ARTIFACT #6, TERRACOTTA KNEELING ARCHER, TESSERACTS 22 ALCHEMY AND ARTIFACTS

Terracotta Archer (Kneeling) Qin Dynastry

SOMETIMES, LIFE IS FULL OF SURPRISES. When Lorina Stephens and I discussed the kinds of story examples we wanted to see for Tesseracts 22, a number of artifacts came to mind, including the terracotta figures from the Qin Dynasty. Specifically, this was what we wrote and what currently appears in the Tess 22 submission guidelines on the Edge website:

"The editors want tales that explore laws magical as well as physical, the manipulation of reality in the past, resulting in the present. History, sorcery, alchemy, mystery, all with the sense of 'what if'?"

The third example reads as follows:

• What if the Terracotta Army from the Qin Shi Huang Dynasty were golem soldiers, waiting to be animated through magic?

At the time we wrote this, I had no idea I'd actually be viewing such figures from the Qin Dynasty, let alone standing a few feet away from them. I certainly had no plans to travel to China. Instead, I went to Richmond, Virginia, to visit my sister for her birthday. There, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (a place we always go whenever I visit), was a travelling exhibition of - you guessed it - artifacts from the Terracotta Army. I love such moments of synchronicity.

Richmond's Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is a world class museum. Their curator manages to arrange amazing travelling exhibitions. The museum also has some wonderful permanent collections, including a selection of Faberge eggs which I may also write about in a future post. The museum's link is here. The Terracotta Army is on display until March 11, 2018.

The photo above (which I took) depicts a kneeling archer (without his bow). Originally, he would have been brightly painted. Some figures still retain traces of their paint which enables experts to determine their original colours. This archer, along with 8,000 other life-sized figures, was found in one of three pits, part of a massive mausoleum complex measuring about 38 square miles. Archaeologists estimate that only 20 percent of the figures have been excavated.

Royal Convoy, Terracotta Army, Qin Dynasty

This gorgeous bronze statue to the right, depicting (it's believed) a charioteer of the Royal Convoy and his four bronze horses, was a stand-out at the exhibit.

All of these statues point to an ancient Chinese belief in an afterlife. But what kind of an afterlife? The figures are war-like. Were they meant to help Ying Zheng, the First Emporer of China, conquer paradise? Or were they meant to protect him against demons along the way? Maybe the army was meant to reappear here, in our future. Perhaps they are waging a war of economics as we speak, using Bitcoin or other cyber currency. Who can say?

Swan Goose, Terracotta Army

As well as the Terracotta Army, the First Emporer had many birds, like this charming swan goose, cast in bronze. This goose was found, along with cranes and other water fowl, neatly lined up along a river. Perhaps the First Emporer had them built so he might also find paradise a pleasant place to be.

As the Chinese curse goes, we live in interesting times.

May inspiration strike you. - Susan.