The First August and Divine Ruler

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First and foremost, Happy 2008 to everyone. I’ve been doing this blog now for nearly a year. It’s actually one of the few things I managed to start and keep going during 2007. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is not too blue that they are now behind us. At least Easter is early this year, so we have another Bank Holiday before too long.

When I logged on to write this, I was given a message that the last activity I had done was post the Exploring blog 58 days ago. Wow, but does time fly. The reason I haven’t been posting is that I got very ill and was in bed on and off for the better part of a month. I was meant to be in New Zealand for the holidays, but my doctor strongly advised against it and I decided that it was a better idea to lie low. I’m glad I did because I feel better now than I have in a very long time.

So -- onwards and upwards. Today was the first Saturday of the new year, so I wanted to kick it off with style. The British Museum (without a doubt, one of the great ones) is doing an exhibit called “The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army”. It is so popular, that the exhibit was open on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day for ticket holders and there are nights were they keep it open until midnight. They expect it to be the most visited exhibition ever put on in Great Britain. I had bought my ticket ages ago, so off I went to see it.

Now - those of you who know me know that I am not a flighty person. At least most of the time. I left my house early so that I could stop for a cup of coffee before the time shown on my ticket (entry between 10.40 and 10.50). My local coffee house is closed for repairs, so I decided to go down to the museum and find a coffee house near there. So, I jump on the tube, get all the way to Tottenham Court Road only to realise that I don’t have my ticket. Now, this is odd because I distinctly remember putting it on my table this morning and then checking the table before I left. Back on the tube I get, back into the flat I walk and sure enough - no ticket. Where is it? Frantic search through everything I touched only to realise that I had used it as a bookmark in a travel book I had been looking at first thing in the morning. Duh!! Ticket firmly in my rucksack, I get on the tube again!

As a result of this little adventure, however, I had one of those experiences that makes living in London so wonderful. I was passing through Oxford Street station to get on the Central line and a busker was playing guitar and singing. The song was an ABBA song, which I thought was an interesting choice. Be that as it may, as soon as he got to the chorus, about eight of burst into song and sang along with him. Now, none of us stopped moving, but we were all singing “knowing me, knowing you” as we continued to walk along. (Don’t scoff - I know everyone knows the words to that song!)

I got to the museum at 10.40 - ten minutes to spare. Breathing a sigh of relief, I get to the coat check as nothing is allowed in the exhibit that doesn’t fit into your pockets. The queue was absolutely massive, but I hung on, as I had no choice. Just to make life interesting, the gentleman behind me was very impatient and kept complaining that the museum (that exists on public funds and donations - no entry charges) did not have enough staff to cope. Even better, when we got close enough to see who was manning the coat check, he turned to his companion and made a scathing remark about foreigners. Now, this isn’t all that unusual in a certain generation, but he said it to his companion who was speaking with a French accent! Being French, she just gave him one of those looks and we all moved forward. I got the entrance of the exhibit at exactly 10.50. Whew! The man collecting tickets smiled and said, “that was close!” I answered him that he had no idea.

All the drama was worth it. The exhibit was fabulous. It is the largest collection of artefacts from the tomb of the First Emperor ever assembled outside of China. The real draw was not just the artefacts, but that they included a whole group of the terracotta warriors. For those of who whose Chinese history is a bit rusty (and I am certainly one of them), the first emperor was a guy called Qin (pronounced chin) who lived in about 220 BC. At the age of 13, he was crowned king of his province and decided that the wanted to rule the world. He assembled an army and systematically took over all of the provinces around him. By the end, he had created a huge country that spanned about half of what China is today. Incredible feat when one considers the sheer size of the land and the differences in its terrain. Many historians believe that the name "China" is derived from his name.

Once he succeeded in this, he crowned himself the First (for obvious reasons) August and Divine (because now he was equal to a god) Emperor (because he was bigger than a king). Not shy, this one. However, what he accomplished was simply amazing. He created a system of currency that was still used in parts of China into the 20th Century. In fact, the logo for the Bank of China is shaped to resemble one of these coins. He systemised weights and measures - creating one called a half dou that is exactly equal to the litre we use today. He systemised script, again many of today’s Chinese characters are based on it. His palaces had plumbing with pipes that make what Thames Water is currently replacing all over London look ridiculous. He built a great wall (not THE great wall) that is still apparent from the air. All in all, quite a remarkable man.

However, he was concerned that eventually he was going to die. Although he did everything he could to avoid it, he did just that at the age of 49. Not a man to be caught off guard, he had had thousands of men working on his tomb for years. Convinced that he was going to continue to rule from beyond forever, he ensured that he would have everything he needed for the next life. The size of this thing is amazing. The entire complex covers 56 square kilometres and his tomb alone is 2 square kilometres. He built it in such a place that it is protected in the south and west by mountains and in the north by a river. He was exposed on the east, so he had the army built.

I hadn’t realised how recently the warriors had been discovered. A farmer, digging a well in the hot summer of 1974, suddenly came upon a head. After he recovered from the shock, he called in the authorities and they have been digging there ever since. Archaeologists still don’t know how many soldiers there are because many of them are still buried. I have been told that seeing these warriors in the field is one of the great travel experiences and friends who have been to China always talk about how extraordinary it is.

Well, I got a taste of it. These figures are simply awesome - in the true sense of the word. They are between six and six and half feet tall and each one is different. One was placed so that one could get very close to it. Looking into the eye of something that ancient is a mind-altering experience.

What’s really fascinating is that the tomb itself has never been opened. Because he was the first emperor, his tomb is sacred and so the Chinese government has never given permission for it to be opened. The experts believe that it won’t be in our lifetime. What they are hoping is that, as technology improves, they will be able to someday go in and look around without actually opening the tomb. How cool would that be?

Having spent three hours with this exhibit, I was feeling in the need of some serious substance. Don’t forget, I never did get that cup of coffee! Feeling that Chinese food was in order, I called Jeremy who wanted French. He won - so we went to our favourite little French bistro and had a long lunch together. What a great way to spend the first Saturday of the year!

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