Meeting the army general of Kingdom of Qin
I was asked a number of questions. I answered them keeping in mind that the person did not feel threatened by my presence.
He asked me a number of questions on Physics and biology, which I answered. He was evidently satisfied with the frankness of my story, which I told in concise sentences enough, for I felt horribly weak; and when it was finished he reverted at once to the topic of present state of wars between nations and his own biological studies.
He began to question me closely about some scientific concepts, which I answered successfully. It seemed that he was testing my knowledge. Although I'm not related to biology, but underestimating the depth of his biological understanding, assuming that people knew little 2000 years back, I felt comfortable answering him, in words that would be easy for laymen to understand.
"Science is still to get advanced at this time." I thought.
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"Where do you live?", I asked.
"State of Qin", he answered. "I'm an army general of King Qin Shi Huang." said he, in a strong voice full of pride.
I got anxious. Am I talking to one of the army men from the famous terracotta army? Will he be having his own statue made and preserved alongside thousand others army men, to be found 2000 years. Oh wait! Could it be possible that he will be mummified and buried alongside thousand other warriors by the king. I got goosebumps thinking all the possibilities.
The very thought of the possibility of me standing in front of one of the members of terracotta army was sending shivers down my spine.
Am I overthinking? Nothing could be said for sure.
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Terracotta army is a huge. More than what mind can imagine.
The Terracotta Army is part of a much larger necropolis. Ground-penetrating radar and core sampling have measured the area to be approximately 98 square kilometers (38 square miles).
The necropolis was constructed as a microcosm of the emperor's imperial palace or compound, and covers a large area around the tomb mound of the first emperor. The earthen tomb mound is located at the foot of Mount Li and built in a pyramidal shape, and is surrounded by two solidly built rammed earth walls with gateway entrances. The necropolis consists of several offices, halls, stables, other structures as well as an imperial park placed around the tomb mound.
The warriors stand guard to the east of the tomb. Up to 5 metres (16 ft) of reddish, sandy soil had accumulated over the site in the two millennia following its construction, but archaeologists found evidence of earlier disturbances at the site. During the excavations near the Mount Li burial mound, archaeologists found several graves dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, where diggers had apparently struck terracotta fragments. These were discarded as worthless and used along with soil to back fill the excavations.
The terracotta figures are life-sized. They vary in height, uniform, and hairstyle in accordance with rank. Their faces appear to be different for each individual figure; scholars, however, have identified 10 basic face shapes. The figures are of these general types: armored infantry; unarmored infantry; cavalrymen who wear a pillbox hat; helmeted drivers of chariots with more armor protection; spear-carrying charioteers; kneeling crossbowmen or archers who are armored; standing archers who are not; as well as generals and other lower-ranking officers. There are, however, many variations in the uniforms within the ranks: for example, some may wear shin pads while others not; they may wear either long or short trousers, some of which may be padded; and their body armors vary depending on rank, function, and position in formation. There are also terracotta horses placed among the warrior figures.
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The growling overhead was renewed, so suddenly and with so much savage anger that it startled me. "What's that?" I called after him, but the door had closed.
He came back again with the boiled mutton, and I was so excited by the appetizing smell of it that I forgot the noise of the beast that had troubled me.
After a day of alternate sleep and feeding I was so far recovered as to be able to get from my bunk to the scuttle, and see the green seas trying to keep pace with us. I judged the schooner was running before the wind. The man came in again as I stood there, and I asked him for some clothes. He lent me some strange looking things of his own, for those I had worn in the boat had been thrown overboard. They were rather loose for me, for he was large and long in his limbs. He told me casually that the captain was three-parts drunk in his own cabin. As I assumed the clothes, I began asking him some questions about the destination of the ship. He said the ship was bound to Kingdom of Qin, but that it had to land him first.
"Where?" said I.
"It's an island, where I live. So far as I know, it hasn't got a name. It is meant for some biological experiments and is sponsored by the great Emperor himself."
"Sounds interesting. What sort of biological experiments?" I asked.
He stared at me with his nether lip dropping, and looked so willfully stupid of a sudden that it came into my head that he desired to avoid my questions. I had the discretion to ask no more.
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