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Original subtitles

Narrator: OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO,

THE 13-YEAR-OLD RULER OF A KINGDOM IN FAR EAST ASIA

ORDERED THE BUILDING OF HIS MAUSOLEUM.

THE BOY WOULD GO ON TO CONQUER AND UNIFY

THE SEVEN WARRING STATES OF A CRUMBLING DYNASTY,

MAKING IT ONE NATION FOR THE FIRST TIME.

HE WOULD LATER BE KNOWN AS QIN SHI HUANG,

OR THE FIRST EMPEROR OF QIN,

AND WOULD LEAVE BEHIND AN ENDURING LEGACY

THAT HAS SHAPED THE CHINA WE KNOW TODAY.

BUT THE LOCATION AND MAGNIFICENCE

OF HIS FINAL RESTING PLACE WAS LOST FOR CENTURIES.

Man: HE WAS LAYING

SOME OF THE MOST INTRICATE PREPARATIONS

TO GO ON LIVING AFTER DEATH.

Narrator: THEN, IN 1974, WORKERS IN NORTHWEST CHINA

FOUND FRAGMENTS OF A CLAY FIGURE

AND UNEARTHED ONE OF THE GREATEST

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES IN HISTORY.

Woman: NOTHING LIKE THAT HAD BEEN DISCOVERED

BEFORE THAT TIME.

THIS WAS COMPLETELY UNPRECEDENTED.

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS WOULD EXCAVATE

THOUSANDS OF TERRA-COTTA SOLDIERS, HORSES AND CHARIOTS.

HOW WERE THESE LIFE-SIZE FIGURES MADE?

WHY WERE THEY EQUIPPED WITH REAL WEAPONS?

AND WHAT OTHER SECRETS ARE THERE

BURIED DEEP BENEATH THE COLOSSAL MAN-MADE MOUNTAIN

HONORING CHINA’S FIRST EMPEROR?

DURING THE SUMMER OF 1974,

NEAR THE CENTRAL CHINESE CITY OF XIANYANG,

CAME NEWS OF A SPECTACULAR ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIND.

BURIED SOME 15 FEET BELOW GROUND,

NOT ONE BUT HUNDREDS OF LIFE-SIZED FIGURES,

MADE OF CLAY.

AN ARMY OF SOLDIERS THAT WOULD BECOME KNOWN

AS THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS.

ARCHAEOLOGIST YUAN ZHONGYI WAS ONE OF THE EXCAVATORS

WORKING AT THE SITE.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Yuan Zhongyi, translated: WHEN THE TERRA-COTTA SOLDIERS

WERE DISCOVERED, PEOPLE IN CHINA

AND AROUND THE WORLD WERE AMAZED.

Narrator: TEAMS OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS

DESCENDED UPON THE SITE, COMBING THROUGH DIRT AND CLAY,

TRYING TO SOLVE A MYSTERY OVER 2,000 YEARS OLD.

Yuan: IT WAS A PUZZLE, BECAUSE NO ONE HAD ANY IDEA

WHAT THE STATUES WERE.

SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT THEY WERE STATUES OF GODS.

A FEW OLD WOMEN WENT INSIDE THE SITE

AND BURNED INCENSE AND WORSHIPPED THEM.

OTHER PEOPLE SAID THEY WERE FALSE GODS

AND THAT THEY SHOULD BE DESTROYED.

Narrator: NO ONE KNEW WHO CREATED THE FIGURES,

NOR DID THEY KNOW WHEN OR WHY.

HUNDREDS OF OBJECTS WERE DUG UP DURING THE EXCAVATION,

BUT ARCHAEOLOGISTS’ QUESTIONS REMAINED UNANSWERED.

THEN THEY UNCOVERED A VITAL CLUE TO SOLVING THE MYSTERY--

A NUMBER OF RELICS THEY COULD PIN DOWN

TO A SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD.

THEY WERE BRONZE WEAPONS CALLED A DAGGER-AXE.

IT CONSISTS OF A LONG WOODEN SHAFT

WITH A BLADE ATTACHED TO THE TIP,

AND WAS USED TO THRUST AT AND STAB THE ENEMY.

RESEARCHERS FOUND ON THE BLADES OF THE WEAPONS

A STATEMENT WRITTEN IN A CHINESE SCRIPT

FROM THE THIRD CENTURY B.C.

Yuan: IN THE PIT OF THE TERRA-COTTA SOLDIERS,

SOME WEAPONS WERE EXCAVATED.

AND ON THOSE WEAPONS WERE INSCRIPTIONS

OF THE MINISTERS OF THE TIME, INCLUDING LU BUWEI,

WHO SERVED UNDER QIN SHI HUANG,

THE FIRST EMPEROR OF THE QIN DYNASTY.

THIS CONFIRMED THAT THE TOMB NEARBY WAS QIN SHI HUANG’S.

IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO THINK OTHERWISE.

Narrator: BUT ONLY AFTER MORE EXCAVATION

DID ARCHAEOLOGISTS LEARN THE EXTENT OF THE DISCOVERY.

THEY ATTRIBUTED THE VAST TABLEAU TO THE FIRST EMPEROR OF CHINA,

QIN SHI HUANG, THE RULER WHO CREATED THE NATION

OUT A GROUP OF WARRING PROVINCES.

THE FIGURES, DUBBED THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS,

LOOKED VIVIDLY LIFELIKE,

AS IF BLOOD FLOWED THROUGH THEIR VEINS.

STANDING IN BATTLE-READY FORMATION,

THIS ARMY WAS UNVEILED FOR THE FIRST TIME

IN OVER 2,000 YEARS.

THE TERRA-COTTA ARMY CAPTURED THE PUBLIC’S IMAGINATION

AND FUELED INTENSE CURIOSITY ABOUT THAT ANCIENT ERA.

VISITORS WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE RULER QIN SHI HUANG

AND WHY THE ARMY OF STATUE WARRIORS CAME TO BE BURIED HERE.

COMPLICATING MATTERS, SIMA QIAN,

THE HISTORIAN WHO CHRONICLED THE EMPEROR’S LIFE,

OFFERS LITTLE HELP.

Michelle Wang: SIMA QIAN WROTE NOTHING OF THE EXISTENCE

OF THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS.

THERE’S NOTHING IN HIS ACCOUNT THAT SUGGESTS TO US

THAT HE WAS AWARE OF THEIR PRODUCTION,

AND INTERMENT IN THE PITS

THAT SURROUNDED THE FIRST EMPEROR OF QIN’S MAUSOLEUM.

Narrator: ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

REQUIRES A JOURNEY BACK INTO CHINA’S EARLY HISTORY.

IN 246 B.C., A NEW KING ASCENDED THE THRONE

IN THE WESTERN STATE OF QIN.

LITTLE WAS EXPECTED OF HIM AT THE TIME.

HE WAS ONLY 13 YEARS OLD.

HIS NAME WAS YING ZHENG,

THE RULER WHO WOULD LATER BECOME QIN SHI HUANG,

CHINA’S FIRST EMPEROR.

FOLLOWING ROYAL TRADITION, UPON TAKING THE THRONE,

THE KING ORDERED HIS PRIME MINISTER, LU BUWEI,

TO FULFILL A SPECIAL COMMAND.

Hou Ningbin, translated: BY THE SECOND YEAR OF THEIR REIGN,

KINGS WOULD BEGIN BUILDING THEIR OWN TOMBS.

THAT’S WHY, AT 14,

YING ZHENG ORDERED THE CONSTRUCTION OF HIS MAUSOLEUM.

Narrator: THE CAPITAL OF QIN STATE, XIANYANG,

IS ONE OF THE OLDEST CITIES IN CHINA.

IT WAS THE EASTERN GATEWAY TO THE FAMED SILK ROAD TRADE ROUTE

AND SERVED AS A CENTER OF POLITICS, ECONOMY, AND CULTURE.

AROUND 246 B.C., ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF XIANYANG,

WORK BEGAN ON WHAT WOULD BECOME

THE YOUNG RULER’S FINAL RESTING PLACE.

THE BURIAL MOUND IS 345 METERS WIDE,

350 METERS LONG, AND 55 METERS HIGH,

A STRUCTURE BIGGER THAN THE GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA.

THE LOCATION OF THE TERRA-COTTA ARMY SITE

IS ALMOST A MILE AWAY FROM THE EMPEROR’S BURIAL MOUND.

BECAUSE OF THE DISTANCE FROM QIN SHI HUANG’S TOMB,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS SUSPECTED THERE WAS MORE TO THE SITE

THAN THE LIFE-SIZE CLAY SOLDIERS

THEY UNCOVERED IN ONE OF SEVERAL PITS BELOW GROUND.

THEIR INVESTIGATIONS LED TO THE CONCLUSION

THAT THE SOLDIERS SERVED AS BODYGUARDS FOR QIN SHI HUANG

IN THE AFTERLIFE.

Andrew Schonebaum: SOME SCHOLARS THINK

THAT THEY ARE DEFENDING IT.

SOME THINK THAT THEY ARE A REPRESENTATION OF THE RETINUE

THAT QIN SHI HUANG WOULD HAVE TRAVELED AROUND HIS EMPIRE WITH.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Yuan: OUR INVESTIGATION OF THE SITE

REVEALED IT TO BE EXTREMELY LARGE.

IN THE FIRST PIT,

WE FOUND A LARGE NUMBER OF CLAY FIGURES,

MOSTLY INFANTRYMEN, SOME CHARIOTEERS, AND HORSES,

ABOUT 6,000 OF THEM.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Shen Maosheng, translated: THE DISCOVERY

OF THE TERRA-COTTA ARMY

HELPED US UNDERSTAND A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE TIME.

ALL OF THE CLAY FIGURES WERE VERY REALISTIC,

SO BY STUDYING THEM, WE LEARNED MUCH ABOUT THE QIN MILITARY,

THE POLITICAL SITUATION, EVEN THE CLOTHING THEY WORE.

[BATTLE CRIES]

Narrator: DURING THE THIRD CENTURY B.C.,

THE REGION WE NOW CALL CHINA WAS A BLOODY BATTLEGROUND.

WITH THE COLLAPSE OF THE CENTURIES-OLD ZHOU DYNASTY,

SEVEN STATES ERUPTED IN ENDLESS WARS FOR SUPREMACY.

THE BATTLES WENT ON FOR DECADES.

FINALLY, BY 221 B.C., UNDER RULER YING ZHENG,

THE QIN DEFEATED ALL THE OTHER STATES.

AND THE REASONS FOR HIS SUCCESS CAN BE FOUND IN THE INNOVATIONS

THAT PRODUCED HIS REMARKABLE ARMY OF THE DEAD.

THE WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN ANYTHING

QUITE LIKE THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS.

THE FIGURES ARE TALL AND WEAR EXPRESSIONS

THAT REVEAL THE IMPOSING CHARACTER AND FIERCE RESOLVE

OF THE LEGENDARY QIN DYNASTY SOLDIERS.

Shen: LOOKING AT THEM INDIVIDUALLY

AND IN THEIR MILITARY FORMATION,

YOU GET A REAL APPRECIATION FOR THE STRENGTH OF THE QIN ARMY.

THEY’RE EXTRAORDINARY, AND IT’S NO WONDER THAT WITH THEM

QIN SHI HUANG CONQUERED THE OTHER STATES.

Narrator: PIT ONE OF THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

DISPLAYS THE BATTLE FORMATION OF THE QIN MILITARY.

THE FIRST THREE ROWS CONSIST OF ARCHERS FACING FORWARD.

BEHIND THEM STAND INFANTRYMEN IN 38 ROWS,

POISED TO STRIKE UPON THE COMMANDER’S ORDER.

THE FLANKS ARE DEFENDED BY TROOPS ON THE PERIPHERY

FACING OUTWARD, WATCHING FOR THREATS FROM ANY DIRECTION.

PIT ONE CONTAINS A WELL-ORGANIZED INFANTRY CORPS

OF 6,000 MEN.

THE WARRIORS ONCE HELD WEAPONS BEFITTING THEIR DUTIES,

AND THE SHAPES OF THEIR HANDS ALL DIFFER ACCORDINGLY.

THESE ARE SPEARS AND DAGGER-AXES USED BY THE INFANTRYMEN.

CROSSBOWS AND BRONZE ARROWS ALLOWED THE WARRIORS

TO ATTACK ENEMIES FROM A DISTANCE.

DURING THE EXCAVATION,

ONE DISCOVERY TOOK THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS BY SURPRISE.

DESPITE BEING BURIED FOR OVER 2,000 YEARS,

THE SWORDS OF THE INFANTRYMEN

WERE STILL IN PRISTINE, RUST-FREE CONDITION.

THE QIN DYNASTY’S METALWORK WAS HIGHLY ADVANCED FOR ITS TIME.

[SHOUTING]

RESEARCHERS EXAMINED WHY THE WEAPONS MAINTAINED

THEIR KEEN CUTTING EDGE AND DIDN’T RUST.

Hou: WE DID TESTS TO SEE WHY THE SWORDS

WERE STILL SHARP AFTER BEING BURIED SO LONG.

WE FOUND EVIDENCE OF CHROMIUM OXIDE

ON THE SWORD BLADES,

WHICH PREVENTS THEM FROM RUSTING.

IT’S IMPRESSIVE THAT CHINA HAD DEVELOPED THIS TECHNOLOGY

OVER 1,000 YEARS BEFORE THE WESTERN WORLD.

AFTER ALL, GERMANY DIDN’T DISCOVER THIS METHOD

UNTIL THE 1930s, AND AMERICA NOT UNTIL THE 1950s.

Narrator: BONDING A CHROMIUM OXIDE COATING

TO A METAL SURFACE

REQUIRES TEMPERATURES OF 1,400 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT

TO TOUGHEN IT AND MAKE IT DURABLE.

[SHOUTING]

BECAUSE OF THIS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY,

THE QIN STATE’S WEAPONRY AND ITS SUPERIOR TROOP STRENGTH

GAVE ITS FIGHTERS AN ADVANTAGE OVER THEIR ENEMIES

ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

[SHOUTING]

THE INITIAL EXCAVATION OF PIT ONE TOOK OVER TWO YEARS.

DURING THAT TIME,

THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVERED TWO MORE PITS IN THE VICINITY.

PIT TWO IS LOCATED ABOUT 60 FEET FROM PIT ONE

AND IS SMALLER IN SIZE.

BUT MEASURING 136 YARDS WIDE AND 107 YARDS LONG,

IT’S STILL THREE TIMES LARGER THAN A SOCCER FIELD.

THE FIGURES AND WEAPONS HERE DIFFER FROM PIT ONE.

Shen: PIT TWO CONTAINS A VARIETY OF SOLDIERS,

INCLUDING ARCHERS AND CHARIOTEERS,

COMPARED TO PIT ONE, WHICH CONTAINS MAINLY INFANTRYMEN.

Narrator: AFTER 20 MONTHS SPENT REMOVING EARTH AND TIMBERS,

ARCHEOLOGISTS FOUND PIT TWO

TO BE FULL OF CHARIOTS, ARCHERS, AND CAVALRYMEN.

SOLDIERS WITH CROSSBOWS STOOD IN FORMATION AT THE FRONT,

WHILE CAVALRYMEN WERE POSITIONED BEHIND THEM.

FLANKED TO THE SIDE WAS A MIXED ARRAY

OF MID-SIZED CHARIOTS AND INFANTRYMEN,

WITH THREE ARMORED MEN PLACED IN EACH OF THE FOUR-HORSE CHARIOTS.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS ESTIMATE THE NUMBER OF HORSES IN PIT TWO

TO BE OVER 500.

THE HORSE FIGURES REVEALED A FEATURE

PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN TO EXPERTS.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Xu Weimin, translated: WE FOUND THE HORSE SADDLES IN THIS PIT

TO BE VERY WELL DECORATED.

PUTTING A SADDLE ON A HORSE

MAKES FOR MORE COMFORTABLE RIDING,

AND IT ALSO GIVES YOU AN ADVANTAGE

WHEN YOU’RE FIGHTING IN BATTLE.

Narrator: BEFORE THIS DISCOVERY,

SCHOLARS THOUGHT THAT SADDLES WERE FIRST USED

IN THE HAN DYNASTY, THE EMPIRE THAT FOLLOWED THE QIN.

SADDLES WERE KNOWN TO GREATLY IMPROVE THE SPEED, MOBILITY,

AND TACTICAL STRATEGY OF THE CAVALRYMEN.

ANOTHER INNOVATION FOUND IN PIT TWO

INVOLVED THE CROSSBOWMEN IN THE FRONT RANKS.

THEIR POWERFUL WEAPONS HAD AN AUTOMATIC TRIGGER,

WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN THE REASON

FOR THE QIN ARMY’S SUCCESS IN BATTLE.

SOME EXPERTS THINK THE CROSSBOW HAD A RANGE

TWICE THAT OF TODAY’S MODERN ASSAULT RIFLES.

DURING BATTLE, SOLDIERS WITH CROSSBOWS

MUST HAVE SHOT BRONZE ARROWS CONTINUOUSLY

FROM THE FRONT LINES,

BOMBARDING THE ENEMY FORCES FROM AS MUCH AS A MILE AWAY.

LATER RESEARCH HAS FOUND THAT THE TRIGGERS OF THE CROSSBOWS

HAD STANDARDIZED PARTS.

THIS WOULD ALLOW SOLDIERS TO QUICKLY REPLACE

BROKEN OR DEFECTIVE TRIGGERS WITH A SPARE

WHILE ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Xu: THIS WAS THE EARLIEST INSTANCE

OF CHINA STANDARDIZING WEAPONS.

WE THINK OF STANDARDIZATION AS A MODERN CONCEPT.

BUT EXAMINING THESE WEAPONS FROM THE QIN DYNASTY,

IT’S CLEAR THEY WERE TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED

IN TERMS OF PRODUCTION.

SO, SCHOLARS NOW SAY THE QIN DYNASTY WAS THE FIRST

TO MAKE WEAPONS WITH REPLACEABLE PARTS.

Narrator: SYSTEMIZATION WAS NOT LIMITED TO THE CROSSBOW.

MOST OTHER WEAPONS,

INCLUDING BRONZE ARROWHEADS, SPEARS, SWORDS, AND DAGGER-AXES,

WERE STANDARDIZED AS WELL.

IT MEANT THAT QIN SOLDIERS WOULD NOT BE HAMPERED

BY BROKEN WEAPONS DURING BATTLE--

A KEY FACTOR TO THEIR SUCCESS.

[SHOUTING]

WHILE PITS ONE AND TWO CONTAIN

THOUSANDS OF INFANTRYMEN AND CAVALRYMEN,

PIT THREE IS THE SMALLEST

AND HOUSES THE ARMY’S HIGH-RANKING OFFICERS.

THIS SEPARATE COMMAND POST WAS UNUSUAL.

TODAY’S MODERN WARFARE FEATURES SUPERIOR OFFICERS ISSUING ORDERS

FROM A COMMAND POST BEHIND THE LINES.

BUT THIS WAS RARE IN ANCIENT BATTLES,

WHERE STRATEGIES WERE DIFFERENT.

Shen: BACK THEN, MOST MILITARY COMMANDERS

LED TROOPS ONTO THE BATTLEFIELD.

BUT INSTEAD, THE QIN OFFICERS USED THEIR SKILLS

TO ISSUE ORDERS FROM BEHIND THE FRONT LINES.

Narrator: THE QIN DYNASTY HAD WELL-TRAINED SOLDIERS,

STATE-OF-THE-ART WEAPONS, AND EMPLOYED BOLD MILITARY TACTICS.

THIS IS HOW EXPERTS BELIEVE THEY FOUGHT.

[MARCHING FOOTSTEPS]

WHEN THE COMMANDING OFFICERS GAVE THE ORDERS,

SOLDIERS WITH CROSSBOWS AT THE FRONT LINES ATTACKED FIRST,

RAINING ARROWS DOWN ON THE ENEMY.

[ARROWS WHIZZING]

THIS WOULD PLUNGE THE ADVERSARIES INTO CHAOS,

WHILE QIN INFANTRYMEN FOLLOWING BEHIND

WOULD BEGIN THEIR ADVANCE.

CHARIOTEERS AND CAVALRYMEN WOULD THEN RUSH TO OUTFLANK THE ENEMY.

WITH INFANTRYMEN CHARGING HEAD ON,

CAVALRYMEN AND CHARIOTEERS USED A PINCER ACTION

TO SURROUND THE ENEMY AND CLOSE OFF ANY ESCAPE ROUTE.

THE RESULT--ANNIHILATION.

WITH SUPERIOR WEAPONS AND BRILLIANT TACTICS,

THE QIN ARMY DEFEATED THE NEIGHBORING STATES

IN LESS THAN A DECADE,

SETTING THE STAGE FOR A NEW ERA IN THE REGION’S HISTORY.

BUT EVEN THOUGH HE NOW HAD VICTORY IN HIS HANDS,

YING ZHENG WOULD CRAVE SOMETHING MORE.

[POUNDING DRUM]

IN 221 B.C.,

FOLLOWING THE END OF NEARLY TWO CENTURIES OF WAR,

A GRAND CEREMONY TOOK PLACE IN THE XIANYANG PALACE.

HERE, YING ZHENG,

THE 38-YEAR-OLD RULER OF QIN STATE,

DECLARED HIMSELF SOVEREIGN

OVER THE LANDS OF THE FORMER ZHOU DYNASTY.

HE ASSUMED THE NEW NAME "QIN SHI HUANG,"

THE FIRST EMPEROR OF THE NEW QIN DYNASTY.

Schonebaum: WHEN THE KING OF QIN, YING ZHENG,

CROWNED HIMSELF THE FIRST EMPEROR OF THE QIN,

THAT WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED MOVE.

AND IT SHOWS THAT HE UNDERSTOOD THE MAGNITUDE

OF WHAT HE HAD ACCOMPLISHED.

Wang: IT SUGGESTS TO US THAT HE NO LONGER SAW HIMSELF

MERELY AS A TERRESTRIAL KING.

BUT RATHER HE SAW HIS ROLE AS BEING ELEVATED

TO THAT OF THE RULER OF AN EMPIRE,

AND A ROLE THAT COULD BE VIEWED PERHAPS ON COSMIC PROPORTIONS.

Narrator: QIN SHI HUANG WOULD GO ON TO UNIFY HIS REALM

BY IMPOSING A SERIES OF REFORMS--

ABOLISHING THE LONG-STANDING FEUDAL SYSTEM,

CENTRALIZING THE LEGAL CODE,

STANDARDIZING WEIGHTS AND MEASURES,

INTRODUCING A COMMON CURRENCY,

AND ESTABLISHING A SINGLE WRITING SYSTEM.

BUT DESPITE HIS TRIUMPHANT ACHIEVEMENT,

THERE WAS ONE GOAL THAT ELUDED QIN SHI HUANG.

IT WAS HIS DESIRE TO CONQUER DEATH--

TO BE IMMORTAL-- AN EMPEROR IN THE AFTERLIFE.

Wang: QIN SHI HUANG’S PURSUIT OF IMMORTALITY

IS KNOWN TO US FROM THE ACCOUNTS OF SIMA QIAN.

THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AT ALL UNUSUAL AT THE TIME.

WHAT IS UNUSUAL, HOWEVER,

IS THE GREAT LENGTHS TO WHICH HE WENT

IN ORDER TO CREATE HIS POSTMORTEM ENVIRONMENT.

Schonebaum: THE IDEA IS CLEARLY THAT THE DECEASED

WOULD CONTINUE TO LIVE IN DEATH AS THEY DID IN LIFE.

AND THEY WOULD WANT THE COMFORTS THAT THEY HAD IN LIFE.

Narrator: QIN SHI HUANG DEMANDED THAT HIS MAUSOLEUM,

WHICH HAD BEEN UNDER CONSTRUCTION

SINCE HE WAS 14 YEARS OLD,

REFLECT THE SCALE OF HIS POWER AND GRANDEUR.

ANCIENT RECORDS SAY OVER 700,000 LABORERS WORKED ON THE SITE

FOR OVER THREE DECADES.

THEY CREATED A PROMINENT EARTHEN MOUND THAT RISES TO 150 FEET,

WHILE DIGGING THE EMPEROR’S ROYAL RESTING PLACE

DEEP UNDERGROUND.

Shen: IN THE PAST, PEOPLE HAVE SAID

THAT WHILE THEY WERE BUILDING THE TOMB,

WORKERS DUG DOWN THROUGH THREE SEPARATE SPRINGS,

WHICH WE THINK MEANS THREE LAYERS OF UNDERGROUND WATER.

THAT’S ABOUT 85 TO 90 FEET BELOW THE SURFACE.

Narrator: IT WAS BRUTAL, BACKBREAKING WORK

THAT CAME WITH A HIGH PRICE.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS LATER DISCOVERED MUTILATED SKELETONS

THAT TOLD A HORRIFYING STORY.

COUNTLESS WORKERS DIED OF EXHAUSTION

AND WERE BURIED IN MASS GRAVES.

OTHERS WERE APPARENTLY KILLED TO KEEP THEM FROM REVEALING

THE SECRETS AND LOCATION OF THE TOMB.

IT TOOK 38 YEARS TO COMPLETE THE MAUSOLEUM OF QIN SHI HUANG.

HIS ROYAL CHAMBER WAS PLACED IN THE CENTER OF THE BURIAL MOUND.

INNER AND OUTER WALLS WERE BUILT COMPLETE WITH WATCHTOWERS.

MANY PITS CONTAINING THE WARRIORS OF THE TERRA-COTTA ARMY

WERE ALSO LOCATED NEARBY.

THE EMPEROR’S UNDERGROUND PALACE WAS CONSTRUCTED

OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO,

BUT IT STILL AWAITS EXCAVATION.

Hou: QIN SHI HUANG’S TOMB

IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MAUSOLEUM GROUNDS,

WHICH IS JUST UNDER A SQUARE MILE IN AREA.

NO ONE KNOWS FOR CERTAIN,

BUT IT’S THOUGHT THAT THE UNDERGROUND PALACE

LIES UNDER THE EARTHEN MOUND THERE.

COMPARED TO OTHER MAUSOLEUM SITES,

THIS IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST,

LARGEST.

Narrator: NEARLY FIVE MILLION VISITORS COME ANNUALLY

TO SEE THE EXCAVATION SITE.

WHAT DRAWS IN MOST VISITORS IS THE MASSIVE TERRA-COTTA ARMY.

OUT OF 8,000 LIFE-SIZED TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

FOUND BY EXCAVATORS,

NOT ONE OF THEM APPEARS TO BE THE SAME.

Wang: BECAUSE OF THEIR HIGHLY REALISTIC APPEARANCE,

IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

WERE INTENDED TO BE PORTRAITS.

WHILE WE CANNOT ANSWER THIS QUESTION DEFINITIVELY,

WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THEIR METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION

WAS HIGHLY MODULAR,

AND THAT THIS WAS WORK CARRIED OUT BY PALACE ARTISANS.

Narrator: EXPERTS MARVEL AT THE CREATION

OF THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS,

SAYING THEY COULD NOT EASILY BE MADE,

EVEN WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY.

SO HOW DID QIN STATE ARTISANS CREATE THEM?

THIS DEMONSTRATION SHOWS CONTEMPORARY ARTISANS

CREATING SIMILAR FIGURES OUT OF THE LOCAL CLAY.

IF THE CLAY IS TOO WET OR TOO DRY,

THE SCULPTED FIGURE WOULD FALL APART.

SO BACK THEN, QIN ARTISANS USED A SPECIAL TECHNIQUE

TO CREATE THE WARRIORS.

IN THIS CASE, THEY MADE CLAY ROPES

AND FORMED THE FIGURE FROM BOTTOM TO TOP.

AS A RESULT, THE HOLLOW STATUES WOULD BE LESS LIKELY TO COLLAPSE

UNDER THEIR OWN WEIGHT.

THIS METHOD ALSO LENT ITSELF TO INDIVIDUALIZING EACH FIGURE.

BY ADJUSTING THE THICKNESS OF THE CLAY ROPES,

THE SCULPTORS COULD MAKE DIFFERENT SHAPED BODIES.

ONCE THE BODIES WERE COMPLETE,

THEY WOULD ADD THE FINISHING TOUCHES, SUCH AS ARMOR DETAILS.

COMPLEX PARTS SUCH AS HANDS AND FEET

WERE MADE SEPARATELY

AND DRIED BEFORE BEING FITTED TO THE BODIES.

EXPERTS THINK THE HEADS WERE NOT BASED

ON THE CRAFTSMEN’S IMAGINATION,

BUT INSTEAD MODELED ON REAL SOLDIERS.

STUDIES OF THE FIGURES SHOW THAT NO TWO ARE EXACTLY ALIKE.

FROM THEIR FACIAL FEATURES AND APPAREL,

IT’S POSSIBLE TO DISCERN DIFFERENCES

IN THE WARRIORS’ AGE, FUNCTION, AND RANK,

AS WELL AS DETERMINING WHERE IN THE COUNTRY THEY CAME FROM.

Shen: THE FACIAL FEATURES OF THE WARRIORS

REFLECT A RANGE OF PEOPLE FROM THE EMPIRE,

INCLUDING THE SHANXI AREA,

THE EASTERN PART OF CHINA, SZECHUAN,

EVEN THE WESTERN REGION OF CHINA.

Narrator: IN 1999, EXCAVATORS FOUND

DIFFERENT TERRA-COTTA FIGURES

IN A PIT LOCATED NOT FAR FROM THE OTHERS.

THEY WERE IN SHARP CONTRAST TO THE SOLDIERS AND OFFICERS

OF THE TERRA-COTTA ARMY.

TO BEGIN WITH, THEY’RE NOT DRESSED IN MILITARY OUTFITS

OR WEARING ANY TYPE OF ARMOR,

NOR ARE THEY ALIGNED IN A GROUP FORMATION.

DECORATIVE WALLS FROM THE LATER HAN DYNASTY

PROVIDE IMPORTANT CLUES.

THE BARE-CHESTED FIGURES ARE IN DYNAMIC POSES,

VERY DIFFERENT FROM THEIR MILITARY COUNTERPARTS.

Shen: THE FIGURES LOOK LIKE THEY ARE CAPTURED IN MID-PERFORMANCE.

THEY SHOW US ANOTHER SIDE OF THE EMPEROR’S ROYAL LIFE BACK THEN.

Narrator: ROYAL LIFE DURING QIN SHI HUANG’S REIGN

HAD ALL THE TRAPPINGS OF LUXURY AND SPLENDOR.

ACCORDING TO HISTORIAN SIMA QIAN,

10,000 COURT LADIES CHOSEN FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY

LIVED IN THE EMPEROR’S PALACE.

THEY SERVED AT THE PLEASURE OF QIN SHI HUANG,

WITH THE BEST DANCERS PERFORMING DURING BANQUETS.

AT THESE BANQUETS, ACROBATIC TROUPES

ALSO DISPLAYED THEIR SKILLS FOR THE COURT.

THEY WERE CALLED "BAIXI," A WORD REFERRING TO ENTERTAINMENTS

THAT GAVE A HUNDRED DIFFERENT JOYS TO THE AUDIENCE.

INCLUDED IN THE PERFORMANCES WERE DEMONSTRATIONS

OF PHYSICAL DEXTERITY AND STRENGTH.

THE BAIXI WERE ALSO KNOWN TO TRAVEL TO THE BATTLEFIELDS

TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR SKILLS

AND BOOST MORALE AMONG THE TROOPS IN THE FIELD.

ACROBATICS IS ONE OF THE OLDEST ARTS IN CHINA--

A TRADITION FAMOUSLY CARRIED ON TO THIS DAY.

THE CONTINUING EXCAVATION UNEARTHED OTHER ARTIFACTS:

ELEGANT BRONZE CRANES, SWANS, AND GEESE,

WHICH SYMBOLIZE LONGEVITY.

IN YET ANOTHER PIT, ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOUND STONE ARMOR

MADE FOR QIN SHI HUANG’S WARRIORS,

LEADING RESEARCHERS TO WONDER

WHAT OTHER TREASURES WILL BE REVEALED NEXT.

AS FIRST EMPEROR OF CHINA, QIN SHI HUANG WANTED TO ENJOY

THE COMFORTS AND TREASURES OF HIS EMPIRE

NOT ONLY DURING HIS LIFETIME, BUT IN THE AFTERLIFE AS WELL.

THAT’S WHY HIS NEARLY 1-SQUARE-MILE MAUSOLEUM COMPLEX

CONTAINS MANY RARE AND PRICELESS OBJECTS

FROM THROUGHOUT HIS REALM.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Yuan: QIN SHI HUANG’S MAUSOLEUM IS THE LARGEST

OF ALL THE ROYAL TOMBS IN CHINA.

WE FOUND IT TO BE RELATIVELY WELL PRESERVED,

CONTAINING A RICH ARRAY OF ARTIFACTS.

SO FAR, WE’VE FOUND ABOUT 180 PITS

FILLED WITH FASCINATING OBJECTS.

IT’S A REAL UNDERGROUND TREASURE TROVE

THAT TELLS US A GREAT DEAL ABOUT HIM AND HIS REALM.

Schonebaum: WE KNOW THAT HE SURVIVED ASSASSINATION PLOTS.

SO HE MUST’VE BEEN COGNIZANT OF THAT FACT

THAT HIS LIFE COULD END AT ANY MOMENT.

WE KNOW THAT HE TRAVELED WITH A LARGE RETINUE OF SOLDIERS

WHEN HE SURVEYED HIS NEW EMPIRE,

SO AS TO PROTECT AGAINST ASSASSINATION PLOTS.

SO, ON THE ONE HAND, IT SEEMS LIKE HE WAS QUITE CONCERNED,

ALMOST OBSESSED, WITH DYING.

BUT ON THE OTHER HAND,

HE WAS LAYING SOME OF THE MOST INTRICATE PREPARATIONS

TO GO ON LIVING AFTER DEATH.

Narrator: THE EMPEROR’S MAUSOLEUM

HAS YET TO BE EXCAVATED.

BUT MANY FEATURES OF THE ELABORATE WORLD

QIN SHI HUANG HAD BUILT UNDERGROUND HAVE BEEN UNEARTHED,

THANKS TO THE WORK OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND ARTISANS.

THE CAREFULLY ORGANIZED EFFORT

TO RECONSTRUCT THE WORLD OF THE EMPEROR

BEGINS WITH LABELING ARTIFACTS AND FRAGMENTS FOUND AT THE SITE.

[SPEAKING CHINESE]

Wang Dongfeng, translated: THE LABELS HAVE TWO FUNCTIONS.

FIRST, THEY INDICATE WHERE AN ARTIFACT WAS FOUND IN THE PIT.

SECOND, IT MAKES IT EASIER FOR US TO FIND SIMILAR PIECES

WHILE WE’RE DOING OUR RESTORATION WORK.

Narrator: AS PART OF THE RESTORATION PROCESS,

PIECES OF THE RELICS ARE CAREFULLY CLEANED,

USING SPECIAL TOOLS TO AVOID DAMAGING THEM.

THEN, A SPECIAL GLUE IS DELICATELY APPLIED

TO BROKEN PORTIONS OF THE OBJECT TO ASSURE PROPER BONDING.

THESE CRAFTSMEN KNOW THEY’RE NOT ONLY REASSEMBLING PIECES

OF AN HISTORIC ARTIFACT,

BUT ALSO RESTORING PIECES OF LOST TIME;

BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE.

THIS IS HOW MANY OF THE THOUSANDS

OF TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS HAVE BEEN RECONSTRUCTED.

DURING THE IMMENSE EXCAVATION AND RESTORATION PROJECT,

RESEARCHERS ENCOUNTERED ANOTHER SURPRISE.

TODAY, THE WARRIORS APPEAR REDDISH BROWN AND GRAY,

CONSISTENT WITH THE COLOR OF THE CLAY IN THE AREA.

BUT IN REMOVING 2,000 YEARS OF DIRT AND DEBRIS

FROM THE SURFACE OF THE FIGURES,

TRACES OF VIBRANT PAINT WERE DETECTED.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE CONCLUDED THAT THE TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS

LOOKED FAR DIFFERENT WHEN THEY WERE ORIGINALLY CREATED.

Lan Desheng, translated: THE SOLDIERS WERE PAINTED

VERY COLORFULLY.

YOU FIND TRACES OF RED, YELLOW,

GREEN, PURPLE, AND BLACK.

THE COLORS ON THIS FIGURE FADED WHEN IT WAS EXCAVATED,

BUT WE’VE FOUND MOST SOLDIERS STILL HAVE BITS OF PAINT

ON THEIR UNIFORM COLLARS.

Narrator: THIS IS HOW SOME OF THE WARRIORS LOOKED

WHEN THEY WERE FOUND BURIED IN THE DIRT.

BUT ONCE THE FIGURES WERE EXPOSED TO THE AIR,

THE COLORS QUICKLY DISAPPEARED, LIKE A MIRAGE.

BASED ON THE RESEARCH OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS

WHO HAVE STUDIED THESE FIGURES FOR OVER 40 YEARS,

THE WARRIORS WOULD HAVE LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT.

THE FINISHED WARRIORS WOULD HAVE BEEN

A SPLENDID, AWE-INSPIRING SIGHT 2,200 YEARS AGO.

AFTER FORGING ONE NATION OUT OF A CAULDRON OF WARRING STATES,

QIN SHI HUANG DID NOT RETREAT INSIDE HIS LAVISH PALACE.

HE MADE A NUMBER OF INSPECTION TOURS OF HIS EMPIRE,

TRAVELING UNDER THE PROTECTION OF HIS GUARDS.

Jeffrey Riegel: ON AT LEAST FIVE OCCASIONS,

THE FIRST EMPEROR MADE A TOUR OF HIS EMPIRE.

IT SEEMS IN FACT THAT HE REALLY ENJOYED DOING THIS,

THAT HE PREFERRED GETTING OUT OF THE CAPITAL

AND SURVEYING THE LANDS THAT HE HAD CONQUERED.

I THINK IT’S PART OF HUMAN NATURE

TO WANT TO SEE, IN EFFECT, WHAT YOU OWN.

Narrator: THIS BRONZE CHARIOT FOUND IN PIT TWO

SHOWS THE REMARKABLE CRAFT OF THE QIN DYNASTY ARTISANS.

IT’S A HALF-SIZED REPLICA OF THE ONE QIN SHI HUANG RODE

DURING HIS JOURNEYS.

Hou: THE BRONZE CHARIOT REALLY IS THE BEST RELIC,

THE CROWN JEWEL OF THEM ALL,

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CONSIDER ITS SIZE

AND THE TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED IN ITS CONSTRUCTION.

IT CONSISTS OF ABOUT 3,000 PIECES.

EVEN USING MODERN PROCESSES LIKE WELDING,

YOU CAN SEE IT WOULD TAKE A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT

TO BUILD IT.

Narrator: ORIGINALLY, TWO BRONZE CHARIOTS WERE FOUND

COMPLETELY SMASHED IN A PIT

JUST 20 YARDS FROM QIN SHI HUANG’S BURIAL CHAMBER.

THIS SMALLER VEHICLE WITH A HIGH CANOPY

IS A HALF-SIZE MODEL OF THE ESCORT CHARIOT

WHICH RODE AHEAD OF THE EMPEROR IN A PROCESSION.

TOGETHER, THE PRESENCE OF THESE TWO CHARIOTS

MAY REPRESENT QIN SHI HUANG’S EXPECTATION

THAT HE WOULD BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TOURING

HIS UNDERGROUND EMPIRE IN THE AFTERLIFE.

Narrator: THE FASCINATION GENERATED

BY QIN SHI HUANG’S TERRA-COTTA WARRIORS CONTINUES

DECADES AFTER THEY WERE FIRST DISCOVERED IN 1974.

BUT AT THE SITE OF THE FIRST EMPEROR’S MAUSOLEUM,

ONE GREAT MYSTERY LINGERS.

THOUGH HUNDREDS OF RELICS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED AND EXCAVATED,

QIN SHI HUANG’S BURIAL CHAMBER HAS REMAINED UNEXPLORED.

Yuan: WE DON’T KNOW WHAT’S ACTUALLY INSIDE THE BURIAL SITE.

IN HIS WRITINGS, SIMA QIAN DESCRIBES IT IN GREAT DETAIL,

MENTIONING THAT THERE ARE DEPICTIONS OF THE CONSTELLATIONS

IN THE CEILING OVERHEAD, AND ON THE FLOOR,

RECREATIONS OF RIVERS AND OCEANS FILLED WITH MERCURY.

Narrator: SINCE SIMA QIAN WROTE HIS ACCOUNT

A CENTURY AFTER THE EMPEROR’S DEATH,

SCHOLARS HAVE DOUBTED HIS DESCRIPTIONS

OF THE BURIAL CHAMBER.

BUT RECENT STUDIES HAVE FOUND

HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF MERCURY AT THE SITE.

Hou: SCIENTISTS USED MODERN REMOTE SENSORS

AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS MACHINES TO INVESTIGATE THE BURIAL SITE.

AND WHAT THEY FOUND WAS SURPRISING.

THE LEVEL OF MERCURY IN THE SOIL AT THE SITE

MEASURED 20 TIMES HIGHER THAN IN THE AREA SURROUNDING THE SITE.

Narrator: ONE ANCIENT METHOD OF PRESERVING BODIES AFTER DEATH

INVOLVES DEEP BURIALS IN AIRTIGHT CONDITIONS.

THIS KEEPS OXYGEN FROM REACHING THE CORPSE

AND SLOWS DOWN DECOMPOSITION.

WHEN THIS TOMB IN HUNAN PROVINCE WAS OPENED,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS MADE A REMARKABLE FIND.

INSIDE WAS A HAN DYNASTY NOBLEWOMAN

KNOWN AS THE LADY OF DAI.

HER BODY HAD BEEN BURIED NEARLY 40 FEET UNDERGROUND.

NO ONE ANTICIPATED A DISCOVERY LIKE THIS.

THOUGH HER DEATH OCCURRED 21 CENTURIES AGO,

THE LADY OF DAI’S BODY IS WELL-PRESERVED.

MOST OF HER INTERNAL ORGANS ARE INTACT,

AND BLOOD STILL REMAINS IN HER VEINS.

HER SKIN IS MOIST AND ELASTIC, LIKE THAT OF THE LIVING.

HER DISCOVERY LED RESEARCHERS TO CONSIDER A NEW THEORY.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

Suruma Kazuyuki, translated: WE THINK IT’S POSSIBLE

AND HE WAS BURIED DEEP IN THE EARTH.

Narrator: MORE CLUES REPRESENTING

HOW THE EMPEROR’S BODY MAY HAVE BEEN PRESERVED

APPEARED IN OTHER PARTS OF CHINA.

THIS IS A SHROUD, MADE OF JADE,

FOR A KING OF THE HAN DYNASTY WHO DIED 2,000 YEARS AGO.

Kazuyuki: IF THE EMPEROR WAS IN FACT BURIED

IN A SUIT OF JADE ARMOR,

IT’S POSSIBLE THE DECOMPOSITION PROCESS HAS SLOWED DOWN.

THIS METHOD OF BURIAL WAS COMMON AMONG THE QIN DYNASTY ROYALTY,

SO WE CAN INFER THAT PERHAPS QIN SHI HUANG

COULD HAVE BEEN BURIED THIS WAY.

Narrator: 210 B.C.

QIN SHI HUANG, ON ANOTHER INSPECTION TOUR OF HIS EMPIRE,

WAS STRUGGLING WITH ILLNESS.

DESPITE HIS SEARCH FOR THE ELIXIR OF LIFE

THAT HE BELIEVED WOULD GRANT HIM IMMORTALITY,

HE DIED AT 50 YEARS OLD.

NOW BEGAN HIS LAST EARTHLY JOURNEY

BACK TO XIAN AND HIS FINAL RESTING PLACE.

HE HAD CREATED A SMALL-SCALE VERSION

OF HIS EMPIRE AND HIS PALACE UNDERGROUND,

WHERE HE COULD OVERSEE THE WORLD HE UNIFIED FOR ETERNITY.

IT HAD TAKEN SOME 700,000 WORKERS 38 YEARS

TO BUILD QIN SHI HUANG’S ROYAL TOMB.

[CREAKING]

THEN, IN 210 B.C., THE EMPEROR,

TOGETHER WITH HIS MANY PRICELESS TREASURES, HIS CHILDLESS WIVES,

AND HIS DREAMS OF IMMORTALITY,

WAS SEALED IN HIS BURIAL CHAMBER.

[CREAKING]

HISTORIAN SIMA QIAN,

WRITING IN HIS RECORDS OF THE GRAND HISTORIAN,

DESCRIBED IN DETAIL WHAT THE EMPEROR’S TOMB

WAS TO HAVE CONTAINED.

Man: "THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS WERE DRAWN IN THE SKY

TO BLESS AND PROTECT THE AFTERLIFE.

UNDERNEATH THE STARS WAS A MINIATURE VERSION

OF GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.

MERCURY FILLED THE RIVER SO AS NEVER TO DRY UP,

AND TORCHES BURNING MERMAID OIL WILL NEVER BE BLOWN OUT."

Narrator: QIN SHI HUANG HAD UNIFIED CHINA

FOR THE FIRST TIME, ESTABLISHING A NEW FORM OF GOVERNMENT,

UNIFORM LAWS, WEIGHTS AND MEASURES,

AND A SINGLE WRITING SYSTEM.

ANCIENT HISTORIANS SAY THE UNDERGROUND WORLD HE CREATED

REFLECTED THE GRANDEUR OF HIS MANY ACHIEVEMENTS.

BUT FOR NOW THERE’S NO WAY TO KNOW FOR CERTAIN

WHETHER THE ACCOUNTS DESCRIBING QIN SHI HUANG’S TOMB ARE TRUE.

THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS STEADFASTLY REFUSED TO EXCAVATE

THE FIRST EMPEROR’S BURIAL CHAMBER--

A POSITION AT ODDS

WITH WHAT MANY IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC WOULD PREFER.

Hou: THERE ARE NO PLANS TO EXCAVATE

THE UNDERGROUND PALACE IN THE FUTURE,

BECAUSE THE EXCAVATION ITSELF

COULD DESTROY WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO PRESERVE.

Yuan: THOUGH WE’RE NOT EXCAVATING THE TOMB AT PRESENT,

WE MIGHT CONSIDER WHETHER IN THE FUTURE

WE COULD USE NEW FORMS OF TECHNOLOGY

TO INVESTIGATE THE UNDERGROUND PALACE.

IN MY VIEW, I’D SAY IT’S POSSIBLE.

Narrator: FOR NOW, WE CAN ONLY PEER INTO THE EMPEROR’S TOMB

THROUGH ANCIENT WRITINGS AND OUR IMAGINATION.

DURING HIS LIFE, QIN SHI HUANG HUNGERED FOR IMMORTALITY.

AND NOW, OVER 2,000 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH,

THANKS TO THE WORK OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND ARTISANS

AND THE UNFORGETTABLE TERRA-COTTA ARMY

THAT STILL GUARDS HIS MEMORY,

HE’S ACHIEVED IT.

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