Terracotta army china - Admission/Application Essay Example

It has to date been an attraction to visitors who come to China. The research work that follows will give a summary of its appearance, the composition and the materials used, the subject content of the work and the historical context in relation to the work. The Terracotta Army looked like a square pyramid. The Emperor planned to create the terracotta army to be a representation of the emperor’s kingdom. Its overall appearance is like a group of different ranks of soldiers in a parade, all standing in different postures receiving orders from their commanders and all are ready for any encounter.

The inside of the pyramid-like mound was the army, divided according to rank. There are several pits, where each pit contains army of different ranks (Portal 31). The first pit consists of the main army. It is built with small bricks and fitted with wooden ceiling covered with mats and clay to waterproof. The second pit consists of cavalry and infantry units and the war chariots that were seen as the military guard. The third pit was the commanding base of the army. It had the highest rank of officers and war chariot.

There was also a fourth pit but it was empty. It is believed that the Empire died before its completion. The pits also contained swords, shields and arrowheads. According to the ancient manufacturers, the weapons had to have the name of the manufacturers and date (Capek 20). These discovered weapons had date and manufacturers’ dates, which means they were the original weapons used during the reign of the first empire. Web. 22 March 2013, from < http://www.jingdaily.com/kaizhi/jing/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/xian_terracotta_army-380x253.

jpg> There were many discoveries in the pyramid-like hill. Each pit contained many different sculptures that ranged from, spears, swords and crossbows. There were also mud sculptures of armies in different size, shape and location. There were also other objects like arrowheads, shields and battle- axes. The material used to mould the army was mud that was extracted near the tomb of the emperor (Portal 204). The sword’s surface, according to scientific tests, is made of chromium that was used to prevent rusting.

The crossbows and the arrowheads were all modeled, molded, casted and later finished. Their surfaces also were plaited with chromium, which made them hard and shiny Capek 22). The warriors and the chariots in the first pit are well displayed for an encounter. The soldiers are in front in three equally numbered lines followed by the chariots. There are also other soldiers on the southern and northern sides. The other soldiers are on the western side where one group faces the west and the other faces the east some armed with armor and the others with a battle robe (Larmer).

The setting of the soldiers in the second pit is different from that in the first pit. The second pit’s soldiers hold crossbows. The soldiers in the center are in squatting position. There are three soldiers on each side of the chariots, which are pulled by sculpted horses. The swords in this pit are sharp and elegant due to the chromium on their surface. The soldiers in this pit are displayed in a style that shows their readiness for any battle. There being placed in the eastward side is significant in that, Qin, the emperor, came from the west and defeated his rivals who came from the east.

That is why the army is placed on the eastern side of the tomb block any revenge from the east (High Museum). The third pit is a command base. The soldiers in