Is there a restful paradise?

有平靜安詳的天堂嗎？

An eternal torment?

還是永久的痛苦折磨？

A rebirth?

又或是重生？

Or maybe just nothingness?

或者可能只是歸於虛無？

Well, one Chinese emperor thought that whatever the "hereafter" was, he'd better bring an army.

有位中國皇帝認為不管死後的世界如何，他最好帶著一支軍隊。

We know that because in 1974, farmers digging a well near their small village stumbled upon one of the most important finds in archeological history:

我們知道這件事是因為 1974 年，農夫們在小村莊附近挖井時，無意中找到考古學史上最重要的發現之一：

vast underground chambers surrounding that emperor's tomb and containing more than 8,000 life-sized clay soldiers, ready for battle.

一座皇帝陵寢，四周有寬闊的地下墓室，有著超過八千個真人大小的陶土士兵，隨時準備上陣殺敵。

The story of the subterranean army begins with Ying Zheng, who came to power as the king of the Qin state at the age of 13 in 246 BCE.

這支地下軍隊的故事要從嬴政開始說起，西元前 246，年僅十三歲的嬴政即位掌權，成為秦國的皇帝。

Ambitious and ruthless, he would go on to become Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China after uniting its 7 warring kingdoms.

富有雄心抱負又冷酷無情的他後來在統一戰國七雄之後，成為了秦始皇，中國的第一位皇帝。

His 36-year reign saw many historic accomplishments, including a universal system of weights and measures,

在位 36 年期間，他完成了許多歷史創舉，包括統一度量衡、

a single standardized writing script for all of China, and a defensive barrier that would later come to be known as the "Great Wall".

制定中國標準書寫文字，以及後來眾所周知、作為防禦屏障的長城。

But perhaps Qin Shi Huang dedicated so much effort to securing his historical legacy because he was obsessed with his mortality.

但也許，秦始皇花那麼多功夫確保他的歷史地位是因為死亡的陰影在他心頭揮之不去。

He spent his last years desperately employing alchemists and deploying expeditions in search of elixirs of life that would help him achieve immortality.

他晚年時拼命聘用煉丹師，並派遣遠征隊尋求長生不老藥來幫助他長生不死。

And as early as the first year of his reign, he began the construction of a massive underground necropolis,

早在執政第一年，他就開始建造一座龐大的地下墓園。

filled with monuments, artifacts, and an army to accompany him into the next world and continue his rule.

裏頭放滿了紀念碑、紀念文物，以及一支在死後世界護衛他的的軍隊，用以延續他的統治。

This magnificent army is still standing in precise battle formation and is split across several pits.

這支雄壯的軍隊仍然以精確的戰鬥隊形矗立著，而且分列在許多坑道中。

One contains a main force of 6,000 soldiers, each weighing several hundred pounds.

其中一個坑道內有個 6000 個士兵的主力部隊，每個士兵重達數百磅。

A second has more than 130 war chariots and over 600 horses and a third houses the High Command.

第二處有超過 130 輛雙輪戰車及超過 600 匹馬。第三處則存放著高階將領。

An empty fourth pit suggests that the grand project could not be finished before the Emperor's death.

第四處是空坑，意味著這個大工程無法在皇帝死前大功告成。

In addition, nearby chambers contain figures of musicians and acrobats, workers and government officials, and various exotic animals,

除此之外，附近房間的雕像有樂師及雜耍藝人、工人及政府官員、還有各種奇珍異獸。

indicating that Emperor Qin had more plans for the afterlife than simply waging war.

這顯示了秦始皇對死後有著更多計劃，不只是單純想發動戰爭而已。

All the figurines are sculpted from terracotta, or baked earth, a type of reddish-brown clay.

所有雕像都是用陶瓦（經燒烤過的土）雕刻而成 -- 一種紅棕色的黏土。

To construct them, multiple workshops and reportedly over 720,000 laborers were commandeered by the emperor,

為了建造它們，皇帝徵用了多個工作坊，據說有超過 72 萬名工人參與。

including groups of artisans who molded each body part separately to construct statues as individual as the real warriors in the Emperor's army.

包括數組將身體各部份分開鑄模的工匠，以建造像皇帝軍隊中真正的戰士一樣不同樣貌的雕像。

They stand according to rank and feature different weapons and uniforms, distinct hairstyles and expressions, and even unique ears.

他們依軍階排立配戴不同武器並穿著不同的軍服、髮型及表情各異，甚至還有獨一無二的耳朵。

Originally, each warrior was painted in bright colors, but their exposure to air caused the paint to dry and flake, leaving only the terracotta base.

原本，每個士兵被漆上鮮明的色彩，但暴露在空氣中後，顏料乾掉剝落，只留下了陶瓦的基底。

It is for this very reason that another chamber less than a mile away has not been excavated.

基於這個緣由，另一處相距不到一英哩的墓穴尚未被挖掘。

This is the actual tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, reported to contain palaces, precious stones and artifacts, and even rivers of mercury flowing through mountains of bronze.

這是秦始皇真正的陵墓，據說裡面有宮殿、珍貴的珠寶及文物，甚至有水銀河流經的青銅山。

But until a way can be found to expose it without damaging the treasures inside, the tomb remains sealed.

但在找到能讓它呈現，卻又不損傷內部珍寶的方法之前，陵墓仍然會保持封存。

Emperor Qin was not alone in wanting company for his final destination.

秦始皇不是唯一一位希望身邊有人陪伴到生命終點的人。

Ancient Egyptian tombs contain clay models representing the ideal afterlife.

古埃及的陵墓內有代表理想死後世界的黏土模型。

The dead of Japan's Kofun period were buried with sculptures of horses and houses, and the graves of the Jaina island off the Mexican coast are full of ceramic figurines.

日本古墳時代的墳墓裡有馬及房屋雕像，而離墨西哥海岸不遠的耆那教島上的墳墓則有許許多多的陶瓷像。

Fortunately, as ruthless as he was, Emperor Qin chose to have servants and soldiers built for this purpose, rather than sacrificing living ones to accompany him,

幸運的是，即使他是這麼冷酷無情，秦始皇選擇鑄造奴僕和士兵來達成他的目的， 而不是犧牲活人來陪葬，

as had been practiced in Egypt, West Africa, Anatolia, parts of North America, and even China during the previous Shang and Zhou dynasties.

過去在埃及、西非、安那托利亞及部分北美地區，甚至在中國稍早的商及周朝都有陪葬文化。

And today, people travel from all over the world to see these stoic soldiers silently awaiting their battle orders for centuries to come.

現在，來自世界各地的人們到這，觀賞這些堅忍的士兵在今後幾個世紀中，無聲地等待著開戰指令。