Customer Reviews

Terracotta Army

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This is an interesting book written by an author who is always described as a travel writer and historian. Well, he's much more than that. John Man is a hands-on researcher: he interviews, he investigates, he observes, he calculates - and his enthusiasm is extraordinary and strangely uplifting. He is so genuinely enthralled with the Terracotta Army and its history that it's impossible not to share his enthusiasm.

And it is a very interesting topic. I have seen the warriors and thought they were just all right. They were much more intriguing to read about; how they came to be, the tragedy that occured four years after the pits were finished, the myriad problems the archaeologists face, all the items that have been found, what has yet to be unearthed, what is currently being planned for the area and much, much more. Man's writing style is plain - don't look for flair - but it works and you feel you've learned quite a bit by the last page. This is the second John Man book I've read, the first being The Great Wall, which was also very good. There are not many China writers penning books these days about specialized China topics, but here's one; a good one.

Troy Parfitt, author of Why China Will Never Rule the World

I confess that I knew very little about the terracotta soldiers until I read The Terracotta Army. They were just an impressive array of workmanship uncovered somewhere in China. I had gone to see a couple of them on display at the Melbourne Town Hall years ago. I was impressed, but admittedly a little more impressed that that's where The Beatles waved to swarming streets of screaming teenagers in an earlier time.

John Man brings them as much to life as is possible in a book. Alternating between the present and the past, in a style of writing that wouldn't be amiss in a historical movie, with frequent flash-backs. He seems to have a strong sense of both visual and haptic presence. Olfactory as well, as you scent the packed earth of the pits, and the fine clays brought to the terracotta factory. The photographic colour plates are stunning, and he took many photos that didn't make it into the book. And there were touching moments when he felt some of the objects themselves.

John Man doesn't just tell the reader what happened or what might have happened. He takes the reader through some interesting thought experiments, based on available manufacturing techniques of the times, materials, availability of workmen in sufficient numbers, and the intriguing manufacturing techniques of a modern maker of terracotta soldiers not far from the originals. The numbers and scenarios are of course estimates and probabilities. But following through his thinking processes makes it dead interesting.

He cites a few times the works of Joseph Needham which reminds me of another wonderful work of history Bomb, Book and Compass: Joseph Needham and the Great Secrets of China. by Simon Winchester which I heartily recommend.

I spent a month in China last October, and did only a brief tour of major attractions such as The Great Wall. John Man's works (and I'll be reading his The Great Wall: The Extraordinary Story of China's Wonder of the World when I can) turn tourist attractions into pilgrimages into the past, and also into the future as he describes some of the plans for further excavations and what archeologists might find.

As I was walking up the very steep inclines of The Great Wall, I wondered what it would have been like as a soldier back then. I'm looking forward to finding out.

Using various sources John Mann pieces together what may have evolved to allow an emperor to build the massive monuments that grace China today. Telling stories of treachery among royalty, strict enforcement of the law, and careful management of daoist priests as a backdrop to the description of the structure and building of the tomb that would become the eighth wonder of the world

Having had the opportunity to visit Xian and see this amazing site, with the excavated pits containing 8,000 soldiers at the battle ready, was a highlight and one of my child hood dreams. A dream I had from seeing the soldiers in national geographic article as a child. This book provides an excellent compliment to the wonders of this site. John Mann brings you through the historical description of the empire united by the Qin dynasty and the making of the soldiers and the tomb. Here are some examples of how John describes the construction of the terracotta army:

"Mass production meant specialize workmen, some prepared the furnaces, some the bronze, some the clay, some the basic designs, some the moulds. Each man an expert in his own field. there must have been constant pressure from management to lower unit cost and increase volume. The end result was the same for 1,000 years: High quality, efficient, regular, fast production; and no room for individuality and creativity. All the foundries lacked was a moving assembly line."

"The original statues and sections of statues from which the whole army was made could have been completed in under five years by one man. In fact of course, there would have been many. Given the emperors vast resources he could have had the molds ready in as little as three weeks...Thus the 8,000 statues could have been completed in under 10 months with as little as 200 men...often, you will read this operation involved 'hundreds of thousands' of workers, but that is to confuse the tomb as a while with the terracotta army, which was by comparison a small-scale affair with the potential for huge production figures, rather like a modern car factory."

If you are a fan of history you will appreciate the ease of this book combined with the depth of historical analysis and research. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the fascinating history of China and if you ever think you might make the trip to Xian one day.

John Man takes a complicated subject, China's history of dynasties and emperors, and breaks it down into understandable and entertaining bits. Don't worry you won't learn everything about Chinese history, but you jump in when the Terracotta warriors are discovered and then get lots of background on what was happening during that time. If you have ever been intimidated by the complexities of China's vast culture and history this is the book and John Man is the author for you.