[afraidfortherepublic]

Also people may not realize it, but each of those soldiers are said to represent a real soldier, each sacrificed so their spirits could guard the place. Thats a lot of sacrifices. They were said to have gone willingly, at their own hands.

Ah, but my tour guide assured me that this great emperor was so enlightened that he came up with the novel idea of SUBSTITUTING terracotta statues for the real warriors so that the real warriors would not have to die when the emperor died. Yes, each warrior was modeled after a real person, but the real person died a natural death. Only the workmen and engineers of the tomb were buried alive so that there would be no trail.

Now, I belive that because my tour guide told me so. < sarc/off >

[Candor7]

Yes. The folk tales of the place are likely true. You got the politically correct version. Thats my bet anyway. Whole armies of soldiers would kill themselves in the old days, at the death of their king.

The Japanese were doing it as late as 1946. Iwo Jima is a prime example.