A Chinese history academic is refuting the modern interpretation of the First Emperor's terracotta army, saying the figures are servants and bodyguards, instead of warriors as many people believe.

"The clay figures should be taken as copies of the emperor's guards and servants," said Liu Jiusheng, associate professor of history at Shaanxi Normal University. "Their layout in the pits, with chariots and horses, represented grand ceremonies with the emperor's presence."

Many people believe the 2,200-year-old terracotta army, buried around the mausoleum of Qin Dynasty's first emperor about 35 km east of Xi'an, indicated the emperor had wanted the clay warriors to help him rule in the afterlife.

The army is known to most Chinese people as the "terracotta warriors and horses".

Liu, an expert on Qin (221-207 B.C.) history who has been studying the terracotta army for more than 20 years, ruled out the hypothesis.

"It's against the Chinese tradition and value systems to bury clay warriors in imperial mausoleums -- the Chinese traditionally value peace in the afterlife," Liu said.

In his April, 2009, publication on terracotta research, Liu said the clay figures were most likely modeled after imperial court officials, servants and bodyguards, all of whom were people of high social status. "Men of humble origin or ordinary soldiers couldn't have got so close to the emperor, even in his mausoleum."

The army was buried near the main entrance to the mausoleum, which was off-limits to all except high-ranking officials, bodyguards and close servants, Liu said.

The clay figures stand at an average height of 190 cm, much taller than the Chinese average in history and even today. "The real people might not be that tall. They were probably made taller to show their status," he said.

Liu's argument is still not widely accepted, but offers a new angle to terracotta studies, said Prof. Duan Qingbo, a renowned historian at Xi'an-based Northwest University.

"Thirty-five years after the terracotta army was discovered, we are still exploring new areas and perspectives," said Prof. Duan.

The terracotta army was discovered in Lintong county near Xi'an in 1974 by peasants who were digging a well.

More than 1,000 life-size figures were found, representing the Emperor's army of officials, horses, chariots. archers and musicians. No two figures in the army are alike. Each of the sand-colored statues has a different facial expression and hairstyle, and craftsmen are believed to have modeled them after real men.

The discovery, listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO since December 1987, has turned Xi'an, capital of the northwestern Shaanxi Province, into one of the nation's major tourist attractions.

(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2009)