Hi everyone! My name is Yuwei, and I'm a senior major in computer science. I enjoy meditation and jogging, and I feel like my soul is in a state of peace and happiness when I'm immersed in it.
I grew up in Xi'an, China. The city used to be the capital of the Tang Dynasty. Since Tang is commonly known as the Golden Age of China, history is the name card of our city. We take the places of interest as precious gifts and carefully preserve them, including the Terra-Cotta Warriors (it is a giant mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang), the Big Wild Goose Pagoda (it was built in Tang and used to collect Buddhist materials taken from India by the most famous monk Xuanzang), 8.5 miles of city walls built in 1378, and so on.
My dream travel destinations are Egypt and India. I want to touch the great stones of the pyramids, to feel the connection with the great old ancestors. I want to go to Bodh Gaya to see how Gautama Buddha became enlightened under the Bodhi tree.
In my opinion, learning history can help me understand one of the most important questions in my life, "Where do we come from?". Thanks to modern technology, we can break through time and space constraints more easily than ever before! It is fascinating to know how we’ve gone from primitive men to the agricultural revolution, to the age of empires, and today’s industrial society. I believe “Histories make us wise”,and I'm looking forward to diving into it this semester!
Terra Cotta Warriors
Big Wild Goose Pagoda (in the middle of the picture) and the square
City Walls. (The lantern show will take place on the city wall during the spring festivals.)
Reply:
Hello Yuwei! Thank you for mentioning the terra cotta warriors. I saw the exhibit of some of them in Washington D.C. back in 2010. I remember that the "musicians" that accompanied the emperor's troops looked so lifelife, I had to look twice!
Here's an article:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/terra-cotta-soldiers-on-the-march-30942673/
But I didn't know about the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Thanks for the information and the great photos!
- Dr. Hook