The Eternal Army: The Terracotta Soldiers of the First Emperor

by Apa (Editor), Araldo De Luca (Photographer)

A vast "army" of over 7,000 terracotta statues of soldiers surrounds the tomb of the first emperor of the Qin dynasty in the Shaanxi province in northwestern China. These vigilant soldiers have been on duty for 2,000 years, but does anyone know what sort of ruler Qin Shi Huang was? Why did his tomb have to be guarded by a mysterious army? Was Qin Shi Huang so power-hungry he sought control even over the spirit world? Why did he feel compelled to defend himself even in the next life? Using the mausoleum structure as a key, the splendidly illustrated book answers many of the questions that have intrigued travelers, archaeologists, and students of Chinese culture since the site was discovered in 1974.This lavish, powerful volume explores the life and times of the man who founded a dynasty that would continue to the dawn of the 20th century. It gathers the most recent archaeological data with photographs taken on site expressly for this book-accompanied by essays from archaeologists and experts in Chinese art and history. What emerges is a profile of one of China's most powerful, legendary figures and a new view of one of Asia's most spectacular tourist attractions.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Art, China

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Silvia Torani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho letto questo libro come ricerca per un racconto che sto scrivendo ed è stato molto utile. L'apparato fotografico è eccellente, anche se le didascalie sono spesso ridondanti. Si sente la mancanza di una bibliografia e di un indice analitico, ma nel complesso è stato molto informativo.

[Kate Zdenek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped to answer some questions I had after viewing the Terracotta Warriors exhibit at the Field Museum. I really don't know much about the history of China.

[Fred Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

We saw the Terracota Warrior exhibit at the Mpls Institute of Arts and picked up this book in the gift shop. Aside from very nice photography, there is at least half the book devoted to the history of early China and how the First Emperor came to be. Interesting but very dry. THe sections on how the terracota warriors are restored was quite interesting. I have been to Xian as well to see the army in person, it is indeed awesome. But understanding how the various aspects of the tomb and what's in it came to be was nice and helped me appreciate it more.

[Kung Tsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being in China for the first time and actually seeing it in person makes this book and its fascinating content even more enjoyable. This book covers many areas that I was not aware of and my private tour guide was excellent but my physical visit was only 6 hours and you can't cover the details and its history in that short of time. I enjoyed this book immensely and I have only one special person to thank for that!

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cool book with lots of historical information and four jigsaw puzzles built into the middle pages. A great coffee table book and conversation piece as well as educational about it's subject.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most awesome cultural discoveries of the 20th Century. This book combines some of the best diagrams and photographs of the terracotta soldiers and other relics with a very complete archeological, historical and fine art discussion. Beautiful and surprising.

[Susu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical overview of the times of the first Chinese Emperor - including archaeological details on his tomb with the terracotta soldiers

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man. This took me a long time to read, apparently (just by looking at the dates I started it....almost exactly two years!) I lay the blame for this at the feet of the author, who included a very extensive history of Chinese culture leading up to the First August Emperor and his magnificent army. Which, you know, context is important but my goodness. For someone who is not very well-versed in Chinese history, it was completely overwhelming. I think I set the book down for so long because I thought all of it was going to be like that; I was pleasantly surprised, upon picking it up again, to find that I really enjoyed the wonderful photos of soldiers and discussion of the challenges of excavating the tomb. If they had cut all the extremely dry history out of the front and focused intently on the tomb, this book would have been four stars for me (and I'm someone who really enjoys dry history!).