Types and appearance The warriors The terracotta figures are life-sized, typically ranging from to about (the officers are typically taller). They vary in height, uniform, and hairstyle in accordance with their portrayed rank. Their faces appear to be different for each individual figure. Scholars have identified 10 base facial forms which were then further developed to give each figure individuality in terms of facial morphology. 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. Originally, the figures were painted with ground precious stones, intensely fired bones (white), pigments of
iron oxide (dark red),
cinnabar (red),
malachite (green),
azurite (blue),
charcoal (black),
cinnabar barium copper silicate mix (Chinese purple or Han purple), tree sap from a nearby source (more than likely from the
Chinese lacquer tree) (brown), and other colors including pink, lilac, red, and one unidentified color. However, in
Xi'an's dry climate, much of the color coating would flake off in less than four minutes after removing the mud surrounding the army. The original function of these statues remains unclear, but they have been described as either potentially acrobat or dancer figures. The number of these figures uncovered thus far are relatively few compared to the more noted warrior figures, with the total discovered probably numbering a dozen. The figures are bare with the exception of a loincloth as dress. These figures are very vivid and less stereotypical than the soldiers, especially through the dynamic treatment of the musculature and bone joints. Eleven of such figurines from Pit K9901 have since been subsequently unearthed with seven of them found in a degree of preservation that made them capable of being largely reconstructed from their fragment shards.
Speculations on possible influences Since the time of their discovery, the figures have been noted for their exceptional stylistic realism and individualism, with assessments having found that no two figures share the exact same features. The earliest note on this aspect was that of 20th century art historian German Hafner who, in 1986, was the first to speculate on a possible
Hellenistic link to these sculptures due to the unusual display of naturalism relative to general Qin era sculpture: "the art of the terracotta army originated from Western contact".
Duan Qingbo, site chief archaeologist from 1998 to 2006, noted that "the only thing" in extant archaeology which may hold a close similarity to the figures in terms of their artistic style is that of the later 1st century BCE Central Asian
Khalchayan statuary. Li Xiuzhen, a senior archaeologist of the Mausoleum Site Museum, also acknowledged the possibility of Hellenistic influences, stating: "we now think the Terracotta Army,
the acrobats and the
bronze sculptures found on site were inspired by ancient Greek sculptures and art." She later also asserted ultimate Chinese authorship: "the terracotta warriors may be inspired by Western culture, but were uniquely made by the Chinese."
Johanna Hanink and Felipe Rojas Silva of
Brown University argued that such speculations rest on flawed and old Eurocentric ideas that assumed other civilizations were incapable of sophisticated artistry and thus foreign artistry must be seen through Western traditions. stated that "there is no substantial evidence at all" for any such linkage. Darryl Wilkinson of
Dartmouth College has instead argued that the Qin era display of sculptural naturalism, alongside that of the pre-Columbian
Moche culture in Peru, indicate that "the Greeks did not invent naturalism" and that "sculptural naturalism is not the product of any one culture's civilizational 'genius.
Construction The terracotta army figures were manufactured in workshops by government laborers and local craftsmen using local materials. Heads, arms, legs, and torsos were created separately and then assembled by
luting the pieces together. When completed, the terracotta figures were placed in the pits in precise military formation according to rank and duty. In 2021, morphological studies have shown that there is a strong resemblance between the statues and that of the local region's modern inhabitants, which has led some scholars to theorize that the high level of stylistic realism stems from the figures being modelled on actual soldiers. The faces were created using
molds, and at least ten face molds may have been used.
Weaponry '' sword Most of the figures originally held real weapons, which would have increased their realism. The majority of these weapons were looted shortly after the creation of the army or have rotted away. Despite this, over 40,000 bronze items of weaponry have been recovered, including swords, daggers, spears, lances, battle-axes, scimitars, shields, crossbows, and crossbow triggers. Most of the recovered items are arrowheads, which are usually found in bundles of 100 units. Studies of these arrowheads suggest that they were produced by self-sufficient, autonomous workshops using a process referred to as
cellular production or
Toyotism. Some weapons were coated with a 10–15 micrometer layer of
chromium dioxide before burial that was believed to have protected them from any form of decay for the last 2200 years. However, research in 2019 indicated that the chromium was merely contamination from nearby lacquer, not a means of protecting the weapons. The slightly alkaline pH and small particle size of the burial soil most likely preserved the weapons. The swords contain an alloy of copper, tin, and other elements including nickel, magnesium, and cobalt. Some carry inscriptions that date their manufacture to between 245 and 228 BCE, indicating that they were used before burial.
Precedents and legacy {{multiple image Only very few figurines are known from before the time of the terracotta army, so that the humanistic and animalistic style may have appeared dramatically new to their contemporaries. In extant archaeology, only rare and very small terracotta warrior figurines are known from the end of the
Zhou dynasty in 4th-3rd century BCE, such as the
Taerpo horserider, the first known representation of a cavalryman in China, from a military tomb in the Taerpo cemetery near
Xianyang (
Qin state of the
Warring States period). The rider wears
Central Asian,
Scythian-style clothing, and his high pointed nose suggests he is a foreigner, The terracotta army left a legacy however, as funeral terracotta armies are known from later dynasties, although in a less stern and militaristic style, and with much smaller statuettes, such as the
Western Han Yangjiawan terracotta army (195 BCE) or
Yangling terracotta army (141 BCE). The human-sized monumental style of the Qin emperor has thus been observed by scholars to be a relatively short-lived artistic phase which would not reappear until the 4-6th centuries CE with the onset of monumental
Buddhist sculpture in China. == Scientific research ==