Chinese terracotta warriors woo big Dutch crowd
Updated: 2008-02-03 14:39
BRUSSELS - Ancient terracotta soldiers from China were more popular than paintings by Dutch masters and other artifacts on their first day on show Saturday in the Drents Museum in northern Netherlands.
More than 1,000 people flocked to the museum in Assen within the first four hours of the opening of the exhibition. It was the biggest number of visitors the museum had ever received for the first day of any exhibition.
"It's the first time that terracotta warriors set their foot on Dutch soil. There has been enormous media coverage recently and we have received hundreds of calls asking for information," Ellen ter Hofstede, communication manager of the Drents Museum, told Xinhua.
"We are prepared for a large crowd," she said with a smile.
Among the exhibits were 14 life-sized terracotta figures, including 10 warriors, three servants and one horse, as well as more than 200 other splendid burial gifts of gold, jade and bronze from the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BC) and the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC - 9 AD).
Zhao Rong, director of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, said that the artifacts on show were among the best of the findings from the Qin and Han Dynasties.
At the exhibition "The Terracotta Army of Xi'an: The Treasures of the First Emperors of China," visitors could see not only terracotta warriors from the Qin Dynasty, but 96 miniature terracotta statues from the Western Han Dynasty, including warriors, servants and animals.
They could also enjoy the sight of dozens of recently unearthed objects, including life-sized bronze birds and stone-made armor.
Wu Yongqi, director of the Qin Shi Huang Terracotta Warriors Museum, said the pieces on show were comparable in quality and artistic value to the current terracotta army exhibition in the British Museum in London, although they were less in number.
The objects, all discovered near Xi'an of the Shaanxi Province, provided a glance of the magnificent Qin and Han civilization, he said, adding that the exhibition would hopefully help Dutch people to get acquainted with traditional Chinese culture and promote mutual understanding between the two peoples.
At the exhibition, many Dutch visitors were visibly struck by the images of the clay artifacts and the stories behind them.
"I'm surprised at the immense power of the ancient Chinese emperors and the way they try to maintain their kingdom in the afterworld," said M. Bakker, who had just watched a 3-D film about the genesis of the terracotta army at the museum.
He was also fascinated by the statues. "They are so beautiful, even more beautiful than I thought," Bakker said.
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