The Terracotta Army was discovered on 29 March 1974 by a group of farmers- Yang Zhifa, his five brothers, and neighbour Wang Puzhi-who were digging a well approximately 1.5 km (0.93 mi) east of the Qin Emperor's tomb mound at Mount Li (Lishan), a region riddled with underground springs and watercourses. However, there are indications that the tomb itself may not have been plundered. Later historical accounts suggested that the complex and tomb itself had been looted by Xiang Yu, a contender for the throne after the death of the first emperor.

High levels of mercury were found in the soil of the tomb mound, giving credence to Sima Qian's account. Some translations of this passage refer to 'models' or 'imitations' however, those words were not used in the original text, which also makes no mention of the terracotta army. According to this account, 100 flowing rivers were simulated using mercury, and above them the ceiling was decorated with heavenly bodies, below which lay the features of the land. Sima Qian wrote that the first emperor was buried with palaces, towers, officials, valuable artifacts and wondrous objects.

Geographer Li Daoyuan, writing six centuries after the first emperor's death, recorded in Shui Jing Zhu that Mount Li was a favoured location due to its auspicious geology: 'famed for its jade mines, its northern side was rich in gold, and its southern side rich in beautiful jade the first emperor, covetous of its fine reputation, therefore chose to be buried there'. Work on the mausoleum began in 246 BCE, soon after Emperor Qin (then aged 13) succeeded his father as King of Qin, and the project eventually involved 700,000 conscripted workers. The construction of the tomb was described by historian Sima Qian (145–90 BCE) in Records of the Grand Historian, the first of China's 24 dynastic histories, written a century after the mausoleum's completion. History The mound where the tomb is located Other, non-military terracotta figures were found in adjoining pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army hold more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remain in situ in the pits near Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. The figures vary in height according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his afterlife. The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China.

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