The Terracotta Warriors: Exploring the Most Intriguing Puzzle in Chinese History

There have been a number of recent books on this unexpected and spectacular discovery that was first made by accident back in 1974. While this is not an oversized book as were some of the others, it is much more manageable with a much more easily readable, informative, and well organized text. The author, Edward Burman, is highly qualified to write such a book given his direct connection with China; i.e., a Trustee of the Xian City Wall Heritage Foundation. The Terracotta Army, as it is most commonly called, consists of thousands of life-size terracotta statues of Chinese warriors - each distinct and unique - along with terracotta horses and war chariots intended to accompany and protect the first Chinese Emperor (who ruled in China in the latter part of the third century BC) in the after life. What has been uncovered so far is only part of what may yet be found. However, this is an expensive and prolonged project. There are 24 beautiful brand new color photos interspersed in the book covering a wide range of objects. This book can be savored by specialists in Chinese art and history, and art in general. Most importantly, the final Section of the book - LATEST DISCOVERIES - divided into four chapters not only gives us an update but a retrospective on the Qin Dynasty and why it failed. There is also an Epilogue dealing with Future Prospects. As an aside, under a different spelling, China derived its name from this Dynasty. One final comment: The current price is eminently reasonable and may even decline depending upon demand.

Ordered for a grandson for a school assignment. Seems to have been very helpful.

A great historical puzzle in China

What struck me most about this book is the incredible determination by Chinese authorities today to literally dig up Chinese past. Apparantly, Mao did not stimulate archeology, but all subsequent Chinese governments did. Our knowledge of the earliest Chinese dynasties was clouded by an extreme scarcity of surviving written sources. What this book shows is that early Chinese history is an exciting field to be working in, since multiple and ongoing archeological projects are deepening our understanding at this very moment and for decades to come. Since it's largely a Chinese effort to relive Chinese history, we can consider ourselves lucky that Edward Burman offers us the most current insights (as per 2017) of the events leading to the erection of Qin Shihuangs mausoleum and its thousands of 'warriors'.This will not be the ultimate work on terracotta warriors since extensive archeological work on the mausoleum is still in progress, but still Burman impresses with the erudition by which he is able to place the erection of the mausoleum in a broader historical context using a vast array of Chinese secondary sources. And it's readable too! I knew nothing about early Chinese history and with only 220 pages of text I feel I'm reasonable up to date on the historical debates about that era.Burman argues that just like the Cheops's great pyramid at Gizeh was built using the knowledge obtained by previous efforts of Imhotep and the master builders of Sneferu, the mausoleum architecture of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum was heavily inspired by the funerary practices by the Zhou dynasty and the mausoleums built in the earlier Qin capital Yong. By comparing 5th century BC Yong graves with Qin's great mausoleum, Burman supports claims that the terracotta 'warriors' are in fact not meant to be warriors in the afterlife, but dignitaries playing a role in court protocol. Fascinating research on the production processes of the thousands of terracotta figures allows insights in the religious and economic rationales behind the erection of this monument. The earliest written sources state that all in all 700.000 workers were involved in the erection of the mausoleum; obviously this number is still intensely disputed but perhaps this number may not be far from the truth! The mausoleum is astonishing in its ambition. Diggers for the funeral mound, skilled workers of all kinds to assemble the thousands of clay figures, farmers providing food, cooks, all kinds of workmen, even prostitutes, it all adds up and everything is supported by archeological evidence.One of the more fascinating elements of research is the focus on the social ramifications of projects on such a grand scale. Egyptologists today debate how the building of pyramids may be interpreted as a 'nation building project', and in the same way Burman points out that the mausoleum may have contributed to the mental unification of the previous Seven Kingdoms into one new "China". A careful analysis of the face types of the warriors point out that the warriors are not exclusively Qin-archetypes, but that the composition of the 'army' is a very deliberate blend of Qin, Chu, Zhao, Wei and Yan military, which indicates a marked desire of Qin Shihuang to be a ruler of all China.All in all I was delighted with this read and I hope to have the chance to visit the mausoleum in the near future!

A good book. The problem is almost too much information about Chinese history. Excellent photos. The map on page 78 is hard to read.

Very interesting and up to date account of the discoveries of funeral mounds and mausoleums of ancient China. Having seen the Terracotta warriors in Xian in the 1980s and when they came to the British Museum more recently it is interesting to learn what new discoveries have been made. It is easy to read and not too technical . Would recommend if you are interested in Chinese history.

Great book to refer to after our visit to the exhibition in Liverpool

Great book of factual information diagrams and photos

a very interesting book full of fascinating photographs but rather heavy on complicated chinese historyhowever i would recommend it

Written by an expert, with updated features.