China Part II: Ancient Emperors and Present-day Pomegranates

Xi'an- "Jenny" (Dai Qin)

 “Jenny”, our guide in Xi’an is a law school graduate, wife of "Peter", and mother of a small son Peter Jr. She plans to take the bar again in a few years after her son is older, maybe to specialize in Family Law as divorce is increasingly common in China. She is very bright, speaks English extremely well, and has a good sense of humor. We learned many things from her, such as:
1) In China, the failure rate for the bar exam is 90%;
2) Chinese can be divided into noodle eaters (from the North like Xi’an, big and strong) vs. rice eaters (from the South, not so big and strong);
3) In China, if your one child is a son, you need to buy him an apartment or he will never marry. As the government owns all the land, you can only lease it for 70 years, but you can buy the building on it. (We taught her the word “condos” and “time share”.);
4) Chinese ghosts are feared, but short, have no knees, but hop around (we learned this from “Ariel” in Beijing, too, but really, can you hop without knees?).If your door threshold is high enough, you can keep the ghosts out of the house; and,
5) China's four great gifts to mankind are gunpowder, paper, movable print, and the compass (facts also emphasized by "Ariel").

Xi’an ("Western Peace") was the capital of Imperial China from its founding by the Emperor Qin in 221 BC until the Mings moved it to Beijing in 1403 AD to keep a closer eye on those pesky Mongols. The modern city is generally quite unlovely, but fortunately it was raining so the smog was not as intense as Beijing. The area became a required stop  on any China tour after a local farmer found some terra cotta shards while digging a well in 1974. At first he didn’t think much about it, but after he found a few more he thought it wise to tell the authorities. This led to one of the most significant historical finds of the 20th century, Emperor Qin’s tomb complex.
Our only full day in Xi’an was packed to the brim with tourist activities. The first stop was they factory where they make replica terra cotta figures.

For about $1200, they will make a head to your likeness and put it on a body (a warrior is the cheapest, general or emperor more expensive).

About one hour out of town is the site of Emperor Qin's burial complex. It is a vast area nestled amongst pretty hills surrounding three massive pits showing the excavations. In a nearby hillock lies buried the as yet still undisturbed Tomb of the Emperor.  Pit One has the famous terra cotta army. There are infantry, archers, and charioteers with horses. Every figure is unique, with different facial features, expressions, even palm-lines.

It is not known why, but not a single one was intact and all had to be reassembled from many pieces.

There is a "hospital" section when more figures are being put back together.

 In Pit Two, higher officers, guards, and horses were found.

 And Pit Three showcases the remarkable reconstruction of two royal carriages made of bronze, complete with a team of horses and fully functional tack.

 

 As with every site in China there was a vast shop to sell handiworks and souvenirs of all kinds. We had heard that the farmer who made the discovery, Xanxing Mang, was now retired and wealthy, but liked to hang around the gift shop, autographing books. Sure enough, like Elvis' Uncle Vester Presley at Graceland, he was there madly signing books. (He made it clear to me how much of a gratuity he expected).

After lunch on site, we headed back into the center of the old town. The highlight there was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built in 652 AD.
In 645, the most famous Buddhist monk in Chinese history Master Xuanzang returned after his legendary 17-year sojourn to India with a library of Buddhist texts and statuary. These were stored in the Pagoda, but now are gone (possibly a victim of the Cultural Revolution?).
Also on the agenda was a whirlwind visit to the Shaanxi Historical Museum, with galleries full of relics from the Golden Ages of the ancient capital.   

Bronze Wine Vessel

Buddha

Bronze Lantern Hook

Han Statuette

Magic Ceramic Teapot

Later Emperors were entombed with miniature terra cotta armies

We finished the night with a performance dedicated to the arts, songs, and dance of the Golden Age of the Tang Dynasty.

This was followed by a Xi’an tradition: an eighteen course dumpling feast. Each dumpling had a different stuffing, and were folded origami-like to reflect the contents, like pig or walnut.
Phew! What a full day. But as I wrote last time, the guides had a dogged determination to complete everything on the itinerary. When we settled for a drive-by of the Bell Tower after dinner instead of walking up the steps,

“Jenny” had me sign a statement saying since I had seen the one in Beijing, I declined (part of her legal training to CYA, I’m sure).
Xi'an is also noted for the intact old city wall. We had time for a stroll on its ramparts before being whisked off to our flight to Shanghai.

In a touching moment, "Jenny" gave Fayne a jade bracelet, with strict instructions not to wear it until returning to the US, because the good fortune it bestowed would be deposited wherever she first wore it.

Perhaps you noted an attractive red creature in previous photos? It is not a tomato, but is a pomegranate flower, called Chang'an Flower, and is the official mascot of the World Horticultural Expo 2011 in Xi'an. It was lurking everywhere: airports, temples, public places. Was I going mad?

 

I bought a pin at the airport to try to break its spell on me.