THE TERRACOTTA ARMY AND THE FIRST EMPEROR A complementary resource to: YEAR 7: Ancient China HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 1
THE TERRACOTTA ARMY & ANCIENT CHINESE SOCIETY Know the Curriculum Use this article to promote interest in a study of: Ancient China Rulers of ancient China The Terracotta Army Excavating the past HISTORY LINKS Year 7: The role of a significant individual in ancient Chinese history such as Confucius or Qin Shi Huang (ACDSEH132) How historians and archaeologists investigate history, including excavation and archival research (ACDSEH001) Build your Resource Bank The resources provided in relation to this study can be found on the following pages. They include: 1. What the Emperor Wanted in plain-text format (page 5) 2. Understanding What the Emperor Wanted comprehension questions (page 7) 3. Help! I m a Teenage Ruler! worksheet (page 8) 4. Emperor Qin s Legacies worksheet (page 9) 5. Question dice template (page 10) 6. Terracotta Army: Excavation & Conservation worksheet (page 11) 7. Emperor Qin s Tomb: Debate Planner (page 13) 8. A Warrior of the Terracotta Army worksheet (page 15) Introduce the Topic Read the article What the Emperor Wanted by Penny Garnsworthy (Resource 1, page 5) or in full colour in HistoriCool Issue 26, page 28. Answer the comprehension questions about the above article in Resource 2 (page 7). Watch this short clip about the Terracotta Army made by National Geographic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsue-ztcufg Locate the site of the Terracotta Army on Google Maps. Then perform a Google Image search for pictures of the terracotta warriors, officials, entertainers and animals that Emperor Qin ordered to be built for his afterlife. Practice the pronunciation of Qin Shi Huang Di ( Chin Shrrr Hwong Dee ) Imagine ruling the country! Ying Zheng was only 13 years old when he became King, around the same age as much of your class. Have students fill out Resource 3 (page 8) imagining what they would do if they became ruler today. Compare their thoughts with the actual actions taken by Ying Zheng. Discuss the term legacy. What consitutes a legacy? Are legacies always good, or can they be bad? Can anyone leave a legacy? What was Emperor Qin s legacy or legacies? Use Resource 4 (page 9) to discuss each of Emperor Qin s legacies with the aim of ordering them from least important to most important. HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 2
Go Deeper Divide & conquer. Split the class into small groups and provide them with the templates to make question dice (Resource 5, page 10). Group members take it in turns to throw each die, coming up with a question about Emperor Qin and/or the Terracotta Army - one question per die using the word on the upper face as a starting word. Groups record their questions among themselves. After about 10 mintutes, have groups share their questions with their peers and have a discussion about which questions the class would most like to focus on in their study. Research these questions and talk as a class about the various ways of presenting student findings. Discuss what it would have been like to be one of the over 700,000 workers who built the Terracotta Army. Do you think they would have been happy to be doing this job for the Emperor? Investigate the excavation and conservation process of the Terracotta Warriors. Brainstorm the professions which are involved and their role. Complete Resource 6 (page 11). Debate the opening of Emperor Qin s tomb by using the following scenario. Guarded by his army of terracotta soldiers, the tomb of Emperor Qin has never been opened in more than 2,200 years. Split the class into two teams and have them research and prepare a debate around the topic: Emperor Qin s tomb should never be disturbed. Resource 7 (page 13) should be provided to each team to help them formulate their own arguments and make educated guesses at the points of the other team, allowing them to come up with effective rebuttals. USEFUL WEBSITES The following websites are useful for gathering background information and for introducing your students to Emperor Qin and the Terracotta Army: New World Encyclopedia: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/qin_shi_huang British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/themes/leaders_and_rulers/qin_shihuangdi.aspx DK Find Out: http://www.dkfindout.com/uk/history/ancient-china/first-emperor/ TED Ed: http://blog.ed.ted.com/2016/02/08/5-ted-ed-lessons-on-chinese-history/ TimeMaps: http://www.timemaps.com/ancient-china-lesson-plan-first-emperor Get Creative! The following activities may be modified to suit different grades. LITERACY ACTIVITIES Essay While building the mausoleum of Emperor Qin, many workers quite literally worked themselves to death. Emperor Qin justified this sacrifice by saying a thousand may die so that a million may live. Was this sacrifice justified? Travel Brochure Write a informative travel brochure or museum brochure for tourists visiting the site of the Terracotta Army. The brochure should provide some historical context, information about how the army was made and how it has been reconstructed. HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 3
Obituary Write the obituary of Emperor Qin, describing his legacy or legacies and how they continue to be important in the modern day. OTHER ACTIVITIES Draw your own unique terracotta warrior, and propose a hypothesis on why each one of the real terracotta soldiers was different from every other (Resource 8, page 15) Decorate several small terracotta pots with paint. Then drop them all! Try to piece each pot back together, as was painstakingly done with the Terracotta Army. Discuss what would be different about this task if the pots had been buried for over 2,000 years. Try Chinese knotting. Chinese knotting is an ancient technique of creating decorative knots. You can find a tutorial here: http://lc.pandahall.com/articles/1888-instructions-on-how-to-tie-an-upgraded-chinesedecorative-cloverleaf-knot.html HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 4
What the Emperor Wanted Once upon a time in China there lived a boy named Ying Zheng. His father, who was the King of the state of Qin (pronounced Chin), died when the boy was only thirteen years old so, as was tradition, Ying Zheng took his father s place as King. But this is no fairy tale In 225BC, when he turned twenty-two, Ying Zheng started to conquer the six other states in China at that time. And at the age of thirty-nine he proclaimed the Qin Empire and declared himself to be Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. Emperor Qin was a ruthless leader who wanted to control everyone. He created new laws to unify China, introduced one system of weights and measures and a standard form of handwriting. He destroyed practices he didn t agree with, even ordering the destruction of many ancient records. And he undertook a huge construction program. He ordered a road network be built so he could travel to the furthest reaches of his empire. And along the roads he erected stone tablets inscribed with his laws and information about himself and his beliefs. Then he built hundreds of palaces and, to keep invaders out, he began to rebuild and connect the defensive walls of the states he had conquered, into what we now know as the Great Wall of China. But for all his power, Emperor Qin was obsessed with the fear of death. He believed that when he died and was buried his life would continue. He ordered his tomb (called a mausoleum) to be built on the site where the previous Qin kings were buried. This mausoleum was so enormous it took thirty-eight years to build and when completed it was an underground treasure house; a palace with a protective outer wall measuring 6,210 metres. Unfortunately, Emperor Qin didn t even live to see it finished because he died at the age of fifty. But let s time travel a couple of thousand years. In March 1974, some local farmers were digging wells about 1.5 kilometres from the site of Emperor Qin s mausoleum. There they discovered large pottery fragments and ancient bronze weapons. Archaeologists were called to the site and made one of the world s most remarkable discoveries: a pit containing an army of warriors! But these weren t the remains of human warriors; these warriors were made of clay that had been fired up into terracotta, much like the pots in our gardens. Excavations since have uncovered a second and a third pit, which altogether cover 22,000 square metres (bigger than the MCG!) and house an incredible 8,000 life-size terracotta warriors and horses. Each of the warriors weighs between 110 and 300 kilos and their average height is 1.8 metres. But what s really amazing is that no two warriors are the same; their faces and even their expressions are different! Historians think the warriors appearances were copied from real soldiers at the time. Many of the warriors were placed in battle formation and some were equipped with timber bows and crossbows, which had disintegrated over time. There were chariots, each drawn by four horses, and armoured soldiers carrying bronze weapons like spears and bladed hooks. The warriors faced east with their backs to the emperor s tomb, so that they served as guardians, to protect the entrance to the tomb. None of the warriors were in one piece when uncovered so can you imagine the amount of painstaking work that has been carried out by archaeologists trying to piece them back together. Today, skilled HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 5
workers still sift through thousands of fragments, matching them up and cementing them together. Each statue, which can take months to repair, is then placed back in the location in which it was originally found. As the years have passed, many more finds have been uncovered including whole palaces, bronze chariots, horses and relics, rare birds and animals and even the tombs of Emperor Qin s children. The enormity of the site and what has been uncovered is breathtaking. And even more so when you think that thousands of years ago, more than 700,000 workers spent their lifetimes digging pits, sifting and washing clay, kneading it to sculpt a face, robes, a belt and boots, baking each life-size man to dry and harden and placing him in position to protect his master for eternity and to help him live happily ever after And all because of what the emperor wanted. GLOSSARY Proclaimed Announced something publicly or formally Ruthless Cruel, showing no respect or pity for others Conquered Defeated in war and taken control of Archaeologists Scientists who study ancient cultures through the examination of remains Disintegrated Crumbled, broken into pieces Painstaking Very careful and thorough Enormity Great size, hugeness HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 6
Name: Understanding What the Emperor Wanted After you have read the HistoriCool article What the Emperor Wanted, answer the following questions as best as you can. Does the text say this? Ying Zheng became Emperor of China at the age of thirteen. Emperor Qin did not live to see his mausoleum completed. Attempts to reassemble the broken warriors have stopped. Does the text suggest this? It was a belief in ancient China that life continued after death. All of the rooms, relics and statues of the mausolem have been discovered. Do you agree with the following statement? Why/Why not? Emperor Qin only ordered the construction of the Terracotta Army so that he would leave a physical, tangible legacy. HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 7
Name: Help! I m a Teenage Ruler! Ying Zheng became king of his province at the age of thirteen. Today, due to an embarrassing administrative error, you - a year 7 student - have been appointed as Prime Minister of Australia... What do you do? The first law I would pass is... I would definitely enforce... I would change... I would improve the lives of all Australians by... HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 8
Name: Emperor Qin s Legacies Look at the list of Emperor Qin s legacies below. Order his legacies from least important (8) to most important (1) by placing a number in the box alongside each achievement, or cutting and pasting them into your workbook. Be prepared to share your reasonings with the class. Standardised weights and measures. Gave China its English name. United China as an Empire. Ordered the construction of the Terracorrta Army and an elaborate underground tomb. Established road networks between provincies and major cities Instituted a uniform written language Ordered the construction of the first part of the Great Wall of China Standardised the Chinese currency. HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 9
Question Dice Cut out and fold the dice along the solid lines, gluing the tabs to form cubes. WHERE? WHO? WHAT? WHEN? HOW? WHY? IS? WOULD? SHOULD? HAS/ HAVE? DO? COULD? HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 10
Name: Terracotta Army: Excavation & Conservation Below are the images of three skilled professionals who have a part to play in the excavation and conservation of the Terracotta Warriors. They are a curator, and archaeologist and a conservator. Decide which photo represents each profession, then answer the questions below. Occupation represented: Occupation represented: Occupation represented: What tools is this person using, and what tools might Occupation they use that represented: aren t shown? What tools is this person using, and what tools might Occupation they use that represented: aren t shown? What tools is this person using, and what tools might Occupation they use that represented: aren t shown? Where is this person working? Is this typical of Occupation their profession? represented: Where is this person working? Is this typical of Occupation their profession? represented: Where is this person working? Is this typical of Occupation their profession? represented: HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 11
What do you think they are doing? What other tasks What do you think they are doing? What other tasks What do you think they are doing? What other tasks Occupation might they do represented: that aren t Occupation might they do represented: that aren t Occupation might they do represented: that aren t shown? shown? shown? What personal skills might this person hold? What personal skills might this person hold? What personal skills might this person hold? HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 12
Emperor Qin s Tomb: Debate Planner Use this planner to construct your argument for or against the statement: Emperor Qin s tomb should never be disturbed. Our group members: Our position: OPENING STATEMENT: Explain position and briefly list reasons. ARGUMENT 1: Main points & details Presenter ARGUMENT 2: ARGUMENT 3: HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 13
REBUTTAL (PROJECTED) What arguments do you think the other side will bring up, and how do you plan to refute them? Main points & details Presenter REBUTTAL (ACTUAL) Fill in this section during the debate according to the arguments of the opposing team. CLOSING STATEMENT Find a catchy and thoughtful way to sum up your arguments. HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 14
Name: A Warrior of the Terracotta Army In the space below, draw your own unique terracotta warrior. Perhaps you could model the face on your own, or a friend s! Why do you think that each figure had a unique appearance? HISTORICOOL ISSUE 26 15