Easter Sunday Thoughts

Hail! Hail! The gang's all here!

I have an implausible dream that one day the top political leaders of the world's biggest nations will get together and argue for a couple of days, and then, totally out of the blue, one of them will come up with a Really Good Idea. I don't know who it will be—the Chairman, the President, or the Premier—but the other two will stop and think, and then say, "That's a Really Good Idea. We should do that." And the person who came up with it will say, "Yeah, but it won't work unless we all do it." And they'll look at each other suspiciously for a second, but then they'll all agree, "Yeah, but it's such a good idea! Let's do it!"

Let's Look At Some Pretty Pictures of China

Emperor Qin's tomb lies about 20 miles east of the city and is a vast and wonderful treasure to visit and explore. Peasants accidentally discovered the tomb's terracotta army in 1974 while digging a well. Today modern buildings cover the unearthed treasures and provide a protected environment for them.

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The Terracotta army, depicted in battle dress according to rank and unit, consists of vivid life-size figures of warriors nearly six feet (1.8 m) high, clad in armor or short gowns belted at the waist, with leggings and tightly lashed boots — their craftsmanship and size are extraordinary. None of the soldiers look alike — each has a distinctive individual expression and hairstyle, believed to resemble the people with whom the potters were acquainted.
Well-proportioned and exquisitely shaped, some are biting their lips, a number are gazing or glaring about, while others show troubled looks, or, with bowed heads, they appear to be meditating. A good number have crossbows under their arms and arrow quivers slung over their shoulders, while generals, with a hand at the tip of their swords, hold a dignified bearing. As a whole, the superb workmanship and grandeur of the army is breathtaking.

Qin's

terracotta army consists of life-size figures of warriors, depicted in battle dress according to rank an unit, and numerous figures of horses and chariots, and this is only part of what is believed to be his grand tomb. The terracota army lies approximately a mile east of Qin's main tomb which is said to contain spectacular objects.

To date only trial digs of the main tomb site have been completed and they have yet to find the main entrance to the tomb.
Emperor Qin ordered the construction of his tomb when he was only 13 years old, an order that involved hundreds of thousands of workers and thirty-six years to complete.

It is also believed that Qin ordered that the tomb workers and supervisors involved in its design be buried alive to protect its secrets.