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Archaeologist denies BBC report on Terracotta Army
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Pictured on April 6, 2009, the ancient Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang near the city of Xian in Shanxi province in China. (Shutterstock.com/WaitForLight)
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ollowing a recent BBC report about possible western influence on China’s Terracotta Army, Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum senior archeologist Li Xiuzhen has issued a statement claiming that the report was out of context and had overstated her explanations.
A BBC article published on Oct. 12 said archaeologists had discovered that the inspiration of 8,000 life-sized Terracotta warrior figures found in the tomb of the First Emperor near Xia’an, Shaanxi province, China, may have come from Ancient Greece.
The article quoted Li's statement, saying, “We now think the Terracotta Army, the acrobats and the bronze sculptures found on site were inspired by Greek sculptures and arts.”
However, China Daily reported that Li had said the BBC report cut down her full comment and ignored her main points. “I think the terracotta warriors may be inspired by Western culture, but were uniquely made by the Chinese." She mentioned there were other factors that contributed to the making of the Terracotta Warriors, such as soil, craftsmanship and Chinese traditional funeral culture.
The archaeologist also pointed out that she did not share the same idea as Professor Lukas Nickel from the University of Vienna who in the article mentioned, “I imagine that a Greek sculptor may have been at the site to train the locals.”
Li said her opinion was the opposite. "I am an archaeologist, and I value evidence. I've found no Greek names on the backs of terracotta warriors, which supports my idea that there was no Greek artisan training the local sculptors," Li said. (kes)
