Zhao Kangmin

Zhao Kangmin (; July 1936 – 16 May 2018) was a Chinese archaeologist best known for discovering and naming the Terracotta Warriors of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, one of the most famous archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. Fragments of the warriors were initially found in 1974 by farmers digging a well, but Zhao was officially credited as the discoverer as he was the first to recognize the significance of the fragments and reconstruct them into life-size statues. He also led or participated in many other excavations and served as a longtime curator of the Lintong Museum.

Early life and career Zhao was born in July 1936. He worked as a farmer but loved history. In 1961, he was assigned to work at the Lintong County Cultural Center (later Lintong Museum). Lintong, just outside of Xi'an, an ancient capital of China, is rich with archaeological sites, but the museum was tiny and Zhao was its only employee in charge of cultural relics and archaeology. He had no formal education in the field, and largely taught himself archaeology and ancient Chinese scripts by reading journals such as Kaogu and Wenwu and studying the sparse collection of the museum. During the Cultural Revolution, when Mao Zedong encouraged the destruction of the Four Olds, the Red Guards destroyed a Qin dynasty statue in the museum, and forced Zhao to publicly criticize himself for "encouraging feudalism". Given the location of the village, which was near the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, Zhao immediately recognized its potential significance. He rushed to the village and was told that the relics had been found 28 days before by local farmers digging a well.

Zhao Kangmin died on 16 May 2018, at the age of 81.