The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China” exhibition, organized by the National Museum of Natural Science Foundation, National Museum of Natural Science, and Administration of Cultural Heritage, Shanxi, China will be on display for 4 months. Officially opened on the 1st, Curator of National Museum of Natural Science, Tzong-shian Lin, Deputy Director of Administration of Cultural Heritage of Shanxi province, Xian-ceng Guo, Deputy Mayor of Taichung, James Chia-chi Hsiao, Director of Museum of Natural Science Foundation, Chia-wei Li, Managing Director for Art Source, Yao-ting Cheng, and General Director of Chunghua Musuem Business Development Association and others all attended the opening ceremony.

Deputy Director Guo of Administration of Cultural Heritage, Shanxi, China noted in his speech that the pit buried with terracotta army, unearthed in 1974 about 1.5 km east of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, is believed to be the accompanying burial ground for the Emperor. The heights for the terracotta army fall between 1.75 meter and 1.85 meter. According to their outfits, and their facial expressions, the terracotta army can be classified into general, infantry, chariot, and others. The exhibit first came to Taiwan 5 years ago. Hopefully, the 116 top-level artifacts that will be shown this year will enrich the lives of people of Taiwan and help them better understand life, military and vignettes of economy of Qin Dynasty more than 2000 years ago.

Deputy Mayor Shiao recalled that when the terracotta army first came to Taiwan 5 years ago, it was at the National Museum of Natural Science. There were more than 10,000 visitors on the first day of the exhibit. The phenomena left an indelible impression. The artifacts for this year’s exhibition are even more precious. This is the first time the “Green-faced Kneeled Archer” has traveled outside of China, so a high turnout is expected.

Director of National Museum of Natural Science, Tzong-shian Lin especially wanted to thank the scholars, cultural organizations, and corporations on both sides of the Taiwan Strait for cooperating to let these precious artifacts, which have an insured value of 2.3 billion NT, to be successfully shown in Taiwan. On display will be Qin Shi Huang’s underground army, saddle horses, weapons and other actual artifacts, in addition to entertainment soldier, civilian soldier, copper crane, stone armor, ceramic and copper ceremonial apparatus and daily equipment, totaled 116 units.

Terracotta Army Pits are part of the accompanying burial sites for Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. Judging from the structures of the pits and the equipments of the army, pit #1 is made up of infantry and combat vehicles. Pit #2 is a comprehensive troop, made up of infantry and cavaliers. Pit #3 is the military command headquarter for pits #1 and #2.

“The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China” exhibition will be on display at the National Museum of Natural Science from Dec 1st 2006, to March 31st, 2007 for 4 months. Tickets are NT200. Discount tickets for students and groups of 20 or more are NT150. For further information regarding the exhibit, education activities, and game rules, please log on to Museum’s official website at http://www.nmns.edu.tw/index_eng.html , Terracotta Army’s Blog at http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/e_artmall (Chinese only), Art Mall at http://www.art-mall.com.tw, or call (04)2322-6940。