Two weeks ago, on Sunday, I accompanied my family to the Asian Civilisations Museum. We made our way day because of the special exhibition that was being held there. In fact, this exhibition is still at the museum at the time of writing, up till 16th October.
First, let me introduce this exhibition. The name of this exhibition is Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor & His Legacy. The show comprises of around 100 artifacts loaned from 12 museums in China's Shaanxi province. What is more remarkable is that this is the first time that authentic and not replica pieces of the famous terracotta warriors will be shown in Singapore and South East Asia. The terracotta warriors were first discovered in 1974 outside Xi'an by a group of peasants. To my understanding, the tomb was ordered to be built by China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, and he believed that with the tomb built, he would be protected by the warriors and the horses in the afterlife.
The museum wasn't extremely crowded, even on a Sunday morning, and that rather surprised me as I expected more people to turn up, seeing how this was a temporary exhibition. Anyway, after paying the entrance fee, we went in, and the first thing that greeted us was small clay figurines, masterfully crafted by the people of the past dynasties. The clay figurines were based on different professions and animals from that day, like storytellers, entertainers and tigers and dogs. One thing that stood out was the expressions and depicted actions of these clay figurines. It was easy to tell that the people who made these figurines put in a lot of effort and time, to recreate all the expressions and actions, and they were depicted perfectly, even though the clay figurines were static and stationary. There was also a section depicting how the workers made the clay figurines. In the next room, there was also a special exhibition, named rather aptly "Life after Death: An Installation by Justin Lee". The exhibition consisted of a self-constructed terracotta army flanked by maidens holding modern technology like laptops. In fact, the terracotta warriors was wearing headphones! There were also Singapore emblazon flags rising above the army. This exhibition is basically just showcasing a blend of Western pop art with traditional Eastern imagery, creating an interesting exhibit, and in the ACM's words, "decidedly Singaporean".
The next exhibition was the star of the show. In it, there were displays of the different varieties of clay warriors that were found in the tomb. There were officers, cavalry men, archers and more. What was unique about this was that each of the different type of soldier had their own distinguishing feature, which made them easy to recognise. For example, the officers wore a tunic, instead of the normal battle armour that soldiers wore. Like the first exhibit, this truly shown the hard work and meticulousness of the workers that made the figurines. Like what many of you know already, each warrior has a distinct expression on his face, thus making the terracotta army even more astounding. This, coupled with the fact that it was estimated that there were around 6000 warriors and chariots inside the tomb, makes it clear why the terracotta tomb is seen as something out of the ordinary. Speaking about chariots, a life-sized replica of a chariot, pulled by 4 warhorses is also included in the exhibit. The reason why the authentic one could not be shown is because it was simply too fragile to be transported overseas. On a side note, there was also an iPhone app made by the ACM, that had a feature that allowed users to use it to view the figures "move" when the phone was facing the figurines. I did not manage to use it so I cannot really comment much on it.
My trip to this exhibition was truly fulfilling, as I had a first-hand look of the terracotta warriors, and could see in person the terracotta warriors that can be described as a historical marvel. Although I had read up quite a bit on the terracotta warriors and the background of the tomb, nothing beats actually going to the exhibition in person and actually looking at these life-sized figurines yourself. Only then will one begin to understand why these terracotta warriors have been the center of much discussion among historians all over the world, and why the tomb has been regarded as an archaeological treasure by many. I really recommend everyone to take 1-2 hours to go down and view the exhibition for yourself. If I do not remember wrongly, the entrance fee isn't too expensive, costing $8 for an adult and $4 for students. There is also a special offer for families of up to 5 people, which costs $20. That was the amount my family paid when we visited the museum. Go visit it, and savour the atmosphere and the vast history surrounding you!
Cheers,
Roystan
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