dusmeyedin

dusmeyedin t1_j9185un wrote

The terminology might be a bit confusing. The Qin mausoleum is a fairly large complex that mimics the layout of the old capital city Xianyang. There are many structures in this complex, including the resting place of the emperor himself, and the outer armies statues and other ceremonial structures.

Archeologists distinguish between the emperor's tomb, which is the resting place of his body, vs the rest of the complex, which is generally called the mausoleum or the necropolis.

They have excavated parts of the necropolis and seen the damage this caused, and so they have not excavated the emperor's actual tomb. There's a whole half of the necropolis which they are unwilling to touch because they don't know what their archeological process will do to it - contemporary reports said that Qin had a relief terrain map of the whole empire set up with liquid mercury filling in for the rivers and lakes. Modern excavation techniques are still not up to the task of preserving this.

The commenter you responded to might have been using that distinction: they hope to see some day when our science is advanced enough to examine Qin's personal resting place, amidst all its riches and ceremonial finery, without destroying it.

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dusmeyedin t1_ixdbgxd wrote

I'd agree, China has plenty of artifacts from the times of the "ancients" (e.g. Shang Dynasty bronzeware, from 1600 BCE to 1000 BCE) that are far older than this.

If we're talking archeological eras, then this might be best termed "pre-Industrial", since the Qing Dynasty resolutely resisted industrialization.

However, from the viewpoint of a modern Chinese person, it's also worth noting that in the space of 150 years they had a collapse of a dynasty, the rise and collapse of numerous warlord states, the failure of a new Republic (complete with an abortive attempt by the president to name himself new Emperor), and finally the establishment of a Communist state.

The fact that the Communist government has held power for a (comparatively brief) 70+ years still puts it at one of the more stable forms of government in the past generation or two.

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