Layers of History Part 2

The Terra Cotta Warriors is perhaps Xi'an most world famous attraction. It hearkens back to the feudal slave society that imperial China was built upon. The Terra Cotta Warriors are the massive tomb of the first emperor to unite North and South China- Qin Shi Huang. If the history is a bit fuzzy, he is the "Dragon Emperor" from the new "Mummy" movie. His tomb housed over 8000 life size clay soldiers each one unique and equipped with real weapons. In addition he created 180 war-chariots, 520 horses, and a command center for his generals. A tomb of this magnitude was built as a display to show the extent of his earthly power and also so that he could conquer in the after life. I have been told by my Chinese culture professor that Qin Shi Huang knew of a emperor of heaven and that the emperor must be very powerful but he had not heard of a emperor of hell and it was his ambition to rule the underworld as the emperor of hell.

With this army of clay Emperor Qin would conquer the underworld

Today, the site is very much a commodity much like many of the other historical sites of Xi'an. The entrance fee is 90 元，and the cost of the bus is pretty high, the cost of a guide is even more. Surrounding the complex is newly built stores where fake culture relics are sold at astronomical prices. On the inside I saw a set of 6 jade cups sold for 16,000 元 ($2400). The place is not used at all by the locals and its hollow facade was kind of disappointing but to be expected since so many foreigners go to visit. The contrast is quite revealing. The tomb was sealed in the second century BC and did not see the light of day until 1980. It sat underground a testament to an ancient time and reemerged in an era when China was not Imperial but Communist. It is very much a reminder of China's long and storied history but I cannot think of a monument more out of place with its surroundings.

In contrast to this disjointed place is Hua Qing Pool, a place that was continuously lived in from its creation until today. This place displays how the flow of time gives new meaning to ancient places. First built during the Tang Dynasty on the site of a hot spring to be used as a imperial pleasure palace. During the Tang dynasty the palace is most famous for the torrid love affair between the Tang emperor and the concubine of one of his son's concubines- Yang Yuhuan. The Tang Emperor Xuanzong would often take her there to recite poetry, picnic and bathe in the hot springs.Today a statue of her remains at Hua Qing pool as a reminder of her story.

Considered plump for ancient China, Consort Yang changed the

popular preferance from thin to full-figured women during the Tang Dyansty

Her beauty was claimed to be so into intoxicating that she played a part in a love triangle between the emperor, and a general named An Lushan. In Bai Juyi's poem on their love "The Song of Unending Sorrow," he wrote that the emperior was so in love with her that he ignored his governmental responsibilities so that "lavish all his time on her with feasts and revelry." But Consort Yang also had eyes for An Lushan whom she adopted as an honorary son. Emperor Xuangzong demoted An Lushan and the general then refused to attend royal functions he was invited to. 4 months later, the general rebelled and was successful in sacking the capital of Chang'an. This forced the emperor to flee to Chengdu, but his troops who blamed Consort Yang for this misfortune mutinied and refused to go unless Yang Yuhuan was killed. This rebellion marked the decline of the Tang dynasty since much of the central governments power was compromised in deals with regional warlords whose alliances were needed to defeat the rebellion. Thus from this place the stage was set for the "Golden Age" of imperial of China to come to an end.

The bedroom Chaing Kai Shek was kidnapped from was in this lily pond surronded pavillion on the right

Hua Qing pool would later be the stage for another important event in Chinese history- the Xi'an incident. This story is set under entirely different circumstances than the Imperial decadence of Consort Yang and Emperor Xuanzong but instead in the pretext of World War 2. The Xi'an incident involves the leader of Nationalist China, Chiang Kai-Shek, during the time when China was being invaded and occupied by the Japanese. Chiang Kai-Shek had followed a policy of non-resistance to Japanese aggression which infuriated most of the Chinese citizenry and members of his government. His focus lay on destroying China's Communist party and various regional warlords even though the Japanese were killing millions of Chinese. In an effort to end this bitter situation, one of Generalissimo Chaing's generals kidnapped him in order to force him to accept a military unification of Communist and Nationalist forces to expel the Japanese occupation. Without such an effort China may have been completely taken over by the Japanese and the course of modern history would be radically different.

Recreated over and over again as times and circumstances change, Hua Qing is a prototypical place to discover the romantic history of China. Generation after generation has carried the torch of Chinese civilization and put its own signiture on the land. But, perhaps more important than the different lifestyles and challanges each generation has faced are the threads of humanity that bind these stories togeather. It is the human dramas of love and betrayl, the thirsts for power, and the drive for justice that bring China's history to life.