Ancient China: a crossroads to the world

As mummies are to ancient Egypt, so the terracotta army is to ancient Chinaa way to make the mysterious past tangible to modern eyes. Since more than 7,000 life-size terracotta warriors were first discovered in 1974 in three burial pits less than a mile from the funerary compound of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (reigned 221-210BC), they have surprised and dazzled the world. Now, a group of them are in New York.The exhibition Age of Empires: Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties at the M