Sat 4/18/09 Xi'an (Western Peace)

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Xi'an is the starting point of the Silk Road, and is located in the Wei river valley on the southern bank of the Wei River. The largest city in northeast China, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of the province of Shaanxi.

Xi'an once vied with Rome and later Constantinople for the greatest city in the world. Over a period of 2,000 years Xi'an has seen the rise and fall of numerous Chinese dynasties. Xi'an was the capital for 13 dynasties - over 1,000 years. Monuments and archaeological sites in the city and surrounding plain are a reminder that once upon a time Xi'an stood at very center of the Chinese world. When ancient Peking (now Beijing) was just a remote trading post, Xi'an was the capital of the Middle Kingdom and one of the world's biggest and richest cities, the geographical beginning of China's fabled Silk Road.

The earliest evidence of human habitation in the Xi'an area dates back 6,000 years to Neolithic times, when the then lush plains proved a perfect area for primitive Chinese tribes to establish villages. In time, the legendary Zhou established a capital on the banks of the Fen River near present day Xi'an. In 221 BC, Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified China and established his capital at Xian Yang, near present day Xi'an. His longing for immortality gave posterity a remarkable legacy: a tomb guarded by thousands of terra cotta soldiers. Xi'an was called Chang'an under the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), and with 2 million inhabitants, it became the largest city in Asia, if not the world. It attracted courtiers, merchants, foreign traders, soldiers, artists, entertainers, priests and bureaucrats, and helped China embark on a brilliant period of creativity.

Terra Cotta Warriors
(See below)

City Walls:
Xi'an is one of the few cities in China where the old city walls are still visible. The walls were built on the foundations of the walls of the Tang Forbidden City during the reign of Hong Wu, first emperor of the Ming dynasty. They form a rectangle with a circumference of 14 km (over 8 miles). On each side of the wall is gateway, and over each stand three towers. At each of the three corners is a watchtower, their tops punctuated with defensive towers. The wall is 12m high, with a width at the top of 12m to 14m and at the base of 15m to 18m.

Shaanxi History Museum:
Built in huge, classical Chinese style, the museum was opened in 1992 and is rated as one of the best museums in China. The collection is chronologically arranged; many objects have never been on display before.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda:
It was built in 652 A.D. to house the Buddhist scriptures brought back from India by the traveling monk Xuan Zang, who then set about translating them into 1335 Chinese volumes.

Small Wild Goose Pagoda:
The pagoda was built from 707 to 709 A.D. and housed Buddhist scriptures brought back from India by another pilgrim. The top of the pagoda was shaken off by an earthquake in the middle of the 16th century, but the rest of the structure is intact.

Terra Cotta Warriors

It turned out to be one of the greatest archaeological finds ever. No one knows how many warriors there are, but Pit 1 contains about six thousand, over a thousand of which have been restored. Each of the warriors has a unique face and appearance, suggesting that they were each modeled after an actual warrior.

In 1980, archaeologists discovered a large pit containing two sets of painted bronze chariots and horses, broken into thousands of pieces. Their restoration took eight years. They've even found a bronze crane with a bronze worm in his mouth!

The mausoleum faces east and, with a mound of approximately 140 feet high, it includes an inner and an outer wall, with a number of attendant burial pits. According to the Records of the Historian the emperor's coffin rests on a base cast with copper. Mercury and pearls are used to represent rivers, the sun and the moon, wild game and trees, symbolizing the heaven and earth. There are also palaces, towers and pavilions, and seats for various officials. The door of the burial chamber is equipped with automatic crossbows to prevent it from being robbed. All those who had been employed as workmen or craftsmen, as well as court maids, who had been in the funeral procession, were buried alive in the tomb alleys.

Pit #1, at the East Side of the Mausoleum is the largest with over 6000 figures arranged in military fashion. Fire and structural damage had shattered the clay army; therefore, most of the warrior had to be rebuilt.

Pit #2 was discovered in 1976, and is an L shaped chamber of smaller dimensions containing over 1400 chariots and cavalrymen. Four basic units have been distinguished; a vanguard of archers with unarmored striding infantrymen, two units of cavalry and chariots, and a further unit of cavalry and chariots divided into eight corridors.

Pit #3, was excavated in 1977. It is, a small chamber, only 1/7th the size of first pit. Its figures appear to represent an elite command force.

Pit #4, was discovered, but is empty, suggesting that the work was abandoned before completion, perhaps due to the sudden death of the emperor in 210 BC and the fall of the dynasty.

The ground plan of the mausoleum suggests the layout of an ideal imperial city, the inner part representing the emperor's "Forbidden City" and the outer part, the periphery. The guards of the capital during the Qin dynasty could be divided into the imperial bodyguards who stood guard in the court and the garrison troops who protected the capital.

The terracotta army was not mass produced from molds. Each figure was individually modeled. Heads, arms and bodies were modeled separately and then joined with strips of clay. The bodies are hollow and made up of coiled earth and attached to solid legs. A cross section of a broken warrior showed that a rough model was made first, then a fine clay slip was added, and details such as eyes, mouth, nose and details of dress were carved into the clay while it was still pliable. Additional pieces such as ears, beard and armor were modeled separately and attached. The whole figure was fired in a pottery oven later. The hair was carved elaborately and shows many distinctive styles and a great variety of topknots. The horses were made in a similar fashion. The large round plugs on each side of the body fill holes that served as vents during the firing. Each horse was equipped with a bronze bridle.

The warriors and horses were originally painted with bright colors. There were two main color schemes used for the armored warriors. Uniforms further distinguished the role of each figure, and colors may also have indicated different regimental units. The colors on the horses are very poorly preserved, but they seems to be black or brown with white hooves and teeth, and red inside their ears, mouths and nostrils.

The Qin army shows at least seven different styles of armor. Tassels and ribbons represented badges of rank, as well as ornate headgear with double folds and ribbons.

The unarmored vanguard of Pit 1 wears light clothing to facilitate fast movement, and they use long range bows to avoid close combat. Infantry squads wielding long lances, which would prevent the horses from being killed, guard the chariots. Two of the six chariots in Pit I carry drums and bells, which would have sounded orders to advance or retreat. The spearmen were also lightly equipped.

No two faces of the Qin warriors area alike, and anatomical details such as eyes and mouth are surprisingly lifelike. The fact that the warriors show varying physical features of minority nationalities from the far reaches of the Empire, reflects the vast number of conscripts that made up the First Emperor's army.

This monumental scale, grandiose conception and the sheer numbers of China's underground army testify to the imperial vision and power of the emperor who is said to have led a million armored soldiers, a thousand chariots and 10,000 horses to conquer and gloat over the world." The whole array breathes the power and grandeur of Qin Shi Huang's army, which conquered six other ducal states and the Hun tribe.

After visiting the tomb, we went to the house of a local family for a home-hosted lunch. The kids in the family were especially taken with the photos and notes we brought from the kids at the Daly City Primary School.

The “air pollution” is due to winds carrying dust from the Gobi desert. Most people in China like hard beds. The older people and farmers especially like super hard pillows made of jade or stone. For proper ying-yang balance you want your feet warm and your head cool.

Then we visited the Houkou Primary School, in Bagiao District, in Xi'an City, in Shaanxi Province, a community-founded school that is supported in part by the Grand Circle Foundation. We took pictures of the kids who were there to take back to the Daly City primary school. I hope they will be able to set up some penpal relationships.

following are pictures of all the school children who were there to greet us:

Education in China