Contemporary Authors

Biographical Notes

Edward Burman was made Visiting Professor at the University of Liverpool in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cultural exchanges between China and the West. He is the Executive Director for China of Mediapolis Engineering Srl, an Italian architecture and engineering practice based in Turin, for which he is now working part-time on a Chinese theatre investment in Venice and other architecture projects.

Edward's most recent of eighteen books was published in a Chinese translation by Shaanxi People's Press in late 2015. It was then published in English in 2016, as Xi'an Through European Eyes: A Cultural History in the Year of the Horse. Since 2016 he has been a Trustee of the Xi'an City Wall Heritage Foundation in which he is the only foreign trustee. He has set up EB Cultural Enterprises Ltd in Hong Kong for his cultural activities.

He has lived in Beijing since 2003.

I was brought up in and around Cambridge, and studied philosophy at university very much in the logico-analytical tradition. My tutor in logic was Peter Geach, who had been a research student under Wittgenstein and married his fellow research student Elizabeth Anscombe, who was one of their mentor’s literary executors and translated several of his works into English (he always referred to her as "Miss" Anscombe). Geach himself wrote on logic, translated Descartes, and was an expert on a disparate range of philosophers from Gottlob Frege to Thomas Aquinas. He died in 2013, at the age of 97. A more unconventional book for a professor of logic - who was also a convert to the Catholic faith - was the collection of papers God and the Soul (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1969), which includes chapters on such arcane topics as ‘Reincarnation’ and ‘On Worshipping the Right God’. An example of the clarity and power of his spoken and written style may be seen in a sentence from that book such as: “It is a savage superstition to suppose that a man consists of two pieces, body and soul, which come apart at death; the superstition is not mended but rather aggravated by conceptual confusion, if the soul-piece is supposed to be immaterial.”

He couldn't be bluffed. He taught me to think.

“
The floating of other men’s opinions in our brains makes us
not one jot the more knowing, though they happen to be true.
— John Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 1689
'Angelino a Tor Margana', a favourite restaurant in Rome in the 1970s (photo digitalised from a print made in 2003).
'Angelino a Tor Margana', a favourite restaurant in Rome in the 1970s (photo digitalised from a print made in 2003).

My intention at that time was to work on a PhD, but instead I went to live in Rome for three years, where I studied art, worked at the university, wrote articles for the local English-language newspaper, and also gave talks and seminars at the British Council. At this time I learned Italian, adding to the French I already knew, and travelled extensively throughout the country - from Palermo to Udine - to visit all the major museums and churches, also working in the summer as a specialised guide in Rome and the most important art galleries in other cities such as Florence and Venice.

From Rome I went to live in Tehran, where I worked as an editor and also taught. Editorial work on such books as a history of seismicity led to travels around the country and I became fascinated by its history and literature. I also travelled extensively in Afghanistan at this time, visiting important historical and cultural sites such as Balkh and Bamiyan. But the turmoil and revolution which brought about the fall of the Shah also eliminated possibilities for me.

The fifteenth century church of San Pietro di Coppito in L'Aquila taken before the 2009 earthquake, with on the left the entrance to the trattoria where I had my first dinner in the city, 'La Lincosta', which remained a favourite place to spend an evening with friends and visitors. Now, alas, destroyed by the earthquake.
The fifteenth century church of San Pietro di Coppito in L'Aquila taken before the 2009 earthquake, with on the left the entrance to the trattoria where I had my first dinner in the city, 'La Lincosta', which remained a favourite place to spend an evening with friends and visitors. Now, alas, destroyed by the earthquake.

The next 20 years or so were spent mainly in Italy. In 1981, I published my first book - although it was not the first one to be written - a short study in Italian of a little-known but interesting fifteenth century sculptor. At that time I lived in the medieval city of L’Aquila, now sadly devastated by the 2009 earthquake, and discovered a still fairly unknown world of castles and remote chapels in the heart of the country. This led to a series of books on occult subjects and Italian culture over the next 20 years, as well as teaching in the universities of L’Aquila and later Bologna.

At the same time I developed business interests and began working in corporate training, and speaking on problems of cultural diversity, mainly for telecoms companies which were then going through the process of internationalisation. This led to consulting about the business use of the Internet at a time - before Amazon and Google were founded - when companies and banks were uncertain how to use this new medium. Telecom engineers had switched me on to Internet before HTML. In the late 90s I became a senior partner in a prestigious Italian consulting company, with offices in Rome and Milan and responsibilities covering the practice concerning Internet and Telecoms. I also became a non-executive director of a London investment company, small but quoted on AIM. At the turn of the century much of my time was devoted to corporate speaking for multinationals, banks and telcos.

This led to a book on the history and the future of Internet published in 2003 in both English and Italian editions (Shift, John Wiley; Internet Nuovo Leviatano, Etas Libri, part of the Rizzoli group). In the same year I moved to Beijing, at first working as the Chief Representative of the consulting company and also for the investment firm, for which in 2006 I set up a Chinese branch company with offices in Beijing and Xi’an. More recently, after travelling widely in China and writing a few books about the country, I’ve dedicated much of my time to the new activity of making documentary films. My most recent completed book is Terracotta Warriors: History, Mystery and the Latest Discoveries which was published in London by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in February 2018. Now I've set up a new company in Hong Kong with the intention of concentrating in the future on books, documentary films and speaking engagements.

From June 2018 I shall be living in Italy again, with new Italian projects in mind.

(unable to copy interview)

QUOTED: "a well-informed examination of ongoing efforts to understand the past."

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KIRKUS REVIEW
Revealing the enduring mysteries surrounding thousands of terra-cotta warriors.

In 1974, after an ancient terra-cotta army was unearthed in northwest China, archaeologists embarked on increasingly sophisticated excavations, uncovering a huge mausoleum built for Qin Shihuang (259-210 B.C.E.), known as China’s first emperor. Its existence, recognized since his death 2,200 years ago, has generated many “legends and rumors” still not resolved even by technologically advanced archaeological research. Offering an up-to-date overview of archaeological findings, Burman (China and Iran: Parallel History, Future Threat? 2009, etc.), the only foreign trustee of the Xi’an City Wall Heritage Foundation, relates the historical context for the construction of the mausoleum and investigates questions about the emperor’s personality, rule, and legacy; prevailing assumptions about the afterlife and efforts at attaining immortality (including burial in a shroud of jade, a material with purported magical powers); and the much-debated role of the warriors. The sprawling mausoleum, writes the author, “was conceived on a scale more massive than any other monument at that stage of human history.” Although archaeologists have identified three main precincts—the pit containing the warriors, the burial chamber and other rooms inside the inner wall, and the surrounding area beyond the wall—much of the structure, lying beneath villages, factories, and roads, remains unknown. The burial site, Burman asserts, “was first and foremost to be conceived as a home,” which for the emperor meant a palace, including a temple and residences for imperial officials and concubines—where, in the afterlife, “the dead would need their favourite objects, as well as things of value, in the other world.” The warriors pose a puzzle: Besides speculating on their function in the mausoleum, scholars question “where the knowledge and inspiration for these lifelike figures came from,” since only miniature statues had been found in earlier tombs and since kilns at the time were too small to fire sculpture of such stature. Based on evidence of Alexander the Great’s campaigns in Asia, some scholars suggest that cultural exchange existed between Greece and China.

A well-informed examination of ongoing efforts to understand the past.

Pub Date: Aug. 7th, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68177-796-2
Page count: 304pp
Publisher: Pegasus
Review Posted Online: May 7th, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1st, 2018

QUOTED: "Burman provides a fascinating look at [the terracotta warriors]."
"Any reader interested in China, ancient history, or archaeology will find this rewarding."

Burman (Xi’an Through European Eyes) places the famed terracotta warriors—more than 8,000 life-size terracotta sculptures depicting the army of the first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, that were buried with him—in historical and cultural context while providing the latest research and thought about them in this accessible and thorough work. After an introduction in which he briefly describes the discovery of the terracotta warriors in 1974 and the subsequent archaeological work on the entire mausoleum complex, Burman divides his text into three segments. In the first, he imagines the life of one of the soldiers in Qin Shihuang’s army who might have inspired the clay figures, then sketches the period, including the first emperor’s life from 259 until 210 BCE. The final section takes a closer look at the manufacture of the various artifacts and current efforts at preservation. The middle section—discussing the mysteries of the terracotta warriors in such chapters as “Who Built the Army, and How?” and “What Were the Warriors For?”—may have the most appeal to general readers. By covering all of these aspects, Burman provides a fascinating look at what has been described as the eighth wonder of the world. Any reader interested in China, ancient history, or archaeology will find this rewarding. Agent: Jessica Purdue, Orion. (Aug.)

QUOTED: "This month, an exhibition opens in Liverpool that features a selection of the terracotta warriors, so Edward Burman’s book on them is timely. It is a serious academic work and not always an easy read. But it does tell us a great deal that is fascinating about the figures and the Emperor who ordered them to be built."

By NICK RENNISON FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 17:43 EDT, 1 February 2018 | UPDATED: 19:22 EDT, 1 February 2018

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HISTORY

TERRACOTTA WARRIORS

by Edward Burman (W&N £25)

One day in March 1974, six brothers named Wang began to dig a well on land they owned in Shaanxi province, China. To their alarm, suddenly a head appeared out of the earth.

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After a brief period of panic, they realised that it was made of terracotta. Shattered limbs and torsos of the same material emerged from the ground as they continued digging.

The brothers Wang had stumbled on one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time — the Terracotta Warriors.

The brothers Wang discovered the Terracotta Warriors (pictured) buried under their land in Shaanxi Province in 1974 +3
The brothers Wang discovered the Terracotta Warriors (pictured) buried under their land in Shaanxi Province in 1974

Some of their more superstitious neighbours feared the worst. They thought the figures were those of demons linked to sickness and burned incense to protect themselves.

Word spread and, soon, the local, and later national, authorities became involved.

Today, more than 2000 terracotta warriors have been revealed and it’s estimated that the total number could be several times that figure. They are part of an ‘army’, which includes 140 battle chariots and nearly 700 horses.

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Since 1979, 90 million Chinese and 15 million foreign visitors have walked through the museum housing the warriors that now stands on what was to have been the Wang brothers’ well.

This month, an exhibition opens in Liverpool that features a selection of the terracotta warriors, so Edward Burman’s book on them is timely.

It is a serious academic work and not always an easy read. But it does tell us a great deal that is fascinating about the figures and the Emperor who ordered them to be built.

Edward Burman reveals the history of the Emperor who ordered the warriors to be built and his obsession with the possibility of an eternal life in a new book +3
Edward Burman reveals the history of the Emperor who ordered the warriors to be built and his obsession with the possibility of an eternal life in a new book

Astonishingly, the vast pits in which they were found are only part (and not the most important part) of an even larger mausoleum complex, which some archaeologists think may cover as much as 100 square kilometres.

It was created to honour Qin Shi Huang, the ‘First Emperor’. In the 3rd century BC, this extraordinary ruler united the six warring states of China into one empire. He built one of the earliest versions of the Great Wall. The very name ‘China’ in Western languages is thought to derive from Qin, the name of his clan.

The First Emperor was a man obsessed by death and the possibility of eternal life. He survived assassination attempts and conspiracies to kill him were regularly thwarted. His palaces were built with secret passages and hidden doors. The emperor’s movements were to be rendered invisible not only to live assassins, but to malign spirits.

What percentage of Emperor Qin’s tomb has been excavated?

1 Percentage of Emperor Qin’s tomb that has so far been excavated

He hated hearing conversations about death. His officials were afraid of even mentioning the word. He sought elixirs that would guarantee eternal life and regularly consulted magicians and alchemists. The irony is that his search for immortality may have led to his early death at the age of 49. Some of the potions he drank contained mercury — it’s possible the First Emperor may have died of mercury poisoning.

He also believed that he would always be the emperor, whether alive or dead. And he was convinced the afterlife would be much like this one.

So, even if all the elixirs failed and he did die, he would need palaces and soldiers and people to serve him. The Terracotta Warriors formed, in the words of one archaeologist, ‘a magic army that would protect his tomb for eternity’.

His companions in the next world were not all made of terracotta. In one area of the funerary complex, a pit was excavated that contained not only horse sculptures, but also the remains of real ones. These were fettered and had probably been buried alive, but it was not just horses that were sacrificed.

One large tomb in the complex contained 20 bodies of women, all around the age of 30. In all likelihood, these were concubines.

TERRACOTTA WARRIORS by Edward Burman (W&N £25) +3
TERRACOTTA WARRIORS by Edward Burman (W&N £25)

Qin Shi Huang may have arranged for large numbers (possibly hundreds) to be buried with him for his sexual pleasure in the afterlife. Given his obsession with secrecy, it also seems probable many of the workmen who laboured to build his actual tomb were killed so that they could not speak of its location.

The existence of the First Emperor’s tomb was always known, but its precise whereabouts were not, until it was identified in the Ming dynasty (around the time of the Italian Renaissance in the West) as being under the mound that was later revealed to be at the centre of the mausoleum complex.

At the time, it would have been unthinkable to excavate it and it still hasn’t been. If and when it is, it may well reveal treasures even more extraordinary than the terracotta warriors.