Open AccessJames C.S. Lin and Xiuzhen Li (2018). China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors.
Author(s) -
C Barclay
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of the british association for chinese studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2048-0601
DOI - 10.51661/bjocs.v8i2.15
Subject(s) - exhibition , terracotta , emperor , china , the arts , art history , art , visual arts , history , ancient history , archaeology
In February 2018 a new exhibition entitled China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors opened at the World Museum, in Liverpool. Organised in collaboration with the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and Shaanxi History Museum, this did not of course represent the first visit of the Terracotta Army to these shores. In terms of public engagement, however, it was undoubtedly a major coup for Liverpool: a small selection of the figures drew some 225,000 visitors to the City Arts Centre in Edinburgh in 1985; whilst the British Museum’s blockbuster 2007-8 exhibition attracted crowds that had not been seen since the ground-breaking Tutankhamun exhibition in 1980. The Liverpool exhibition showcased some 180 items, over half of which had not previously been seen in the UK. Given the range of material on display and the undoubted widespread popular interest in Qin Shi Huang’s Terracotta Army, it is accordingly not surprising that National Museums Liverpool took the decision to produce a new publication to accompany the exhibition