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Home> China City Guide> Xi'an> The Terra-Cotta Warriors>The Military Strategy
The Terracotta troops reveal the great essence of the ancient military strategy.
A Great Book of Ancient Military Strategy
During the Spring and Autumn Period and again in the Warring States Period, China was torn apart by rival kingdoms and states. Civilization was in a constant state of flux and warfare was the predominant way of life. It was a time for the emergence of advanced military science and in-depth study of the "art of war," producing in turn some of the first major treatises on warfare. Master Sun's Art of War, Master Wu's Art of War and Sun Bin's Art of War, practically bibles of the battlefield even to this day despite their sometimes obscure language and plethora of nuances and subtleties, all appeared at this time. Discovery of Qin Shi Huang's terracotta legions helped to resolve some passages in these texts which had been hitherto unclear.
The pits speak volumes about Qin military power. They provide an incredible amount of information of the distribution and formation of ranks on the field, the use of weapons, and overall tactics in ancient Chinese warfare.
Military formations are formed according to certain military principles and strategies. Whether a war is lost or won often depends on whether military formations are reasonable or not. Military formations can also reflect an army's power, and ancient military scientists stressed the importance of military formation. They advocated an agile vanguard leading a powerful main body into battle, with formation to be maintained throughout the engagement. A courageous warrior would never proceed alone, nor would a timid one retreat alone; in short, no one would break rank so long as order was maintained. This was a tenet brought up all throughout Master Sun's Art of War, and it was an ideal reflected in the layout of Qin Shi Huang's terracotta soldiers and chariots. There is a smart and nimble vanguard preceding an imposing main echelon, forming a mighty army which is invincible because it is so well ordered. Different troops and weapons have advantages and disadvantages in different scenarios, making it necessary to organize them in such a way as to bring their strengths into full play while avoiding their weak points. This is a simple yet vital principle again reflected among the terra cotta legions. Pit No. 2 includes chariots, infantrymen, cavalrymen and archers. Among the infantrymen there are those with armor and those without armor. Chariots are included for the commander, as well as a chariot for his aide, chariots for three soldiers and chariots for four soldiers, each with a different purpose. It is mentioned in Master Sun's Art of War that when the battle is going to be an easy one more chariots should be used; when there are to be difficulties more horses will be needed, and when the danger is at its greatest archers should be employed en masse. A military formation composed of various kinds of soldiers can handle any situation that arises in battle to gain the upper hand. During the Battle of Changping between the Qin and Zhao states in 260 B.C., the Qin army used military formations of every kind of soldier and weapon available, and thereby slaughtered 400,000 Zhao soldiers and defeated the less innovative Zhao commanders. The huge number of cavalrymen and chariots unearthed show that Qin cavalry functioned as an independent force in battle, with chariots playing a vital strategic role. Previous opinions that use of chariots in battle had ceased with the end of the Warring States Period and the establishment of unified rule over China turned out to be wrong.
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