9781422283523

The Great Empire

Qin Shihuangdi’s Tomb As soon as he became emperor, Qin Shihuangdi started to build his own tomb at Li Mountain, near modern-day Xi’an. It took seven million workers ten years to finish. The burial chamber floor was made of copper and the tomb contained a model of the royal palace with its numerous treasuries and precious objects. The Han Dynasty Liu Ban (256-195 bce ), a low-ranking official of the Qin government, defeated all his enemies during the peasant uprising and established the Han Dynasty in 202 bce . During the Han Dynasty,

agriculture developed rapidly and ox ploughs and iron tools were widely used. China became very rich and powerful. The Han

emperors expanded their territory in all directions. A portrait of the Han emperor Liu Ban.

The Terracotta Army In 1974, a peasant digging for water accidentally discovered an army made of terracotta a few miles away from the First Emperor of Qin’s tomb. Thousands of clay soldiers, horses and chariots have now been excavated. They are all life-sized and have different faces, hairstyles and expressions. Several pits containing clay soldiers surround the emperor’s tomb because he believed that his terracotta army would protect his soul in the afterlife. T he four pits that surround the emperor’s tomb contain the terracotta army—one pit alone contains 6,000 figures.

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