Page "Terracotta Army" Paragraph 6

According to historian Sima Qian ( 145 – 90 BC ), work on this mausoleum began in 246 BC soon after Emperor Qin ascended the throne ( then aged 13 ), and the full construction later involved 700, 000 workers.

Geographer Li Daoyuan, six centuries after the death of the First Emperor, recorded in Shui Jing Zhu that Mount Li was a favoured location due to its auspicious geology: "... famed for its jade mines, its northen side was rich in gold, and its southern side rich in beautiful jade ; the First Emperor, covetous of its fine reputation, therefore chose to be buried there ".

Sima Qian, in his most famous work, Shiji, completed a century after the mausoleum completion, wrote that the First Emperor was buried with palaces, towers, officials, valuable artefacts and wonderful objects.

According to this account, there were 100 rivers simulated with flowing mercury, and above them the ceiling was decorated with heavenly bodies below which were the features of the land.

Some translations of this passage refer to " models " or " imitations ," those words however weren't used in the original text with no mention of the terracotta army.