The City of Xianyang: A Tapestry of Power and Labor

While the First Emperor’s terracotta warriors and grand palaces dominate modern imaginations, the true heartbeat of Qin’s capital lay in its anonymous laborers—the “Black-Headed People” (黔首). Archaeological excavations of Xianyang’s commoner cemeteries reveal a city built not just by imperial decree, but by migrants, convicts, and artisans whose stories survive only through their graves.

Divided by the Wei River like the palace districts, southern and northern burial grounds tell contrasting tales. The southern zone’s 820+ graves near the LeBaishi Food Company site yielded five extraordinary ceramic molds for crafting belt ornaments—artifacts that whisper of cultural collisions between agrarian China and the steppe nomads.

Belt Hooks and Cultural Crossroads: The Steppe Connection

These molds produced intricate metal plaques depicting life-and-death animal combat scenes, identical to artifacts found along the Great Wall and across Mongolia to Siberia. Belonging to the “Northern Bronze Culture,” they connect to the hybridized “three-pronged swords” and golden camel figurines from Qin Shihuang’s mausoleum—tangible proof of Eurasian exchange routes predating the Silk Road.

One mold particularly captivates: it shows a tender scene of a woman in nomadic dress (round-collar tunic, pleated skirt) embracing a child holding a woolen ball. When shown to students, someone exclaimed “She looks like Ulatoa!”—invoking the Mongolian “Eej” (mother). This wasn’t imported exotica; the molds prove Xianyang hosted enough steppe dwellers to sustain local production of their cultural items, challenging assumptions about Qin’s isolationism.

The Elder’s Cane: Qin’s Unexpected Welfare State

A 66cm bronze-topped staff from Chan River graves sparks debate. Too short for walking aids, its animal-headed finial (neither bear nor boar) and solar motifs suggest ceremonial use. Could this relate to Qin’s elder-care policies? Han Dynasty records credit Liu Bang with instituting “dove staffs” for seniors, but Qin may have pioneered such practices:
– Exempted 70+ year-olds from criminal punishment (as per Liji)
– Guaranteed silk clothing for 50+, meat for 70+ (Mencius)
– Established local “Three Elders” positions

The staff’s owner might have been a community leader mediating between Qin officials and migrants—a role crucial in this demographic melting pot.

Migration Waves: The Builders of Empire

Excavations at Banpo and Matengkong sites reveal Xianyang’s layered settlement:
1. Pioneers (Pre-350 BCE): Qin loyalists awaiting capital relocation
2. Chu Immigrants (Warring States): Their distinctive “column-foot tripods” appear in household caches
3. Convict Laborers: Rapid-fill cemeteries like Ta’erpo (300+ burials in 15 years) contrast with slower-developed sites

The northern burial zone’s 2,000+ graves showcase Qin’s forced migrations. Five famous horseback-riding figurines wear distinct Central Asian attire, matching Scythian artifacts exhibited in Berlin—while cooking vessels (Chu tripods, Ba-Shu cauldrons, Rong footed pots) testify to culinary diversity in workers’ quarters.

Legacy of the Unseen: Why Commoners Matter

These findings revolutionize our understanding of Qin unification:
1. Cultural Blending: Xianyang was no monoculture; steppe, Chu, and Shu influences coexisted
2. Labor Systems: Convicts and migrants formed an early “precariat” workforce
3. Social Welfare: Elder-care policies suggest sophisticated administrative thinking

As modern China revisits its Qin roots through projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, these commoners’ graves remind us that empires rise not just on the backs of warriors—but through the quiet toil of nameless builders, the cultural adaptability of migrants, and the overlooked compassion in ancient bureaucracies. The true Great Wall wasn’t just stone and mortar; it was built by people who carried their homelands in belt ornaments and cooking pots.