Yang Zhifa
{{Short description|Discoverer of the Terracotta Army statues}}
{{family name hatnote|Yang|lang=Chinese}}
File:Xi' An lo Scopritore delle Tombe.JPG
Yang Zhifa ({{lang|zh|杨志发}}, born 1933) is one of the discoverers of the Terracotta Army. For many years, he worked in a small souvenir shop within the museum of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, where he was signing books sold to the tourists.
Biography
= Discovery =
On 23 March 1974,{{cite web|url=http://french.china.org.cn/culture/archives/patrimoinemondial/txt/2006-11/24/content_2257166.htm|title=Le tombeau de Qin Shihuangdi et son armée en terre cuite|website=french.china.org.cn}} Yang Zhifa, 41 years old, living in Xiyang, a village of the Lintong county{{cite web|url=http://houston.china-consulate.org/eng/zt/c60a0p/t608188.htm|title=Living with the Terra-cotta Army|website=houston.china-consulate.org}} {{convert|35|km|mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} east from the city of Xi'an,{{cite web|url=https://fr.euronews.com/2012/06/09/chine-nouvelle-decouverte-dans-le-mausolee-de-qin|title=Chine : nouvelle découverte dans le mausolée de Qin|date=9 June 2012|website=euronews}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/25/world/clinton-in-china-the-antiquities-2-tales-of-who-found-terra-cotta-men.html|title=CLINTON IN CHINA: THE ANTIQUITIES; 2 Tales of Who Found Terra-Cotta Men|first=Seth|last=Faison|date=25 June 1998|via=NYTimes.com}} decided, in the middle of a drought, to dig a well with his five brothers — Yang Wenhai, Yang Yanxin, Yang Quanyi, Yang Peiyan and Yang Xinman — and Wang Puzhi{{cite web|url=https://soldatsterracottaqinshihuang.wordpress.com/tag/1974/|title=1974 - Les Soldats en terre cuite de Qin Shi Huang|first=Par|last=archeomichelet}} to water their crops. They chose a small wooded area south of their village; five days later, the well reached {{convert|15|m|ft}} in depth and, bringing up dirt, Zhifa found a terracotta head and a bronze arrowhead.
= Rewards =
Immediately, he informed authorities of his discovery; they dispatched a team of archeologists to the site. The government offered him 300 yuan as a reward, equivalent to his annual salary. He was then evicted from his 167 square meters (1800 sq. ft.) of property with the other villagers for archeologic and touristic needs, but was granted land in Qinyong, a neighboring village. When the site became accessible to the public, he was hired by the museum, in which he signed books in a souvenir shop, six days a week, from 9 am to 5 pm, for a salary of CNY 300 per month, which increased to CNY 1000 after retirement. The official {{MoMP|267017|naming citation}} was published by the Minor Planet Center on 5 October 2017 ({{small|M.P.C. 106504}}).
References
{{reflist|30em|refs=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Zhifa}}