"Because they are dealing with something that will not return, the bloody years of the [French] Revolution have turned into mere words, theories, and discussions, have become lighter than feathers, frightening no one."
The above quote from Czech writer Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being comes to mind as one watches the publicity surrounding the exhibition of Qin Shi Huang's (
The exhibition opened in mid-December with extensive TV coverage featuring a terra-cotta warrior draped in a Santa Claus suit, a perfect costume in the run up to Christmas. Then came the "First Emperor's Soldier" (
A brief look at history: Qin Shi Huang waged ferocious wars against rival states and built the first empire of China around 220BC. Apart from wartime ferocity, the first emperor was also an ardent practitioner of legalism (
Had the first emperor lived and performed his feats in the 20th century instead of antiquity, perhaps visitors would have found the exhibition as distasteful as Jewish people would find a carnival featuring Adolf Hitler, or Taiwan's White Terror victims would find a Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) Mardi Gras. But perhaps it does not matter anymore because it all happened so long ago, and to other people. Perhaps the terror that descended on the courtiers, concubines and artisans who were buried alive along with the corpse of their emperor has indeed become lighter than a feather.
Visitors at the museum are greeted by a glittering Christmas tree adorned with miniature terra-cotta warriors spreading their snow-white angel wings. The entire show is full of references to the power of the first emperor, the technological sophistication of Qin artisans and the military prowess of Qin warriors. But the very purpose behind the making of the clay toys is explained in one perfunctory line: they are "human-shaped figures to be buried along with the dead."
Qin Shi Huang spent a tremendous amount of state resources building a tomb for himself and a make-believe terra-cotta army to escort him into the afterlife. He also launched an obsessive search for an elixir that would give him eternal life, while at the same time building his enormous tomb. This sad story of a bloated ego is described as follows at the exhibition in Chinese: "This beautiful dream [of eternal life] even extended to life after death, as best attested to by the terra-cotta warriors .?" The other horrors perpetrated by Qin Shi Huang -- his massacre of Confucian intellectuals, and burning of Confucian texts -- are given brief accounts near the end of the exhibition layout, illustrated by cute-looking cartoons and explained in print too small to catch the attention of most passing viewers.
Perhaps the show's organizers are driven by profit, or perhaps they want to educate the Taiwanese about the glories of Chinese civilization. But the question is: should they celebrate a man who is the very epitome of tyranny as though he were Santa Claus? Beyond its archeological value, is the first emperor's legacy really a selling point for Chinese culture and civilization? By downplaying the bloody aspects of the Qin dynasty, the show's organizers are distorting the public perception of history, a slant that appears especially ironic at the National Museum of History. It is fine to advertise the glories of Chinese civilization, but its ugly side should also be highlighted equally. In fact, the first emperor is the worst role model possible for China's unification with Taiwan, if that is what the organizers have in mind.
The Qin dynasty has long gone to dust. But the same desires and fears that drove the first emperor still drive many contemporary dictators. How can we be so sure that he will not return? By promoting a despot to nearly the status of a hero, we may be flirting with a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Aye Nge is a freelance writer based in Taipei.
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