All language subtitles for Chinas.Dragon.Emperor.S01E02.Architect.of.the.Afterlife

Narrator: OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO,

THE 13-YEAR-OLD RULER
OF A KINGDOM IN FAR EAST ASIA

ORDERED THE BUILDING
OF HIS MAUSOLEUM.

THE BOY WOULD GO ON
TO CONQUER AND UNIFY

THE SEVEN WARRING STATES
OF A CRUMBLING DYNASTY,

MAKING IT ONE NATION
FOR THE FIRST TIME.

HE WOULD LATER BE KNOWN
AS QIN SHI HUANG,

OR THE FIRST EMPEROR OF QIN,

AND WOULD LEAVE BEHIND
AN ENDURING LEGACY

THAT HAS SHAPED THE CHINA
WE KNOW TODAY.

BUT THE LOCATION
AND MAGNIFICENCE

OF HIS FINAL RESTING PLACE
WAS LOST FOR CENTURIES.

Man: HE WAS LAYING

SOME OF THE MOST INTRICATE
PREPARATIONS

TO GO ON LIVING AFTER DEATH.

Narrator: THEN, IN 1974,
WORKERS IN NORTHWEST CHINA

FOUND FRAGMENTS OF A CLAY FIGURE

AND UNEARTHED
ONE OF THE GREATEST

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES
IN HISTORY.

Woman: NOTHING LIKE THAT
HAD BEEN DISCOVERED

BEFORE THAT TIME.

THIS WAS COMPLETELY
UNPRECEDENTED.

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS
WOULD EXCAVATE

THOUSANDS OF TERRA-COTTA
SOLDIERS, HORSES AND CHARIOTS.

HOW WERE THESE
LIFE-SIZE FIGURES MADE?

WHY WERE THEY EQUIPPED
WITH REAL WEAPONS?

AND WHAT OTHER SECRETS ARE THERE

BURIED DEEP BENEATH
THE COLOSSAL MAN-MADE MOUNTAIN

HONORING CHINA’S FIRST EMPEROR?

♪

♪

DURING THE SUMMER OF 1974,

NEAR THE CENTRAL CHINESE CITY
OF XIANYANG,

CAME NEWS OF A SPECTACULAR
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIND.

BURIED SOME 15 FEET
BELOW GROUND,

NOT ONE BUT HUNDREDS
OF LIFE-SIZED FIGURES,

MADE OF CLAY.

AN ARMY OF SOLDIERS
THAT WOULD BECOME KNOWN

AS THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS.

ARCHAEOLOGIST YUAN ZHONGYI
WAS ONE OF THE EXCAVATORS

WORKING AT THE SITE.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Yuan Zhongyi, translated:
WHEN THE TERRA-COTTA SOLDIERS

WERE DISCOVERED, PEOPLE IN CHINA

AND AROUND THE WORLD
WERE AMAZED.

Narrator:
TEAMS OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS

DESCENDED UPON THE SITE,
COMBING THROUGH DIRT AND CLAY,

TRYING TO SOLVE A MYSTERY
OVER 2,000 YEARS OLD.

Yuan: IT WAS A PUZZLE,
BECAUSE NO ONE HAD ANY IDEA

WHAT THE STATUES WERE.

SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT
THEY WERE STATUES OF GODS.

A FEW OLD WOMEN
WENT INSIDE THE SITE

AND BURNED INCENSE
AND WORSHIPPED THEM.

OTHER PEOPLE SAID
THEY WERE FALSE GODS

AND THAT THEY SHOULD
BE DESTROYED.

Narrator: NO ONE KNEW
WHO CREATED THE FIGURES,

NOR DID THEY KNOW WHEN OR WHY.

HUNDREDS OF OBJECTS WERE DUG UP
DURING THE EXCAVATION,

BUT ARCHAEOLOGISTS’ QUESTIONS
REMAINED UNANSWERED.

THEN THEY UNCOVERED A VITAL CLUE
TO SOLVING THE MYSTERY--

A NUMBER OF RELICS
THEY COULD PIN DOWN

TO A SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD.

THEY WERE BRONZE WEAPONS
CALLED A DAGGER-AXE.

IT CONSISTS OF
A LONG WOODEN SHAFT

WITH A BLADE ATTACHED
TO THE TIP,

AND WAS USED TO THRUST AT
AND STAB THE ENEMY.

RESEARCHERS FOUND ON THE BLADES
OF THE WEAPONS

A STATEMENT WRITTEN
IN A CHINESE SCRIPT

FROM THE THIRD CENTURY B.C.

Yuan: IN THE PIT
OF THE TERRA-COTTA SOLDIERS,

SOME WEAPONS WERE EXCAVATED.

AND ON THOSE WEAPONS
WERE INSCRIPTIONS

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE TIME,
INCLUDING LU BUWEI,

WHO SERVED UNDER QIN SHI HUANG,

THE FIRST EMPEROR
OF THE QIN DYNASTY.

THIS CONFIRMED THAT THE TOMB
NEARBY WAS QIN SHI HUANG’S.

IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE
TO THINK OTHERWISE.

Narrator: BUT ONLY AFTER
MORE EXCAVATION

DID ARCHAEOLOGISTS LEARN
THE EXTENT OF THE DISCOVERY.

THEY ATTRIBUTED THE VAST TABLEAU
TO THE FIRST EMPEROR OF CHINA,

QIN SHI HUANG, THE RULER
WHO CREATED THE NATION

OUT A GROUP
OF WARRING PROVINCES.

THE FIGURES, DUBBED
THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS,

LOOKED VIVIDLY LIFELIKE,

AS IF BLOOD FLOWED
THROUGH THEIR VEINS.

STANDING IN
BATTLE-READY FORMATION,

THIS ARMY WAS UNVEILED
FOR THE FIRST TIME

IN OVER 2,000 YEARS.

THE TERRA-COTTA ARMY CAPTURED
THE PUBLIC’S IMAGINATION

AND FUELED INTENSE CURIOSITY
ABOUT THAT ANCIENT ERA.

VISITORS WANTED TO KNOW MORE
ABOUT THE RULER QIN SHI HUANG

AND WHY THE ARMY OF STATUE
WARRIORS CAME TO BE BURIED HERE.

COMPLICATING MATTERS, SIMA QIAN,

THE HISTORIAN WHO CHRONICLED
THE EMPEROR’S LIFE,

OFFERS LITTLE HELP.

Michelle Wang: SIMA QIAN WROTE
NOTHING OF THE EXISTENCE

OF THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS.

THERE’S NOTHING IN HIS ACCOUNT
THAT SUGGESTS TO US

THAT HE WAS AWARE
OF THEIR PRODUCTION,

AND INTERMENT IN THE PITS

THAT SURROUNDED THE FIRST
EMPEROR OF QIN’S MAUSOLEUM.

Narrator: ANSWERING QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

REQUIRES A JOURNEY BACK
INTO CHINA’S EARLY HISTORY.

IN 246 B.C., A NEW KING
ASCENDED THE THRONE

IN THE WESTERN STATE OF QIN.

LITTLE WAS EXPECTED OF HIM
AT THE TIME.

HE WAS ONLY 13 YEARS OLD.

HIS NAME WAS YING ZHENG,

THE RULER WHO WOULD LATER
BECOME QIN SHI HUANG,

CHINA’S FIRST EMPEROR.

FOLLOWING ROYAL TRADITION,
UPON TAKING THE THRONE,

THE KING ORDERED HIS
PRIME MINISTER, LU BUWEI,

TO FULFILL A SPECIAL COMMAND.

Hou Ningbin, translated: BY
THE SECOND YEAR OF THEIR REIGN,

KINGS WOULD BEGIN BUILDING
THEIR OWN TOMBS.

THAT’S WHY, AT 14,

YING ZHENG ORDERED THE
CONSTRUCTION OF HIS MAUSOLEUM.

Narrator: THE CAPITAL
OF QIN STATE, XIANYANG,

IS ONE OF THE OLDEST
CITIES IN CHINA.

IT WAS THE EASTERN GATEWAY TO
THE FAMED SILK ROAD TRADE ROUTE

AND SERVED AS A CENTER OF
POLITICS, ECONOMY, AND CULTURE.

AROUND 246 B.C.,
ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF XIANYANG,

WORK BEGAN ON WHAT WOULD BECOME

THE YOUNG RULER’S
FINAL RESTING PLACE.

♪

THE BURIAL MOUND
IS 345 METERS WIDE,

350 METERS LONG,
AND 55 METERS HIGH,

A STRUCTURE BIGGER THAN
THE GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA.

THE LOCATION
OF THE TERRA-COTTA ARMY SITE

IS ALMOST A MILE AWAY FROM
THE EMPEROR’S BURIAL MOUND.

♪

BECAUSE OF THE DISTANCE
FROM QIN SHI HUANG’S TOMB,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS SUSPECTED
THERE WAS MORE TO THE SITE

THAN THE LIFE-SIZE CLAY SOLDIERS

THEY UNCOVERED IN ONE
OF SEVERAL PITS BELOW GROUND.

THEIR INVESTIGATIONS LED
TO THE CONCLUSION

THAT THE SOLDIERS SERVED AS
BODYGUARDS FOR QIN SHI HUANG

IN THE AFTERLIFE.

Andrew Schonebaum:
SOME SCHOLARS THINK

THAT THEY ARE DEFENDING IT.

SOME THINK THAT THEY ARE
A REPRESENTATION OF THE RETINUE

THAT QIN SHI HUANG WOULD HAVE
TRAVELED AROUND HIS EMPIRE WITH.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Yuan: OUR INVESTIGATION
OF THE SITE

REVEALED IT TO BE
EXTREMELY LARGE.

IN THE FIRST PIT,

WE FOUND A LARGE NUMBER
OF CLAY FIGURES,

MOSTLY INFANTRYMEN,
SOME CHARIOTEERS, AND HORSES,

ABOUT 6,000 OF THEM.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Shen Maosheng, translated:
THE DISCOVERY

OF THE TERRA-COTTA ARMY

HELPED US UNDERSTAND
A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE TIME.

ALL OF THE CLAY FIGURES
WERE VERY REALISTIC,

SO BY STUDYING THEM, WE LEARNED
MUCH ABOUT THE QIN MILITARY,

THE POLITICAL SITUATION,
EVEN THE CLOTHING THEY WORE.

[BATTLE CRIES]

Narrator: DURING
THE THIRD CENTURY B.C.,

THE REGION WE NOW CALL CHINA
WAS A BLOODY BATTLEGROUND.

WITH THE COLLAPSE OF
THE CENTURIES-OLD ZHOU DYNASTY,

SEVEN STATES ERUPTED IN
ENDLESS WARS FOR SUPREMACY.

♪

THE BATTLES WENT ON FOR DECADES.

♪

FINALLY, BY 221 B.C.,
UNDER RULER YING ZHENG,

THE QIN DEFEATED
ALL THE OTHER STATES.

AND THE REASONS FOR HIS SUCCESS
CAN BE FOUND IN THE INNOVATIONS

THAT PRODUCED HIS REMARKABLE
ARMY OF THE DEAD.

THE WORLD HAS
NEVER SEEN ANYTHING

QUITE LIKE
THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS.

THE FIGURES ARE TALL
AND WEAR EXPRESSIONS

THAT REVEAL THE IMPOSING
CHARACTER AND FIERCE RESOLVE

OF THE LEGENDARY
QIN DYNASTY SOLDIERS.

Shen: LOOKING AT THEM
INDIVIDUALLY

AND IN THEIR MILITARY FORMATION,

YOU GET A REAL APPRECIATION FOR
THE STRENGTH OF THE QIN ARMY.

THEY’RE EXTRAORDINARY, AND
IT’S NO WONDER THAT WITH THEM

QIN SHI HUANG CONQUERED
THE OTHER STATES.

Narrator: PIT ONE
OF THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

DISPLAYS THE BATTLE FORMATION
OF THE QIN MILITARY.

THE FIRST THREE ROWS CONSIST
OF ARCHERS FACING FORWARD.

♪

BEHIND THEM STAND
INFANTRYMEN IN 38 ROWS,

POISED TO STRIKE UPON
THE COMMANDER’S ORDER.

♪

THE FLANKS ARE DEFENDED
BY TROOPS ON THE PERIPHERY

FACING OUTWARD, WATCHING FOR
THREATS FROM ANY DIRECTION.

♪

PIT ONE CONTAINS
A WELL-ORGANIZED INFANTRY CORPS

OF 6,000 MEN.

♪

THE WARRIORS ONCE HELD WEAPONS
BEFITTING THEIR DUTIES,

AND THE SHAPES OF THEIR HANDS
ALL DIFFER ACCORDINGLY.

♪

THESE ARE SPEARS AND DAGGER-AXES
USED BY THE INFANTRYMEN.

CROSSBOWS AND BRONZE ARROWS
ALLOWED THE WARRIORS

TO ATTACK ENEMIES
FROM A DISTANCE.

♪

DURING THE EXCAVATION,

ONE DISCOVERY TOOK
THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS BY SURPRISE.

DESPITE BEING BURIED
FOR OVER 2,000 YEARS,

THE SWORDS OF THE INFANTRYMEN

WERE STILL IN PRISTINE,
RUST-FREE CONDITION.

THE QIN DYNASTY’S METALWORK WAS
HIGHLY ADVANCED FOR ITS TIME.

[SHOUTING]

RESEARCHERS EXAMINED
WHY THE WEAPONS MAINTAINED

THEIR KEEN CUTTING EDGE
AND DIDN’T RUST.

Hou: WE DID TESTS
TO SEE WHY THE SWORDS

WERE STILL SHARP
AFTER BEING BURIED SO LONG.

WE FOUND EVIDENCE
OF CHROMIUM OXIDE

ON THE SWORD BLADES,

WHICH PREVENTS THEM
FROM RUSTING.

IT’S IMPRESSIVE THAT CHINA
HAD DEVELOPED THIS TECHNOLOGY

OVER 1,000 YEARS BEFORE
THE WESTERN WORLD.

AFTER ALL, GERMANY DIDN’T
DISCOVER THIS METHOD

UNTIL THE 1930s,
AND AMERICA NOT UNTIL THE 1950s.

Narrator: BONDING
A CHROMIUM OXIDE COATING

TO A METAL SURFACE

REQUIRES TEMPERATURES
OF 1,400 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT

TO TOUGHEN IT
AND MAKE IT DURABLE.

[SHOUTING]

BECAUSE OF THIS
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY,

THE QIN STATE’S WEAPONRY AND
ITS SUPERIOR TROOP STRENGTH

GAVE ITS FIGHTERS AN ADVANTAGE
OVER THEIR ENEMIES

ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

[SHOUTING]

THE INITIAL EXCAVATION OF
PIT ONE TOOK OVER TWO YEARS.

DURING THAT TIME,

THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVERED
TWO MORE PITS IN THE VICINITY.

PIT TWO IS LOCATED ABOUT
60 FEET FROM PIT ONE

AND IS SMALLER IN SIZE.

BUT MEASURING 136 YARDS WIDE
AND 107 YARDS LONG,

IT’S STILL THREE TIMES LARGER
THAN A SOCCER FIELD.

THE FIGURES AND WEAPONS HERE
DIFFER FROM PIT ONE.

Shen: PIT TWO CONTAINS
A VARIETY OF SOLDIERS,

INCLUDING ARCHERS
AND CHARIOTEERS,

COMPARED TO PIT ONE, WHICH
CONTAINS MAINLY INFANTRYMEN.

Narrator: AFTER 20 MONTHS SPENT
REMOVING EARTH AND TIMBERS,

ARCHEOLOGISTS FOUND PIT TWO

TO BE FULL OF CHARIOTS,
ARCHERS, AND CAVALRYMEN.

SOLDIERS WITH CROSSBOWS STOOD
IN FORMATION AT THE FRONT,

WHILE CAVALRYMEN WERE
POSITIONED BEHIND THEM.

FLANKED TO THE SIDE
WAS A MIXED ARRAY

OF MID-SIZED CHARIOTS
AND INFANTRYMEN,

WITH THREE ARMORED MEN PLACED IN
EACH OF THE FOUR-HORSE CHARIOTS.

♪

ARCHAEOLOGISTS ESTIMATE
THE NUMBER OF HORSES IN PIT TWO

TO BE OVER 500.

THE HORSE FIGURES
REVEALED A FEATURE

PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN TO EXPERTS.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Xu Weimin, translated: WE FOUND
THE HORSE SADDLES IN THIS PIT

TO BE VERY WELL DECORATED.

PUTTING A SADDLE ON A HORSE

MAKES FOR MORE
COMFORTABLE RIDING,

AND IT ALSO GIVES YOU
AN ADVANTAGE

WHEN YOU’RE FIGHTING IN BATTLE.

Narrator: BEFORE THIS DISCOVERY,

SCHOLARS THOUGHT THAT SADDLES
WERE FIRST USED

IN THE HAN DYNASTY, THE EMPIRE
THAT FOLLOWED THE QIN.

SADDLES WERE KNOWN TO GREATLY
IMPROVE THE SPEED, MOBILITY,

AND TACTICAL STRATEGY
OF THE CAVALRYMEN.

♪

ANOTHER INNOVATION
FOUND IN PIT TWO

INVOLVED THE CROSSBOWMEN
IN THE FRONT RANKS.

THEIR POWERFUL WEAPONS
HAD AN AUTOMATIC TRIGGER,

WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN THE REASON

FOR THE QIN ARMY’S
SUCCESS IN BATTLE.

♪

SOME EXPERTS THINK
THE CROSSBOW HAD A RANGE

TWICE THAT OF TODAY’S
MODERN ASSAULT RIFLES.

DURING BATTLE,
SOLDIERS WITH CROSSBOWS

MUST HAVE SHOT BRONZE ARROWS
CONTINUOUSLY

FROM THE FRONT LINES,

BOMBARDING THE ENEMY FORCES
FROM AS MUCH AS A MILE AWAY.

♪

LATER RESEARCH HAS FOUND THAT
THE TRIGGERS OF THE CROSSBOWS

HAD STANDARDIZED PARTS.

THIS WOULD ALLOW SOLDIERS
TO QUICKLY REPLACE

BROKEN OR DEFECTIVE TRIGGERS
WITH A SPARE

WHILE ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Xu: THIS WAS
THE EARLIEST INSTANCE

OF CHINA
STANDARDIZING WEAPONS.

WE THINK OF STANDARDIZATION
AS A MODERN CONCEPT.

BUT EXAMINING THESE WEAPONS
FROM THE QIN DYNASTY,

IT’S CLEAR THEY WERE
TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED

IN TERMS OF PRODUCTION.

SO, SCHOLARS NOW SAY
THE QIN DYNASTY WAS THE FIRST

TO MAKE WEAPONS
WITH REPLACEABLE PARTS.

Narrator: SYSTEMIZATION WAS NOT
LIMITED TO THE CROSSBOW.

MOST OTHER WEAPONS,

INCLUDING BRONZE ARROWHEADS,
SPEARS, SWORDS, AND DAGGER-AXES,

WERE STANDARDIZED AS WELL.

IT MEANT THAT QIN SOLDIERS
WOULD NOT BE HAMPERED

BY BROKEN WEAPONS
DURING BATTLE--

A KEY FACTOR TO THEIR SUCCESS.

[SHOUTING]

♪

WHILE PITS ONE AND TWO CONTAIN

THOUSANDS OF INFANTRYMEN
AND CAVALRYMEN,

PIT THREE IS THE SMALLEST

AND HOUSES THE ARMY’S
HIGH-RANKING OFFICERS.

THIS SEPARATE COMMAND POST
WAS UNUSUAL.

TODAY’S MODERN WARFARE FEATURES
SUPERIOR OFFICERS ISSUING ORDERS

FROM A COMMAND POST
BEHIND THE LINES.

BUT THIS WAS RARE
IN ANCIENT BATTLES,

WHERE STRATEGIES WERE DIFFERENT.

Shen: BACK THEN,
MOST MILITARY COMMANDERS

LED TROOPS ONTO THE BATTLEFIELD.

BUT INSTEAD, THE QIN OFFICERS
USED THEIR SKILLS

TO ISSUE ORDERS FROM
BEHIND THE FRONT LINES.

Narrator: THE QIN DYNASTY
HAD WELL-TRAINED SOLDIERS,

STATE-OF-THE-ART WEAPONS, AND
EMPLOYED BOLD MILITARY TACTICS.

THIS IS HOW EXPERTS
BELIEVE THEY FOUGHT.

[MARCHING FOOTSTEPS]

WHEN THE COMMANDING OFFICERS
GAVE THE ORDERS,

SOLDIERS WITH CROSSBOWS AT
THE FRONT LINES ATTACKED FIRST,

RAINING ARROWS DOWN
ON THE ENEMY.

[ARROWS WHIZZING]

THIS WOULD PLUNGE
THE ADVERSARIES INTO CHAOS,

WHILE QIN INFANTRYMEN
FOLLOWING BEHIND

WOULD BEGIN THEIR ADVANCE.

CHARIOTEERS AND CAVALRYMEN WOULD
THEN RUSH TO OUTFLANK THE ENEMY.

WITH INFANTRYMEN
CHARGING HEAD ON,

CAVALRYMEN AND CHARIOTEERS
USED A PINCER ACTION

TO SURROUND THE ENEMY
AND CLOSE OFF ANY ESCAPE ROUTE.

THE RESULT--ANNIHILATION.

♪

WITH SUPERIOR WEAPONS
AND BRILLIANT TACTICS,

THE QIN ARMY DEFEATED
THE NEIGHBORING STATES

IN LESS THAN A DECADE,

SETTING THE STAGE FOR A NEW ERA
IN THE REGION’S HISTORY.

BUT EVEN THOUGH HE NOW
HAD VICTORY IN HIS HANDS,

YING ZHENG WOULD CRAVE
SOMETHING MORE.

[POUNDING DRUM]

IN 221 B.C.,

FOLLOWING THE END OF NEARLY
TWO CENTURIES OF WAR,

A GRAND CEREMONY TOOK PLACE
IN THE XIANYANG PALACE.

HERE, YING ZHENG,

THE 38-YEAR-OLD RULER
OF QIN STATE,

DECLARED HIMSELF SOVEREIGN

OVER THE LANDS OF
THE FORMER ZHOU DYNASTY.

HE ASSUMED THE NEW NAME
"QIN SHI HUANG,"

THE FIRST EMPEROR
OF THE NEW QIN DYNASTY.

Schonebaum: WHEN THE KING
OF QIN, YING ZHENG,

CROWNED HIMSELF
THE FIRST EMPEROR OF THE QIN,

THAT WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED MOVE.

AND IT SHOWS THAT HE UNDERSTOOD
THE MAGNITUDE

OF WHAT HE HAD ACCOMPLISHED.

Wang: IT SUGGESTS TO US
THAT HE NO LONGER SAW HIMSELF

MERELY AS A TERRESTRIAL KING.

BUT RATHER HE SAW HIS ROLE
AS BEING ELEVATED

TO THAT OF THE RULER
OF AN EMPIRE,

AND A ROLE THAT COULD BE VIEWED
PERHAPS ON COSMIC PROPORTIONS.

Narrator: QIN SHI HUANG
WOULD GO ON TO UNIFY HIS REALM

BY IMPOSING
A SERIES OF REFORMS--

ABOLISHING THE LONG-STANDING
FEUDAL SYSTEM,

CENTRALIZING THE LEGAL CODE,

STANDARDIZING
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES,

INTRODUCING A COMMON CURRENCY,

AND ESTABLISHING
A SINGLE WRITING SYSTEM.

BUT DESPITE HIS
TRIUMPHANT ACHIEVEMENT,

THERE WAS ONE GOAL
THAT ELUDED QIN SHI HUANG.

IT WAS HIS DESIRE
TO CONQUER DEATH--

TO BE IMMORTAL--
AN EMPEROR IN THE AFTERLIFE.

Wang: QIN SHI HUANG’S
PURSUIT OF IMMORTALITY

IS KNOWN TO US FROM
THE ACCOUNTS OF SIMA QIAN.

THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AT ALL
UNUSUAL AT THE TIME.

WHAT IS UNUSUAL, HOWEVER,

IS THE GREAT LENGTHS
TO WHICH HE WENT

IN ORDER TO CREATE
HIS POSTMORTEM ENVIRONMENT.

Schonebaum: THE IDEA IS CLEARLY
THAT THE DECEASED

WOULD CONTINUE TO LIVE IN DEATH
AS THEY DID IN LIFE.

AND THEY WOULD WANT THE COMFORTS
THAT THEY HAD IN LIFE.

Narrator: QIN SHI HUANG DEMANDED
THAT HIS MAUSOLEUM,

WHICH HAD BEEN
UNDER CONSTRUCTION

SINCE HE WAS 14 YEARS OLD,

REFLECT THE SCALE OF
HIS POWER AND GRANDEUR.

ANCIENT RECORDS SAY OVER 700,000
LABORERS WORKED ON THE SITE

FOR OVER THREE DECADES.

THEY CREATED A PROMINENT EARTHEN
MOUND THAT RISES TO 150 FEET,

WHILE DIGGING THE EMPEROR’S
ROYAL RESTING PLACE

DEEP UNDERGROUND.

Shen: IN THE PAST,
PEOPLE HAVE SAID

THAT WHILE THEY WERE
BUILDING THE TOMB,

WORKERS DUG DOWN THROUGH
THREE SEPARATE SPRINGS,

WHICH WE THINK MEANS THREE
LAYERS OF UNDERGROUND WATER.

THAT’S ABOUT 85 TO 90 FEET
BELOW THE SURFACE.

Narrator: IT WAS BRUTAL,
BACKBREAKING WORK

THAT CAME WITH A HIGH PRICE.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS LATER DISCOVERED
MUTILATED SKELETONS

THAT TOLD A HORRIFYING STORY.

COUNTLESS WORKERS
DIED OF EXHAUSTION

AND WERE BURIED IN MASS GRAVES.

OTHERS WERE APPARENTLY KILLED
TO KEEP THEM FROM REVEALING

THE SECRETS AND LOCATION
OF THE TOMB.

IT TOOK 38 YEARS TO COMPLETE
THE MAUSOLEUM OF QIN SHI HUANG.

HIS ROYAL CHAMBER WAS PLACED IN
THE CENTER OF THE BURIAL MOUND.

INNER AND OUTER WALLS WERE BUILT
COMPLETE WITH WATCHTOWERS.

♪

MANY PITS CONTAINING THE
WARRIORS OF THE TERRA-COTTA ARMY

WERE ALSO LOCATED NEARBY.

♪

THE EMPEROR’S UNDERGROUND PALACE
WAS CONSTRUCTED

OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO,

BUT IT STILL AWAITS EXCAVATION.

Hou: QIN SHI HUANG’S TOMB

IS IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE MAUSOLEUM GROUNDS,

WHICH IS JUST UNDER
A SQUARE MILE IN AREA.

NO ONE KNOWS FOR CERTAIN,

BUT IT’S THOUGHT
THAT THE UNDERGROUND PALACE

LIES UNDER
THE EARTHEN MOUND THERE.

COMPARED TO OTHER
MAUSOLEUM SITES,

THIS IS CONSIDERED TO BE
ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST,

LARGEST.

Narrator: NEARLY FIVE MILLION
VISITORS COME ANNUALLY

TO SEE THE EXCAVATION SITE.

WHAT DRAWS IN MOST VISITORS IS
THE MASSIVE TERRA-COTTA ARMY.

OUT OF 8,000 LIFE-SIZED
TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

FOUND BY EXCAVATORS,

NOT ONE OF THEM
APPEARS TO BE THE SAME.

Wang: BECAUSE OF THEIR HIGHLY
REALISTIC APPEARANCE,

IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT
THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

WERE INTENDED TO BE PORTRAITS.

WHILE WE CANNOT ANSWER
THIS QUESTION DEFINITIVELY,

WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT
THEIR METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION

WAS HIGHLY MODULAR,

AND THAT THIS WAS WORK
CARRIED OUT BY PALACE ARTISANS.

Narrator: EXPERTS MARVEL
AT THE CREATION

OF THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS,

SAYING THEY COULD NOT
EASILY BE MADE,

EVEN WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY.

SO HOW DID QIN STATE ARTISANS
CREATE THEM?

THIS DEMONSTRATION SHOWS
CONTEMPORARY ARTISANS

CREATING SIMILAR FIGURES
OUT OF THE LOCAL CLAY.

IF THE CLAY IS TOO WET
OR TOO DRY,

THE SCULPTED FIGURE
WOULD FALL APART.

SO BACK THEN, QIN ARTISANS
USED A SPECIAL TECHNIQUE

TO CREATE THE WARRIORS.

IN THIS CASE,
THEY MADE CLAY ROPES

AND FORMED THE FIGURE
FROM BOTTOM TO TOP.

AS A RESULT, THE HOLLOW STATUES
WOULD BE LESS LIKELY TO COLLAPSE

UNDER THEIR OWN WEIGHT.

THIS METHOD ALSO LENT ITSELF
TO INDIVIDUALIZING EACH FIGURE.

BY ADJUSTING THE THICKNESS
OF THE CLAY ROPES,

THE SCULPTORS COULD MAKE
DIFFERENT SHAPED BODIES.

ONCE THE BODIES WERE COMPLETE,

THEY WOULD ADD THE FINISHING
TOUCHES, SUCH AS ARMOR DETAILS.

♪

COMPLEX PARTS
SUCH AS HANDS AND FEET

WERE MADE SEPARATELY

AND DRIED BEFORE BEING
FITTED TO THE BODIES.

EXPERTS THINK THE HEADS
WERE NOT BASED

ON THE CRAFTSMEN’S IMAGINATION,

BUT INSTEAD MODELED
ON REAL SOLDIERS.

♪

STUDIES OF THE FIGURES SHOW
THAT NO TWO ARE EXACTLY ALIKE.

FROM THEIR FACIAL FEATURES
AND APPAREL,

IT’S POSSIBLE TO
DISCERN DIFFERENCES

IN THE WARRIORS’ AGE,
FUNCTION, AND RANK,

AS WELL AS DETERMINING WHERE
IN THE COUNTRY THEY CAME FROM.

Shen: THE FACIAL FEATURES
OF THE WARRIORS

REFLECT A RANGE OF PEOPLE
FROM THE EMPIRE,

INCLUDING THE SHANXI AREA,

THE EASTERN PART OF CHINA,
SZECHUAN,

EVEN THE WESTERN REGION
OF CHINA.

Narrator: IN 1999,
EXCAVATORS FOUND

DIFFERENT TERRA-COTTA FIGURES

IN A PIT LOCATED
NOT FAR FROM THE OTHERS.

THEY WERE IN SHARP CONTRAST
TO THE SOLDIERS AND OFFICERS

OF THE TERRA-COTTA ARMY.

TO BEGIN WITH, THEY’RE NOT
DRESSED IN MILITARY OUTFITS

OR WEARING ANY TYPE OF ARMOR,

NOR ARE THEY ALIGNED
IN A GROUP FORMATION.

♪

DECORATIVE WALLS
FROM THE LATER HAN DYNASTY

PROVIDE IMPORTANT CLUES.

THE BARE-CHESTED FIGURES
ARE IN DYNAMIC POSES,

VERY DIFFERENT FROM THEIR
MILITARY COUNTERPARTS.

Shen: THE FIGURES LOOK LIKE THEY
ARE CAPTURED IN MID-PERFORMANCE.

THEY SHOW US ANOTHER SIDE OF THE
EMPEROR’S ROYAL LIFE BACK THEN.

Narrator: ROYAL LIFE
DURING QIN SHI HUANG’S REIGN

HAD ALL THE TRAPPINGS
OF LUXURY AND SPLENDOR.

♪

ACCORDING TO
HISTORIAN SIMA QIAN,

10,000 COURT LADIES CHOSEN
FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY

LIVED IN THE EMPEROR’S PALACE.

THEY SERVED AT THE PLEASURE
OF QIN SHI HUANG,

WITH THE BEST DANCERS
PERFORMING DURING BANQUETS.

♪

AT THESE BANQUETS,
ACROBATIC TROUPES

ALSO DISPLAYED THEIR SKILLS
FOR THE COURT.

THEY WERE CALLED "BAIXI," A WORD
REFERRING TO ENTERTAINMENTS

THAT GAVE A HUNDRED DIFFERENT
JOYS TO THE AUDIENCE.

INCLUDED IN THE PERFORMANCES
WERE DEMONSTRATIONS

OF PHYSICAL DEXTERITY
AND STRENGTH.

♪

THE BAIXI WERE ALSO KNOWN
TO TRAVEL TO THE BATTLEFIELDS

TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR SKILLS

AND BOOST MORALE
AMONG THE TROOPS IN THE FIELD.

♪

ACROBATICS IS ONE OF
THE OLDEST ARTS IN CHINA--

A TRADITION FAMOUSLY
CARRIED ON TO THIS DAY.

THE CONTINUING EXCAVATION
UNEARTHED OTHER ARTIFACTS:

ELEGANT BRONZE CRANES,
SWANS, AND GEESE,

WHICH SYMBOLIZE LONGEVITY.

IN YET ANOTHER PIT,
ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOUND STONE ARMOR

MADE FOR QIN SHI HUANG’S
WARRIORS,

LEADING RESEARCHERS TO WONDER

WHAT OTHER TREASURES
WILL BE REVEALED NEXT.

AS FIRST EMPEROR OF CHINA,
QIN SHI HUANG WANTED TO ENJOY

THE COMFORTS AND TREASURES
OF HIS EMPIRE

NOT ONLY DURING HIS LIFETIME,
BUT IN THE AFTERLIFE AS WELL.

THAT’S WHY HIS NEARLY
1-SQUARE-MILE MAUSOLEUM COMPLEX

CONTAINS MANY RARE
AND PRICELESS OBJECTS

FROM THROUGHOUT HIS REALM.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Yuan: QIN SHI HUANG’S MAUSOLEUM
IS THE LARGEST

OF ALL THE ROYAL TOMBS IN CHINA.

WE FOUND IT TO BE
RELATIVELY WELL PRESERVED,

CONTAINING A RICH ARRAY
OF ARTIFACTS.

SO FAR, WE’VE FOUND
ABOUT 180 PITS

FILLED WITH FASCINATING OBJECTS.

IT’S A REAL UNDERGROUND
TREASURE TROVE

THAT TELLS US A GREAT DEAL
ABOUT HIM AND HIS REALM.

Schonebaum: WE KNOW THAT HE
SURVIVED ASSASSINATION PLOTS.

SO HE MUST’VE BEEN COGNIZANT
OF THAT FACT

THAT HIS LIFE COULD END
AT ANY MOMENT.

WE KNOW THAT HE TRAVELED WITH
A LARGE RETINUE OF SOLDIERS

WHEN HE SURVEYED HIS NEW EMPIRE,

SO AS TO PROTECT
AGAINST ASSASSINATION PLOTS.

SO, ON THE ONE HAND, IT SEEMS
LIKE HE WAS QUITE CONCERNED,

ALMOST OBSESSED, WITH DYING.

BUT ON THE OTHER HAND,

HE WAS LAYING SOME OF THE MOST
INTRICATE PREPARATIONS

TO GO ON LIVING AFTER DEATH.

Narrator:
THE EMPEROR’S MAUSOLEUM

HAS YET TO BE EXCAVATED.

BUT MANY FEATURES
OF THE ELABORATE WORLD

QIN SHI HUANG HAD BUILT
UNDERGROUND HAVE BEEN UNEARTHED,

THANKS TO THE WORK OF
ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND ARTISANS.

♪

THE CAREFULLY ORGANIZED EFFORT

TO RECONSTRUCT
THE WORLD OF THE EMPEROR

BEGINS WITH LABELING ARTIFACTS
AND FRAGMENTS FOUND AT THE SITE.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Wang Dongfeng, translated:
THE LABELS HAVE TWO FUNCTIONS.

FIRST, THEY INDICATE WHERE AN
ARTIFACT WAS FOUND IN THE PIT.

SECOND, IT MAKES IT EASIER
FOR US TO FIND SIMILAR PIECES

WHILE WE’RE DOING
OUR RESTORATION WORK.

Narrator: AS PART OF
THE RESTORATION PROCESS,

PIECES OF THE RELICS
ARE CAREFULLY CLEANED,

USING SPECIAL TOOLS
TO AVOID DAMAGING THEM.

♪

THEN, A SPECIAL GLUE
IS DELICATELY APPLIED

TO BROKEN PORTIONS OF THE OBJECT
TO ASSURE PROPER BONDING.

THESE CRAFTSMEN KNOW THEY’RE NOT
ONLY REASSEMBLING PIECES

OF AN HISTORIC ARTIFACT,

BUT ALSO RESTORING
PIECES OF LOST TIME;

BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE.

THIS IS HOW MANY
OF THE THOUSANDS

OF TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS
HAVE BEEN RECONSTRUCTED.

♪

DURING THE IMMENSE EXCAVATION
AND RESTORATION PROJECT,

RESEARCHERS ENCOUNTERED
ANOTHER SURPRISE.

TODAY, THE WARRIORS APPEAR
REDDISH BROWN AND GRAY,

CONSISTENT WITH THE COLOR
OF THE CLAY IN THE AREA.

BUT IN REMOVING 2,000 YEARS
OF DIRT AND DEBRIS

FROM THE SURFACE OF THE FIGURES,

TRACES OF VIBRANT PAINT
WERE DETECTED.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE CONCLUDED
THAT THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

LOOKED FAR DIFFERENT WHEN THEY
WERE ORIGINALLY CREATED.

Lan Desheng, translated:
THE SOLDIERS WERE PAINTED

VERY COLORFULLY.

YOU FIND TRACES OF RED, YELLOW,

GREEN, PURPLE, AND BLACK.

THE COLORS ON THIS FIGURE FADED
WHEN IT WAS EXCAVATED,

BUT WE’VE FOUND MOST SOLDIERS
STILL HAVE BITS OF PAINT

ON THEIR UNIFORM COLLARS.

Narrator: THIS IS HOW
SOME OF THE WARRIORS LOOKED

WHEN THEY WERE FOUND
BURIED IN THE DIRT.

BUT ONCE THE FIGURES
WERE EXPOSED TO THE AIR,

THE COLORS QUICKLY DISAPPEARED,
LIKE A MIRAGE.

♪

BASED ON THE RESEARCH
OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS

WHO HAVE STUDIED THESE FIGURES
FOR OVER 40 YEARS,

THE WARRIORS WOULD HAVE
LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT.

♪

♪

THE FINISHED WARRIORS
WOULD HAVE BEEN

A SPLENDID, AWE-INSPIRING SIGHT
2,200 YEARS AGO.

♪

AFTER FORGING ONE NATION OUT
OF A CAULDRON OF WARRING STATES,

QIN SHI HUANG DID NOT RETREAT
INSIDE HIS LAVISH PALACE.

HE MADE A NUMBER OF
INSPECTION TOURS OF HIS EMPIRE,

TRAVELING UNDER THE PROTECTION
OF HIS GUARDS.

Jeffrey Riegel:
ON AT LEAST FIVE OCCASIONS,

THE FIRST EMPEROR MADE
A TOUR OF HIS EMPIRE.

IT SEEMS IN FACT THAT
HE REALLY ENJOYED DOING THIS,

THAT HE PREFERRED
GETTING OUT OF THE CAPITAL

AND SURVEYING THE LANDS
THAT HE HAD CONQUERED.

I THINK IT’S PART
OF HUMAN NATURE

TO WANT TO SEE, IN EFFECT,
WHAT YOU OWN.

♪

Narrator: THIS BRONZE CHARIOT
FOUND IN PIT TWO

SHOWS THE REMARKABLE CRAFT
OF THE QIN DYNASTY ARTISANS.

IT’S A HALF-SIZED REPLICA
OF THE ONE QIN SHI HUANG RODE

DURING HIS JOURNEYS.

Hou: THE BRONZE CHARIOT
REALLY IS THE BEST RELIC,

THE CROWN JEWEL OF THEM ALL,

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU
CONSIDER ITS SIZE

AND THE TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED
IN ITS CONSTRUCTION.

IT CONSISTS OF
ABOUT 3,000 PIECES.

EVEN USING MODERN PROCESSES
LIKE WELDING,

YOU CAN SEE IT WOULD TAKE
A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT

TO BUILD IT.

Narrator: ORIGINALLY,
TWO BRONZE CHARIOTS WERE FOUND

COMPLETELY SMASHED IN A PIT

JUST 20 YARDS FROM
QIN SHI HUANG’S BURIAL CHAMBER.

THIS SMALLER VEHICLE
WITH A HIGH CANOPY

IS A HALF-SIZE MODEL
OF THE ESCORT CHARIOT

WHICH RODE AHEAD OF THE EMPEROR
IN A PROCESSION.

TOGETHER, THE PRESENCE
OF THESE TWO CHARIOTS

MAY REPRESENT
QIN SHI HUANG’S EXPECTATION

THAT HE WOULD BE ABLE
TO CONTINUE TOURING

HIS UNDERGROUND EMPIRE
IN THE AFTERLIFE.

Narrator:
THE FASCINATION GENERATED

BY QIN SHI HUANG’S
TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS CONTINUES

DECADES AFTER THEY WERE
FIRST DISCOVERED IN 1974.

BUT AT THE SITE OF
THE FIRST EMPEROR’S MAUSOLEUM,

ONE GREAT MYSTERY LINGERS.

THOUGH HUNDREDS OF RELICS HAVE
BEEN DISCOVERED AND EXCAVATED,

QIN SHI HUANG’S BURIAL CHAMBER
HAS REMAINED UNEXPLORED.

Yuan: WE DON’T KNOW WHAT’S
ACTUALLY INSIDE THE BURIAL SITE.

IN HIS WRITINGS, SIMA QIAN
DESCRIBES IT IN GREAT DETAIL,

MENTIONING THAT THERE ARE
DEPICTIONS OF THE CONSTELLATIONS

IN THE CEILING OVERHEAD,
AND ON THE FLOOR,

RECREATIONS OF RIVERS
AND OCEANS FILLED WITH MERCURY.

Narrator: SINCE SIMA QIAN
WROTE HIS ACCOUNT

A CENTURY AFTER
THE EMPEROR’S DEATH,

SCHOLARS HAVE DOUBTED
HIS DESCRIPTIONS

OF THE BURIAL CHAMBER.

BUT RECENT STUDIES HAVE FOUND

HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF MERCURY
AT THE SITE.

Hou: SCIENTISTS USED
MODERN REMOTE SENSORS

AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS MACHINES
TO INVESTIGATE THE BURIAL SITE.

AND WHAT THEY FOUND
WAS SURPRISING.

THE LEVEL OF MERCURY
IN THE SOIL AT THE SITE

MEASURED 20 TIMES HIGHER THAN IN
THE AREA SURROUNDING THE SITE.

Narrator: ONE ANCIENT METHOD OF
PRESERVING BODIES AFTER DEATH

INVOLVES DEEP BURIALS
IN AIRTIGHT CONDITIONS.

THIS KEEPS OXYGEN
FROM REACHING THE CORPSE

AND SLOWS DOWN DECOMPOSITION.

WHEN THIS TOMB IN
HUNAN PROVINCE WAS OPENED,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS MADE
A REMARKABLE FIND.

INSIDE WAS
A HAN DYNASTY NOBLEWOMAN

KNOWN AS THE LADY OF DAI.

HER BODY HAD BEEN BURIED
NEARLY 40 FEET UNDERGROUND.

NO ONE ANTICIPATED
A DISCOVERY LIKE THIS.

THOUGH HER DEATH OCCURRED
21 CENTURIES AGO,

THE LADY OF DAI’S BODY
IS WELL-PRESERVED.

MOST OF HER INTERNAL ORGANS
ARE INTACT,

AND BLOOD STILL REMAINS
IN HER VEINS.

HER SKIN IS MOIST AND ELASTIC,
LIKE THAT OF THE LIVING.

HER DISCOVERY LED RESEARCHERS
TO CONSIDER A NEW THEORY.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

Suruma Kazuyuki, translated:
WE THINK IT’S POSSIBLE

AND HE WAS BURIED
DEEP IN THE EARTH.

Narrator:
MORE CLUES REPRESENTING

HOW THE EMPEROR’S BODY
MAY HAVE BEEN PRESERVED

APPEARED IN OTHER
PARTS OF CHINA.

THIS IS A SHROUD, MADE OF JADE,

FOR A KING OF THE HAN DYNASTY
WHO DIED 2,000 YEARS AGO.

Kazuyuki: IF THE EMPEROR
WAS IN FACT BURIED

IN A SUIT OF JADE ARMOR,

IT’S POSSIBLE THE DECOMPOSITION
PROCESS HAS SLOWED DOWN.

THIS METHOD OF BURIAL WAS COMMON
AMONG THE QIN DYNASTY ROYALTY,

SO WE CAN INFER THAT
PERHAPS QIN SHI HUANG

COULD HAVE BEEN BURIED THIS WAY.

Narrator: 210 B.C.

QIN SHI HUANG, ON ANOTHER
INSPECTION TOUR OF HIS EMPIRE,

WAS STRUGGLING WITH ILLNESS.

♪

DESPITE HIS SEARCH
FOR THE ELIXIR OF LIFE

THAT HE BELIEVED WOULD
GRANT HIM IMMORTALITY,

HE DIED AT 50 YEARS OLD.

♪

NOW BEGAN
HIS LAST EARTHLY JOURNEY

BACK TO XIAN AND
HIS FINAL RESTING PLACE.

HE HAD CREATED
A SMALL-SCALE VERSION

OF HIS EMPIRE
AND HIS PALACE UNDERGROUND,

WHERE HE COULD OVERSEE THE WORLD
HE UNIFIED FOR ETERNITY.

IT HAD TAKEN
SOME 700,000 WORKERS 38 YEARS

TO BUILD QIN SHI HUANG’S
ROYAL TOMB.

♪

[CREAKING]

♪

THEN, IN 210 B.C., THE EMPEROR,

TOGETHER WITH HIS MANY PRICELESS
TREASURES, HIS CHILDLESS WIVES,

AND HIS DREAMS OF IMMORTALITY,

WAS SEALED IN
HIS BURIAL CHAMBER.

[CREAKING]

HISTORIAN SIMA QIAN,

WRITING IN HIS RECORDS
OF THE GRAND HISTORIAN,

DESCRIBED IN DETAIL
WHAT THE EMPEROR’S TOMB

WAS TO HAVE CONTAINED.

Man: "THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS
WERE DRAWN IN THE SKY

TO BLESS AND PROTECT
THE AFTERLIFE.

UNDERNEATH THE STARS
WAS A MINIATURE VERSION

OF GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.

MERCURY FILLED THE RIVER
SO AS NEVER TO DRY UP,

AND TORCHES BURNING MERMAID OIL
WILL NEVER BE BLOWN OUT."

♪

Narrator: QIN SHI HUANG
HAD UNIFIED CHINA

FOR THE FIRST TIME, ESTABLISHING
A NEW FORM OF GOVERNMENT,

UNIFORM LAWS,
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES,

AND A SINGLE WRITING SYSTEM.

ANCIENT HISTORIANS SAY THE
UNDERGROUND WORLD HE CREATED

REFLECTED THE GRANDEUR
OF HIS MANY ACHIEVEMENTS.

BUT FOR NOW THERE’S NO WAY
TO KNOW FOR CERTAIN

WHETHER THE ACCOUNTS DESCRIBING
QIN SHI HUANG’S TOMB ARE TRUE.

THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS
STEADFASTLY REFUSED TO EXCAVATE

THE FIRST EMPEROR’S
BURIAL CHAMBER--

A POSITION AT ODDS

WITH WHAT MANY IN
THE GENERAL PUBLIC WOULD PREFER.

Hou: THERE ARE NO PLANS
TO EXCAVATE

THE UNDERGROUND PALACE
IN THE FUTURE,

BECAUSE THE EXCAVATION ITSELF

COULD DESTROY WHAT
WE’RE TRYING TO PRESERVE.

Yuan: THOUGH WE’RE NOT
EXCAVATING THE TOMB AT PRESENT,

WE MIGHT CONSIDER
WHETHER IN THE FUTURE

WE COULD USE NEW FORMS
OF TECHNOLOGY

TO INVESTIGATE
THE UNDERGROUND PALACE.

IN MY VIEW,
I’D SAY IT’S POSSIBLE.

Narrator: FOR NOW, WE CAN ONLY
PEER INTO THE EMPEROR’S TOMB

THROUGH ANCIENT WRITINGS
AND OUR IMAGINATION.

DURING HIS LIFE, QIN SHI HUANG
HUNGERED FOR IMMORTALITY.

AND NOW, OVER 2,000 YEARS
AFTER HIS DEATH,

THANKS TO THE WORK
OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND ARTISANS

AND THE UNFORGETTABLE
TERRA-COTTA ARMY

THAT STILL GUARDS HIS MEMORY,

HE’S ACHIEVED IT.