Unlike the Terracotta Army, history, it seems, is not set in stone. Every so often, a new discovery comes along which questions what we believed to be an irrefutable truth about the past. This appears to be such a moment.
Until now, the impression given to us by historians is that Ancient China was something of a hermit kingdom, hidden behind its Great Wall and with little or no contact with the outside world, until along came Marco Polo in the 13th century.
Before this, the trade conducted through the Silk Road seemed to have been no more than the exchange of goods from hand to hand by shady figures from Central Asia, who never transgressed further than a chimerical sign saying, “China, no foreigners welcome beyond this point. ”
However, it now seems likely that, not only was there extensive trade of goods between China and the West, but substantial cultural exchange, as well, even to the extent of Europeans living in China as guests.
In modern times, historians have shown that China had a highly-developed civilization on a par with Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, which co-existed during the same period in history. However, it has always been presumed that the great Western civilizations of antiquity and the Chinese Imperial dynasties developed in isolation from one another.
That now appears to be incorrect and just as the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome influenced one another, China could also have borrowed cultural styles and expertise from the Greeks. The recent discovery of coins from the Roman Empire in Japan also suggests that our concept of East-West relations in ancient times was erroneous.
Every great civilization leaves behind some grand monuments or cultural creations, which symbolize its glory and which spring to mind whenever its name is mentioned. When someone says Ancient Egypt, we think of the pyramids; Ancient Greece, it’s the Acropolis; Rome, the Colosseum; and for China, one such wonder of the Ancient World is the Terracotta Army – a collection of 8,000 clay statues of soldiers from the army of the first Chinese Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in the 3rd century BC.
The statues are between 183-195 cm (6ft-6ft 5in) tall and include chariots, horses, officials, and entertainers. It took 700,000 workers 30 years to build the extraordinary monument, which was part of the Emperor’s burial chamber. Further excavation of the site now estimates it to be part of a complex 200 times the size of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, according to the Independent.
Mystery and fascination have always surrounded how this amazing piece of art was built, but now Chinese archeologists have discovered convincing evidence that expert Greek sculptors and craftsmen were involved. The Guardian reports that a senior Chinese archaeologist, Li Xiuzhen, said recent discoveries from the sites in Xinjian province, which include traces of ancient European DNA, suggest that there were Europeans living in the area of the tomb at the time of construction.
It is thought that Greek statues of the period, which arrived in Asia following the conquests of Alexander the Great, caught the attention of Chinese royal artists and statesmen and, consequently, Greek craftsmen were invited to China to advise and participate in the building of the famous army.
“We now have evidence that close contact existed between the first emperor’s China and the west before the formal opening of the Silk Road. This is far earlier than we formerly thought. We now think the Terracotta Army, the acrobats, and the bronze sculptures found on site, have been inspired by ancient Greek sculptures and art,” said Li Xiuzhen.
The Guardian quotes Lukas Nickel, chair of Asian art history at Vienna University, who is working on the team, as saying “I imagine that a Greek sculptor may have been at the site to train the locals.”
The tomb complex also houses some gruesome evidence of murders and mutilations stemming, not only from burial rituals, but probably involving internal power struggles in the kingdom, which National Geographic describes as a “Chinese Game of Thrones.”
A documentary called “The Greatest Tomb on Earth,” made jointly made by the BBC and National Geographic, which will be shown on UK BBC Two television on 16 October.
The Independent quotes Hamish Mykura, of National Geographic Channel, who said: “The scope of these archaeological finds and what they mean for world history are astonishing.”
BBC presenter Dan Snow added: “I hope audiences will find the new evidence as astonishing and thought-provoking as I did.
“It is extraordinary to think that history as we know it is changeable.”
