Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY
IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I
generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family
rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to
write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration
(quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind.
These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat,
irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if
anything comes of them.
H Trope: Terracotta
Army (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army
Current Event: https://www.chinaeducationaltours.com/guide/topic-terracotta-army-top-mysteries.htm
“In the late years of the Qin Dynasty the country was in total upheaval. The
legions of the capital garrison, which are the archetypes of the Terracotta
Warriors, were disbanded. It is said that they joined other troops to chase and
hunt General Xiang Yu, the supreme leader who led the conquest of the Qin
capital. There are also rumors that the troops turned into the Terracotta
Warriors. Of course, such superstitions are mentioned today just to add some
mysterious charms to the terracotta figures.”
I know this is
just a wiki, but this idea was inspired by a former student of mine who became
a physics teacher and is currently teaching in China. He visited this site
several weeks ago and has posted pictures on Facebook. His pictures of this
army came up recently and though I couldn’t link directly to his Facebook, go to the Wiki article above…
It got me thinking
– if there are some 8000 pieces (and about as many are still buried)…what if
the mother of a teenager was working as part of an international team and uncovered
something unusual (not that a standing army of 16,000 horses, soldiers,
acrobats and various and sundry other “people” isn’t unusual enough!) What if
she discovered a unique figure, say a woman who has been knocked down and is
crying out in terror, with her arm upraised as a man draws back a spear and is
obviously about to run her through…is there a curse on this piece that comes to
haunt the teen and their mom? Or is it case for a forensic anthropologist (or
would it be, more appropriately a forensic terracottaist) and was a MURDER
involved which someone commemorated? Who did the commemorating, who was the
perpetrator – and what if it had a connection to the present?
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