Yangling is the joint tomb of the fourth emperor, Jingdi, of the Western Han (r.157 – 141 B.C.) and his wife Empress Wang. The tomb took 27 years to build and was completed on the death of the empress in 126 B.C. The mausoleum covers a colossal 20 square kilometers, and like the tomb of first emperor Qin Shihuangdi, burial chambers are covered with large flat-roofed pyramid shaped mounds. Eleven of the 81 burial pits have been exposed to give an unprecedented glimpse of Han society. Many seals have been found, indicating that pits corresponded to specific government departments.
No ancient Chinese imperial burial site should be without its own personal terracotta army, though thrifty characteristics of a new Han leadership meant that burial objects were down-scaled. Unlike the life-sized Qin warriors we are faced with hundreds of miniature doll-like pottery figurines. Each stands at around 62 cm tall, without arms which would have been made from wood and added later. Molded figures were sealed together with clay, baked, and subsequently painted with hair and skin tones. Only then could they be dressed in beautifully embroidered silks. The arms and clothes have long since disintegrated, exposing their naked bodies, but the serene facial expressions remain. It is said that these represent a sudden change in the philosophy of Western Han society (206 B.C. – 26 A.D.) which lasted much longer than the Qin due to its focus on agriculture and diplomacy rather than warfare and the relentless pressure on the domestic population. However despite this shift towards Confucian models, Jingdi failed to shake off Qin Shihuangdi’s Taoist quest for immortality or the need to replicate an idealized image of the present world for the afterlife, incorporating realistic models from all elements of society. Objects including pottery court maids, eunuchs, and large numbers of beautifully sculpted animals remain wedged in their original trenches. Much of the site still remains unexplored.