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The Fear of an After-Life War Caused The First Chinese Emperor to Build a Breathtaking Terracotta Army
The reason why the Terracotta Army exists
The first time seeing the terracotta army on TV, my child’s mind thought they were real humans transformed into clay by a curse.
But my imagination wasn’t entirely wrong.
The First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi, ordered the sculpturing of the Terracotta army to look like his real army.
Why?
He had ambitions beyond life on earth.
How Shi Huang became The First Emperor of China
At the age of 13, Shi Huang ascended to the throne of Qin.
His kingdom would later expand into an empire, but at a cost.
He had to fight the armies of six neighboring kingdoms. It was no easy task, but he was ambitious.
After Qin Shi Huang annihilated his enemies and took their states, he had to establish order.
He thus invented the title of emperor (皇帝= huángdì), changing his name to Qin Shi Huangdi.
The states he conquered didn’t fall apart thanks to Qin Shi Huangdi’s outstanding management skills.
