In 1974, while digging a well, farmers accidentally stumbled upon the Tomb of the First Emperor of China. The discovery of ceramic warrior figures quickly gained national attention, leading to an archaeological investigation that uncovered three large underground chambers, known as “pits.” These life-sized terracotta warriors depicted warriors with remarkable detail and still bore traces of their original paint from the time of their discovery. The uniqueness of the terracotta warriors was unprecedented compared to any tomb figures previously known. However, Pits 1, 2, and 3 were only a fraction of the extensive tomb complex of the First Emperor.
The First Emperor (born Ying Zheng), initially ruled as the king of the Qin state. Through forceful military campaigns, he conquered the states occupying much of the current territory of China, bringing an end to the Warring States Period. He reformed the culturally and politically distinct states into a single, centralized political entity.
In 221 B.C.E., he officially declared himself Qin Shi Huangdi, a title he coined himself commonly rendered as the “First Emperor” that literally translates to “First August Emperor of Qin.” This was no empty gesture—the First Emperor’s reforms and unification would forever change the meaning of rulership in East Asia.
Among his monumental building projects was a monumental tomb of unprecedented splendor, whose scale and luxury became, with the passage of ᴛι̇ɱe, the matter of legend. Nevertheless, none of the fantastic tales found in the written record prepared archaeologists for what they would find in the Mausoleum of the First Emperor