The Mausoleum of Qin First-Emperor
The Mausoleum of Qin First-Emperor is in Lintong (临潼), an eastern district of Xi’an. This mausoleum isn’t opened yet, so it is still a mystery what is in the mausoleum. According to the book “Historical Records” (史记) written by Sima Qian (司马迁), altogether more than seven hundred thousand people were forced to build the mausoleum in thirty-eight years when First-Emperor was reigning. It was said that, in the mausoleum, a palace was built, and there were full of treasures. The coffin of the emperor was made of bronze. It was the last home of the emperor. But this emperor still wanted to watch the entire world. So, in the mausoleum, large pools filled mercury and they was regarded as rivers and seas; the figures of the sun, the moon and stars enchased in the plafond. Near the mausoleum, there was the underground legion of the emperor. The ambitious emperor still wanted to lead his unbeatable army to subjugate the underground world.
Qin First-Emperor was very worried about the safety of his last home. So in his mausoleum, there were many machine-operated crossbows in covert places. If someone dared to enter the mausoleum, the crossbows would automatically shoot him. When the emperor was being buried, someone told Qin Second-Emperor (秦二世), the son of First-Emperor, that laborers knew the secret of the mausoleum. Qin Second-Emperor inherited the cruel tradition of his ancestors, and then he ordered to kill the laborers who would close the mausoleum. When the inner gate of the mausoleum was closed by the laborers, soldiers suddenly closed the outer gate of the mausoleum. These laborers were trapped in the airtight room and died. When the mausoleum was completely closed, trees were planted on the mausoleum as symbolizing a mountain.
Until the death of First-Emperor, the temple for sacrificing to the mausoleum was not finished yet. When there was a large uprising in the Chu (楚) State, Qin Second-Emperor had to exempt a large number of laborers from servitude and arm them against the uprising army from the Chu State. Though the uprising army was defeated, more uprising armies from more areas came. All people of the former eastern six states rose up. The Qin’s officials who controlled the areas of former eastern states were killed by indignant people. Their families didn’t survive, too. The calamity that the Qin State brought to the eastern states now was brought back to the Qin State. The Qin Empire, the extremely militaristic country which never tired of subjugating new land, fell apart. If the empire was not destroyed, perhaps it would start the expedition to the Western world. But such an empire based on bloody wars and cruel laws couldn’t be kept for a long time.
The following photos were taken in the site of the First-Emperor’s Mausoleum. Now there are many pomegranate trees on the mausoleum. In every October, you can pick pomegranates by yourself as you like. Of course, then pay for them.
In the following photoes, there is the performance of the sacrificing ceremony to the First Emperor. In fact, the true sacrificing ceremony in the Qin Empire was very magnificent. Now the performance is only a very small show for visitors. Don't connect the performance with the ture sacrificing ceremony in the history.
In the following photo, there is the dance of the Twelve Animals. Every one of the Twelve Animals symbolizes a year. Ancient people thought that every twelve years was a circle of time. My mobile phone couldn't take a panoramic photo of the dance, so there are only ten animals in this photo. Of course, the animals are acted by people.
