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| | The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huangdi |
 | | Ascending to the throne of his clan, the Qin, at the age of 13 in 246 BCE, Shi Huangdi immediately began construction of his extraordinary mausoleum which was completed soon after his death in 210 BCE, 36 years after the work commenced. |
 | | Shi Huangdi was becoming increasingly more maniacal near his death, and wanted an potion that would allow him to rule as a divine emperor (convinced of his deification) forever. |
 | | The although the tomb itself is, according to legend, very elaborate and beautiful, the center piece of Shi Huangdi's mausoleum is the terra-cotta army of approximately 8,000 life-sized men and horses. |
| www.utexas.edu /courses/wilson/ant304/biography/arybios98/smithbio.html (799 words) |
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