Silent but eloquent heroes

A Chinese emperor who for years searched for the elixir of life but, ironically, died aged 50 left an awesome army to assist him in the afterlife.

Ying Zheng, who became emperor, aged 13, and renamed himself Qin Shi Huang, managed to unite China, practically building a new empire.

So strong was his belief in the afterlife that he not only left a stronghold of about 7,000 soldiers but all the trappings an army needed to survive such as livestock, including horses, sheep, chickens and pigs, and cooking utensils. A selection of these artefacts, including 10 life-size soldiers and two horses, also life size, are being exhibited at the Museum of Archaeology, in Republic Street, Valletta.

Heritage Malta, which is organising this world heritage display, is ensuring that as many people as possible get the chance to see this splendid array of treasures by opening the museum seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

On the first Sunday after the display opened on March 1, 500 people viewed the Silent Warriors.

Mario Cutajar, head of visitor services and HR at Heritage Malta, said when contacted that since March 4, the exhibition has attracted an average of 550 visitors a day, a high percentage of whom were tourists who made their way to the museum individually and not in groups.

"The success of this manifestation bears two salient messages. One that Heritage Malta staff are capable of putting together an exhibition of this high calibre. And, secondly, that Heritage Malta is being encouraged to look further afield to source other exhibitions of this standard".

Baptised The Silent Warriors: The Chinese Terracotta Soldiers, the name is a bit of a misnomer because both the soldiers and the rest of the items on show speak volumes about China's extensive cultural heritage.

The fired clay soldiers were armed with proper weapons but these were mostly stolen by marauding battalions.

Pierre Bonello, exhibitions executive at Heritage Malta who speaks about the soldiers with the same enthusiasm of an archaeologist who has just unearthed a find that will make the headlines, said that part of the exhibits belong to other emperors other than Qin Shi Huang.

"Because Qin Shi Huang was such a great leader, other emperors imitated his style and built mausoleums like he did.

"The obsession with the afterlife, as with the ancient Egyptians, made these emperors prepare extensively for the next journey as a continuation of this one," Mr Bonello said during an interview.

The army was placed one kilometre-and-a-half from Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. The soldiers faced the east because it was thought the enemy would pounce from that direction.

The mausoleum also had miniature water reservoirs and grain silos, examples of which are part of the exhibition in Valletta.