(excerpts from my travel journal through western China. Please excuse grammar and such; little wifi and time to check it. No google)
(15-04 Xī'ān )
This huge city has a 3100 year old history and saw 31 dynasties of emperors. China has had emperors from 221 B.C.- the beginning of the 20th century; in all 557. The Emperor (Son of heaven) is recognized as the ruler of "All under heaven". This position is hereditary from father to son, but he has to serve the people well or he is replaced. Even for peasants it is possible to found new dynasties, as happens with the Han and Ming dynasties. Also foreign rulers can be emperors of China as well as in their own country, like Kublai Khan. There has been only one lawful reigning Empress in China, Empress Wu of the Tang dynasty(618-907 A.D., the Golden Age). Other women were but regent for their son.
Some serious sightseeing today with a small internatinal group; but first through this city at rush hour. On the pavements are small resto's on thricycles, which bake thin pancakes and fill them up with chopped spring onion, soja sauce, egg and various vegetables for breakfast.
In the eastern suburbs of the city is Ban Po; the ruines of a Neolithic Yang Shao village of 4800-5300 B.C. The traces of it are covered by a large hall. It is a matriarchal society, where the women seem to have the upperhand; even to the point that few men are buried. Men hunt (deer, racoon dogs) and women grow millet and gather fruit and berries. Mongolic faces and tall people, about two metres.They make clay vases with decorations of fish, plants and use bone needles. Cloth is weaven with a primitive foot construction. The people are buried facing the west; not known why, as there is no indication of writing. The village is surrounded by a deep trench and has a draw bridge for the nights.
On the way to the Terracotta warriors I visit a factory where the modern statues soldiers are made, for decoration and tourist. All figures are hollow; the head is a loose piece. Young girls glaze all, dragons, warriors and other reprsentations, before baking.
One of the most famous archeological finds in China is the Terracotta Army in 1974. It is accidently found by farmers who want to dug a well. It shows the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is buried with the emperor in 210–209 B.C.
From 1974-1979 farmers loot many of the bronze weapons and use terracotta shards and tiles for their chicken coops. By 1979 the government give the farmers some money, get the original terracotta's back and the escavations start in earnest. The problem is to retain the original colors once a terracotta figure is unearthed. Till this is solved, many warriors will remain beneath the earth.
The area is contained within three halls. There are 1300 of the terracotta colored warriors and horses in the different halls on show. The warriors all have different faces, shoes and hands.The tallest figures are the generals. Rows of these men just stand there, interspesed with unescavated material; impressive in their silence. It is awesome; all on such a big scale ..... And I get to meet the farmer, the only one left of the discoverers, 84 years old. We shake hands and he signs my book! Tourist, eh.....
It is near 35 C now and sightseeing gets hard. On to the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang, which in its time it must have been one of the grandest mausoleums ever. His necropolis complex is constructed to reflect all buildings of his imperial palace. Work on this mausoleum begins in 246 B.C. He also constructs rivers of mercury, so this necropolis cannot be unearthed fully. The area is severely polluted; all that remains is a mound, covered with grass. On the lawns a sign ' do not touch. This is treated with pesticides'.......must be the polluted area. There seems to be a museum with the finds, but there's not enough time to see it.
(16-04 Xī'ān )
Today some further sightseeing. The inner city is enclosed by city walls which are one of the few in China still standing. They are build in 1370 during the Ming dynasty; 12 meter high, surrounded by a dry moat and form a rectangle of 14 kilometer. One could walk or cycle these walls.....they are large enough. Originally, the ancient city is seven times larger than the modern Xī'ān.
A nice walk in the sun along the ancient east walls of the city. There are stalls selling calligraphy and stone stamps; I've a lucky sign for my year, the dragon, so I have one made.
And on to the Big Goose Pagoda,which is a fine example of a Tang- style pagoda. It is completed in 652 A.D. It houses the Bhuddist sutras brought back from India by the monk Xuan Zang, who's travels inspire the "Journey to the West" by Wu Cheng-en
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West
Only the pagoda itself is original. The original buildings around it are rebuild and houses divers artifacts, scrolls, Buddha's and such. It is all nicely done, but it's a too clean area and the many tourist remind me of Disneyland. One can dress up as a Ming emperor and have a photo taken. And believe it or not: while I reflect on this, I hear some Chinese flute music " It's a small world, after all...".
Hot, hot.....ice cream and local coca cola. The muslim quarter has to get another visit before I go to the trainstation for the night train to Bejing. Red Chinese silk scarves, local jade, small restaurants with sweating cooks and the tricycles honking away. Nice and crowded.
In my cup: water, water