An emperor who was afraid to die — so he built an army of clay to guard him forever.
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These are the new words for the Terracotta Army. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = D (an emperor) · 2 = B (a soldier) · 3 = A (clay) · 4 = H (a tomb)
5 = C (to bury) · 6 = G (to dig) · 7 = F (a statue) · 8 = E (a farmer)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
More than two thousand years ago, China was not one country. It was many small states, and they had been fighting each other for a very long time. A boy named Ying Zheng became the king of one state, Qin, when he was only thirteen years old.
The young king was strong and clever, but also hard and cruel. His armies fought for many years. One by one, they beat the other states. In 221 BC, the last state fell. Now China was one country, and Ying Zheng ruled all of it.
He gave himself a new name: Qin Shi Huang — the First Emperor. He wanted everything in his empire to be the same: the same money, the same writing, even the same roads. He was a powerful man, but many people were afraid of him.
1. How old was Ying Zheng when he became king, and what did his armies do?
2. What new name did he give himself in 221 BC?
1. He was only thirteen. His armies fought for many years and beat all the other states, so China became one country.
2. He called himself Qin Shi Huang — the First Emperor.
The First Emperor had everything. But there was one thing he could not have: he could not live forever. This made him very afraid. He sent men far away to look for a special medicine that could stop death. Some of this "medicine" had mercury in it — a poison. It may have made him more ill, not less.
If he could not live forever in this world, he wanted to be a king in the next world too. So he started to build a huge tomb under the ground, near his capital city. It was like a city for the dead. Many people who lived long ago believed that life went on after death, and the emperor wanted his power to go on too.
To guard his tomb, the emperor asked for an army — but not an army of men. He wanted an army of clay. Workers made thousands of soldiers out of clay. They had been building the tomb and the army for many years before the emperor died in 210 BC. When he died, he was buried inside, in secret.
1. What did the emperor do because he was afraid to die?
2. What kind of army did he want to guard his tomb?
1. He sent men to look for a special medicine to stop death. Some of it had mercury (a poison) in it, which may have made him more ill.
2. An army of clay — thousands of soldiers made of clay — to guard his tomb in the next world.
After the emperor died, his empire did not last long. People forgot where the tomb was. Farmers worked the fields above it, and nobody knew what was under the ground. The clay army stood in the dark, silent, for more than two thousand years.
Then, in 1974, some farmers near the city of Xi'an were digging a well to find water. Suddenly they hit something hard. They began to find pieces of clay — and then a clay head, looking up at them from the ground! The farmers had been digging for water, but they had found something much more amazing.
Scientists came to dig too. They found about 8,000 clay soldiers, with horses and chariots, all standing in lines like a real army. Every soldier had a different face! Today the central tomb is still closed. Scientists have not opened it, partly because the ground around it has a lot of dangerous mercury — just like the old stories said. The emperor wanted to live forever. In a way, he did: his clay army still stands today, and people from all over the world come to see it.
1. How did the farmers find the army in 1974?
2. Why have scientists not opened the central tomb?
1. They were digging a well to find water near Xi'an, and they hit pieces of clay — then a clay head looking up at them.
2. They have not opened it, partly because the ground has a lot of dangerous mercury, just like the old stories said.
In this story, some things went on for a very long time before another moment in the past — workers building for many years, soldiers standing for 2,000 years. For this, we use the past perfect continuous: had been + -ing.
Put the verb into had been + -ing.
1. The states of China (fight) each other for a long time before 221 BC.
2. The workers (build) the tomb for many years before the emperor died.
3. The clay soldiers (stand) underground for 2,000 years before anyone found them.
4. The farmers (dig) for water when they hit the clay.
1. had been fighting (for a long time, before 221 BC)
2. had been building (for many years, before he died)
3. had been standing (for 2,000 years, before they were found)
4. had been digging (an action going on before they hit the clay)
Put the verbs into the past perfect continuous (had been + -ing). Then read it out loud.
Before the emperor died, his workers (work) on the tomb for nearly forty years. The states of China (fight) for centuries before he made them one country. And when the farmers found the army in 1974, the soldiers (wait) in the dark for more than 2,000 years.
had been working · had been fighting · had been waiting
Each one is a long action that went on before a later moment in the past. Remember: had been + -ing.
There is a real podcast about the Terracotta Army. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. It plays on the Noiser site, or search "Short History Of The Terracotta Army" on Spotify.
Play on Noiser →Prefer Spotify? Open the show and find the Terracotta Army episode.
Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of the Terracotta Army in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a boy who became king → he made China one country → he was afraid to die → he built a huge tomb and an army of clay → the army slept underground for 2,000 years → farmers found it in 1974 → it still stands today.
Try to use the past perfect continuous ("the workers had been building for years…") and some of the key words (emperor, soldier, clay, tomb, bury, dig, statue, farmer).
The emperor used many years and many workers to build his tomb. What big building or project do you know — a bridge, a stadium, a temple, a tall tower? Who built it, and why is it important?
Tell a story of your own. Use the past perfect continuous for something that had been going on for a long time before a turning point.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: