi.
In 1974, farmers in China's Xi'an region discovered the army while trying to dig a well
Albert Dien, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, said: "It is with good reason that this site is deserving of the title, the 8th wonder of the world. The magnitude includes more than 7,000 warriors, but also includes civil officials, acrobats, entertainers, and servers to certify that the state of Qin in the 3rd century BCE was on of the most powerful empires of its time."
Emperior Qin was the first ruler to unify China.
He wanted everything possible to be prepared for the afterlife, household goods, and symbols of good fortune, such as cranes.
There's even a model of how to make more figures for the army that already numbered in the thousands.
Xie Feng, attache, Chinese Embassy in Washington, said: "They form a uniform team but if you take a closer look at them, you will find that each one is different from the other in the look and facial expressions. So this actually reflects the Chinese philosophy of harmony without unity."
Just 15 warriors made the trip to Washington along with other objects, the last stop in a two year tour of the United States.
Scholars are impressed with the skill and artistry that went into their creation, such as the archer.
Albert Dien added: "This was such an extraordinary figure, the body twisted, the head looked up, the realism of the details had been extended to the whole movement of the body. And as I said, nothing like it had occurred before and in one jump it arrived that kind of realism and then after the qin Dynasty, nothing."
The priceless clay warriors are on display at the National Geographic Society for the next four months.
Before the show opened to the public, nearly 100,000 tickets had been sold.
The emperior's army was intended to defend him through the afterlife. Today, the terra cotta warriors open a door to China, to promote understanding between two cultures. - CNA/vm
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