The Terracotta Army

The Terracotta Army was found in 1975, which was just 35 years ago. It was found in excellent condition. The army was found to be a part of Emperor Qin's Tomb. The clay soldiers along with chariots, and clay horses were put there because it was thought that in the afterlife Emperor Qin would have an army to protect him. What was so different about the soldiers beside being so many of them, was that they were so life-like. The soldiers held weapons in their hands. Even though many of the soldiers didn't have them in their hands because of robbers taking them, many of the soldiers still held daggers, arrowheads, and swords. Many of them were still sharp!!!

The clay soldiers were made from fine clay, but it was only after the dynasty fell that rebels set fire to the frameworks (wooden pillars and crossbeams, topped with a roof of woven matting) that the clay soldiers baked from the heat and the clay hardened and this preserved the soldiers and warriors for us to find them.

Ancient Chinese Coins

The money has holes in it.
The reason there is a hole in the coin is so people could put a string through it to put around their necks. Two new types of round coins were also introduced one gold and one copper.

The reason for the standardization of coins in the Qin Dynasty is because Emperor Qin noticed that different regions used different materials for money. Unfortunately, when a trader went outside their area, it was difficult to bargin with using the "coins" he had. So, therefore, Emperor Qin decided that everyone, every region, would use the same coins. This made it much better for traders and mercents to bargin with.

Unique Emperor Qin

This is the Emperor of Qin

Emperor Qin was a unique Emperor. What was so unusual about him was that he was paranoid. What was he paranoid about? Death! He did not was to die. He wanted to live forever. He would do anything for immortality. One of the things that he was paranoid about was his close advisors. The ones that he thought were most important, he moved them into his palace so that he could keep a sharp eye on them. If they did something against his wishes, he simply put them to death. He did this to quite a few people. Anyone, who was outspoken about him, death was their sentence!

This is the clothing of the qin dynasty.

There were different dress for men and women. Women mainly worn tunics with black pants under the tunic. Farm women wore large hats while out in the field to keep the sun out of their eyes. Men wore mostly grey shirts and pants.

Chinese Food

This is the food they ate. its dumplings

When you think of Chinese food many people automatically think rice. In fact, rice is a main staple of food for Asian people. Rice is a grain and it is grown throughout the region as it is still today. Farmers grow rice in paddies, then when it is harvested they take it to the city to sell.

Emperor Qin would have great banquets where food was plentiful. People were also able to take the rice and make rice wine. This was served to the guests in the great banquet hall.

Of course another staple in Ancient China and still very much today is tea. Tea leaves are plentiful in China. They are picked, and pressed and added with water. At all meals and in between tea is served. Did you know that if a tea pot is placed on the table and the spout is facing the guest it is considered an insult.

Another staple in China that was used for food was millet. Millet is a small-grain that is ground down and used as ceral.

These were the main foods of China - rice, millet, sorghum, and wheat. In northern China, people mostly ate millet, wheat, and sorghum. In southern China, people mostly ate rice. Poor people ate almost nothing but these foods.