Terracotta Army

Shhh. It is dark and quiet down here. I have been waiting for a very long time. I stand with my friends, shoulder to shoulder. There are so many of us. We are all quiet, waiting for a big secret. We look like people, but we are made of something special. We are made from the earth. I am an entire army made of clay. I am the Terracotta Army.

A long, long, long time ago, a very important person, the first emperor of China, wanted friends to keep him safe on his next journey. This started around the year 246 BCE. So, he asked smart artists to make us. They took special clay and shaped us into soldiers. Look at my face. Now look at my friend’s face. We are all different. Some of us are smiling. Some of us look very brave. The artists even made clay horses for us to ride and big chariots to pull. We were not always brown. We were once painted in pretty colors like red, purple, and blue. We were so bright.

We slept under the ground for many, many years. It was a very long nap. Then, one sunny day on March 29th, 1974, some farmers were digging in the dirt. Surprise. They found us. Can you imagine how surprised they were to see a whole army waking up from the earth. Now, people from all around the world come to say hello. We stand very still, but we share our big, amazing story. We tell everyone about the emperor and his dream. We show that even something made of clay can hold a story for a long, long time and make you feel wonder. We connect today's friends with friends from long ago.