○ Two-millennia-old Terracotta Warriors immediately lost most of their original colors the moment they were unearthed
○ Modern science and technology are now able to preserve the true colors of the remaining buried statues
○ A new online museum allows viewers a panoramic, 20-billion-pixel image of the ancient mausoleum
In August, a digital museum of the First Qin Emperor's Mausoleum was officially launched with the help of Internet technology.
Thanks to the panoramic, 20-billion-pixel image, users can now view China's iconic Terracotta Warriors up close and personal to view the true ancient colors that remain on some of the figures.
Pretty much every tourist and visitor to the First Qin Emperor's Mausoleum (aka The Terracotta Army) in Lintong county, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, can't help but be amazed by their grandeur. However, few people have had the luxury to see their true, two-millennia-old colors except archaeologists, experts and historians granted special access into the dig site.
Forty-three years ago, when Chinese archaeologists carefully removed the yellow earth away with shovels, brushes and cotton swabs, a mysterious underground army interred for more than 2,000 years surfaced, which became one of the most shocking archaeological discoveries of all time.
An array of clay warriors, with each and every figure differing in facial features and expressions, clothing, hairstyle, gestures and colors (ranging from scarlet, purple, pink and pale green to lilac, light blue, orange, black, and white) solemnly stood in the pits as if they were still guarding the first ever Empire in imperial China.
However, their 2,000-year-old Chinese colors, once exposed to sunlight and modern air, lasted for just a few minutes or even only 15 seconds. The pigments immediately dehydrated, curled up, flaked off and were gone.
Now, with advanced technology, Chinese and scientists and their foreign counterparts are able to preserve the true colors of clay warriors that have not yet been unearthed.
A riot of colors
On March 29, 1974, farmers digging a well in the village of Xiyang discovered some strange fragments of clay sculpted in the human form. Three months later, archeologists dug their first probes, which led to the staggering find.
The unexpected scene of these time-travel Terracotta Warriors, the rich historical heritage as well as the fleeting moments of their colorful beauty, all left archeologists with a lasting impression.
"Indeed, every warrior and horse figure was painted, but after more than 2,000 years the pigments were so old they began to change just 15 seconds after they were unearthed," said Xia Yin, researcher and director of Relics Protection Department at First Qin Emperor's Mausoleum Museum.
An academic report published in 1988 mentions the fact that the Terracotta Warriors were actually painted many times over.
Yuan Zhongyi, the then-head of the archeological team and "the father of the Terracotta Warriors," knows everything about the 2,000 figures that have been unearthed after many decades of excavation, observation, research and analysis.
"I have looked at all of the figures and made the excavation reports. I know their body shapes, clothing, hairstyles, shoes and the color when they were unearthed," says Yuan. "If we could go backwards in time, we would be able to see how colorful these figures were: scarlet, crimson, purple, pink … just to name a few."
Yuan explained that the clay warriors and horses were buried for over 2,000 years, so their color coating was already aging and peeling. Before the finish, the workers would brush a layer of lacquer to the figures to bond and highlight the pigments.
"The lacquer will be curled up and flaked off because of dehydration when being exposed to air, therefore we have to be exceptionally attentive with this. We use small tools such as bamboo sticks, scalpels, tweezers and cotton swabs in our work. This is a very sophisticated work that allows zero carelessness," Yuan added.
Today, Yuan is retired, but from time to time he has been invited back to the site where he spent most of his life excavating, together with younger archeologists, with an expectation of showing the true colors of Terracotta Warriors to the world.
