When the Terracotta Army came to Hong Kong

“The publisher of a local leftwing newspaper [Ta Kung Pao], Mr Fei Yi-ming, who was recently elected a Standing Committee member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Peking, is to head an eight-member committee to supervise the work on next month’s exhibition in Hongkong of archaeological finds from China,” reported the South China Morning Post on March 25, 1978. “In all, 99 items unearthed in 14 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China since 1949 will be on display, according to a press release.”

On April 18, the Post detailed “some of the wonders of ancient China […] put on show in Hongkong yesterday and among those who went along to see them were the Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose, and Lady MacLehose. They were attending the preview of the exhibition […] held at the Chinese Export Commodities Exhibition Hall in Star House”.

“About a quarter of the exhibits have never been shown outside China before. They include several bronze artefacts of the Shang dynasty and pottery warriors of the Chin [Qin] dynasty. During the Shang dynasty (13th century BC), tremendous advancement was made in bronze casting and this is well illustrated by the bronze wine vessels on show.

“Naturally, the three man-sized pottery warriors of the Chin dynasty (210 BC) yesterday commanded the attention of all viewers, not only because of their sheer size but also for their vivid portrayal of the mental state of the warriors. The three statues, unearthed in Shensi [Shaanxi] province between 1974 and last year constitute only a tiny part of an estimated 6,000 life-size figures of warriors and horses believed to be buried in a large vault that formed the tomb of Chin Shih Huang [Qin Shi Huang], the first emperor of the Chin dynasty. So far, only about 500 warriors and 20 horses have been dug up from the section marked for preliminary excavation.”