Awash in Culture

I’m enrolled in Summer School and one of the classes is World Civ. The sadistic professor believes we will get more out of the class by submersing ourselves in the cultures we are studying. To that end, I must visit FIVE exhibits at local museums and write a short essay on each before August 5.

I took the train to the Museum of Fine Arts yesterday at lunch (Thursdays are FREE). There are some really old pieces that totally impressed and a bunch of other crap I couldn’t care less about.

I plan on seeing the Terra Cotta warriors at the HMNS and the Forbidden Gardens in Katy. Both exhibits are based on ancient Chinese secret….I mean, history. The first emperor of China, a dude named Qin, was a pretty rough character in life so he worried about what would happen in the afterlife. He had between 6,000 and 8,000 life-size terra cotta soldiers made and buried with him in his tomb. The exhibit at HMNS features some of the actual statues that were excavated. In all actuality, Qin wasn't as bad as some other ancient rulers. They actually had their servants buried with them - alive.

The Forbidden Gardens have replicated the entire terra cotta army – all 6,000 warriors – in 1/3 scale. I’m stoked to see 6,000 2-foot tall warriors. They have also re-created the Imperial City in 1/20 scale. Should be pretty cool.