The Warrior Emperor, along with China’s Terracotta Army, is currently on display at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). The exhibit brings together nearly 250 artifacts and includes 10 life-sized terracotta figures from the pits of the First Emperor’s Terracotta Army.

Dr. Chen Shen, Bishop White Chair of East Asian Archaeology, and senior curator, Department of World Cultures, selected the exhibit for the ROM’s engagement, as well as its Canadian tour.

“None of these artifacts were featured in U.S. tours during 2009 and 2010,” said Dr. Shen.  “There are also many objects from recent archaeological sites in the First Emperor’s tomb complex and royal palaces.”

Dr. Shen added that one of the masterpieces is the earliest wall painting from one of palaces being recently excavated and that one-third of the ROM’s artifacts have never been publicly displayed anywhere in China.

Since joining the ROM in 1997, Dr. Shen has spent several months a year doing fieldwork and research in China. In an interview with The Underground, he spoke about the complexity of preserving and selecting for this collection.

“The process, from archaeological excavation to the preservation of the collection, takes years to complete”, he said. “The artifacts chosen to be displayed need to fit the storyline developed for the ROM exhibition The development of an exhibition of this calibre takes more than two years, but research on the storyline is even longer.”

For Dr. Chen, the emperor merits critical interest owing to his legacy to China.

“He unified China and ended 500 years of war, leading to peace for the next 500 years,” he said.

The exhibit runs until January 2, and according to Dr. Shen, one of the central attractions is a full-sized terracotta warrior.

“The painted kneeling archer is the must-see piece, as its original colours have been preserved.  As well, it has never left China prior to the ROM’s exhibition,” he explained.  Other highlights include the full-size tomb gate and coloured wall painting.

The ROM provides all full-time post-secondary students in Canada free admission to the museum on Tuesdays.  Admission to this exhibition is $7.