About a decade ago, I had the privilege of going to see a traveling exhibit of some of the terracotta warriors from the the Qin dynasty. It was one of the first time actual figures from China left the country and it was a truly fascinating exhibit. Not surprisingly, when I saw this episode of "Secrets of the Dead" on Netflix, I was excited to see it.
Despite the show's title, not a lot of time is spent discussing deaths or looking at human remains. In some ways it's a shame as the way that Qin Shi Huangdi died and his death was hidden make for an interesting story. Instead, the bulk of the show is about the terracotta warriors. In particular, how they were made and the logistics of this was discussed. It was all pretty fascinating considering they've already unearthed 8000 of them! One thing struck me as odd about the show. They seemed to imply that this first emperor of China was a bit of a humanitarian since they did not kill his royal court and bury them with him like previous leaders. However, this is a misnomer for two reasons. First (and most importantly), the Chinese have never entered the actual tomb--and they are afraid to do so as it's reportedly booby-trapped. Plus, the excavation might just destroy everything inside. So, there COULD be lots of human sacrifices inside. Second, Qin Shi Huangdi was NOT a nice fellow and built huge portions of the Great Wall--at a cost of many thousands of lives. He was a despot--and his cruelty is why he was the first and last in his dynasty. None of this background material was mentioned and I only know it because I am a retired history teacher.
Overall, this is a very good show in most ways. Talking about all the possible ways they made the warriors was quite entertaining. And, apart from the mistake listed in the last paragraph, the shock was chock for of interesting tidbits.
