WEBVTT

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What happens after death?

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Is there a restful paradise?

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An eternal torment?

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A rebirth?

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Or maybe just nothingness?

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Well, one Chinese emperor thought
that whatever the hereafter was,

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he better bring an army.

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We know that because in 1974,

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farmers digging a well 
near their small village

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stumbled upon one of the most important
finds in archeological history:

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vast underground chambers
surrounding that emperor's tomb,

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and containing more than 8,000
life-size clay soldiers ready for battle.

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The story of the subterranean army
begins with Ying Zheng,

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who came to power as the king
of the Qin state at the age of 13

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in 246 BCE.

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Ambitious and ruthless,

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he would go on to become
Qin Shi Huangdi,

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the first emperor of China
after uniting its seven warring kingdoms.

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His 36 year reign 
saw many historic accomplishments,

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including a universal system
of weights and measures,

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a single standardized writing script
for all of China,

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and a defensive barrier that would
later come to be known as the Great Wall.

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But perhaps Qin Shi Huangdi
dedicated so much effort

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to securing his historical legacy

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because he was obsessed 
with his mortality.

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He spent his last years
desperately employing alchemists

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and deploying expeditions
in search of elixirs of life

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that would help him achieve immortality.

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And as early as the first year 
of his reign,

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he began the construction of a massive
underground necropolis

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filled with monuments, artifacts,

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and an army to accompany him
into the next world

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and continue his rule.

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This magnificent army is still standing
in precise battle formation

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and is split across several pits.

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One contains a main force
of 6,000 soldiers,

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each weighing several hundred pounds,

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a second has more than 130 war chariots
and over 600 horses,

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and a third houses the high command.

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An empty fourth pit suggests
that the grand project

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could not be finished 
before the emperor's death.

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In addition, nearby chambers contain
figures of musicians and acrobats,

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workers and government officials,

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and various exotic animals,

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indicating that Emperor Qin
had more plans for the afterlife

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than simply waging war.

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All the figurines are sculpted
from terracotta, or baked earth,

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a type of reddish brown clay.

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To construct them, multiple workshops
and reportedly over 720,000 laborers

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were commandeered by the emperor,

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including groups of artisans who molded
each body part separately

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to construct statues as individual as
the real warriors in the emperor's army.

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They stand according to rank

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and feature different weapons 
and uniforms,

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distinct hairstyles and expressions,

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and even unique ears.

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Originally, each warrior was painted
in bright colors,

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but their exposure to air
caused the paint to dry and flake,

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leaving only the terracotta base.

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It is for this very reason that another
chamber less than a mile away

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has not been excavated.

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This is the actual tomb of
Qin Shi Huangdi,

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reported to contain palaces,
precious stones and artifacts,

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and even rivers of mercury
flowing through mountains of bronze.

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But until a way can be found to expose it
without damaging the treasures inside,

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the tomb remains sealed.

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Emperor Qin was not alone in wanting
company for his final destination.

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Ancient Egyptian tombs contain clay models
representing the ideal afterlife,

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the dead of Japan's Kofun 
period were buried

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with sculptures of horses and houses,

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and the graves of the Jaina island
off the Mexican coast

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are full of ceramic figurines.

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Fortunately, as ruthless as he was,

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Emperor Qin chose to have servants
and soldiers built for this purpose,

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rather than sacrificing living ones
to accompany him,

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as had been practiced in Egypt,
West Africa, Anatolia,

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parts of North America

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and even China during 
the previous Shang and Zhou dynasties.

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And today, people travel from all over
the world to see these stoic soldiers

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silently awaiting their battle orders 
for centuries to come.