TC Warriors and Wedding Vows

We went to see the Terra Cotta Warriors near Xi’an, China. The story goes that a peasant farmer was digging a well in 1975, and he unearthed a piece of a clay statue. This turned out to be one of the 7000 soldiers, horses, and chariots built by the slaves of the first Emperor of China, meant to guard his tomb.

These statues had been built below ground, with a wooden roof erected to protect them. However, shortly after the Emperor died, the peasants, unhappy with the cruelty of this emperor, destroyed most of the statues and set fire to the roof.

Archeologists are continuing to excavate this sight, repair the statues, and assemble them in their original formation. Each one has a different facial expression, authentic armor, and even held real weapons.

Incredible.

The kids loved it. After we went to the factory where replicas are made and sold as souvenirs. Everyone got to try their hand at sculpting a warrior, throwing a pot, playing with clay. It was very cool.

The next day was the history museum of Xi’an. My kids are starting to get weary of touring historical places, but our guide Xin was able to capture their imaginations – usually be telling them of the gruesome details about life as the slave of an emperor. Lots of dismembering, drawing and quartering, and such. Yow.

That night Mike and I went out for a drink to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, and negotiate the terms of our continued partnership. We must have come to some sort of agreement, because here he is in my hotel room again.

And in classic "Mike Nolan" fashion he got to play harmonica with the band. He really ripped it up doing the Chinese Blues. They wouldn't let me play though - something about being a girl.