“Terracotta Warriors: Defenders of China’s First Emperor” explains the rise of the Qin Shi Huangdi’s ancestors through ... A display of massed infantry on horseback is made of painted terracotta, like ...

The first answer is simple: hereditary rule. For most of this period, emperors were not chosen on the basis of their ability or honesty, but simply because they were born in the right family.

The terra-cotta army, as it is known, is part of an elaborate mausoleum created to accompany the first emperor of China into the afterlife, according to archaeologists. Ying Zheng took the throne ...