Another crucial issue on which scholars disagree is whether the vault has been looted. Only three years after Qin Shihuangdi was entombed, his vast empire collapsed. Construction of his mausoleum and the Great Wall, and the maintenance of a huge army to guard the far-flung border regions, had taxed and impoverished the country's peasants, who under the leadership of Xiang Yu rose up and marched on the Qin capital. According to Sima Qian, Xianyang was burned and the tomb was looted. A wish is a wish.
Reality is reality.
It is better to keep it that way. Museum head Yuan holds a different opinion. The layers of earth appear to be in order. If an army had looted the tomb, everything would be in chaos, he says, adding that there is evidence of only two minor attempts to reach the tomb. If Xiang Yu's soldiers had opened the tomb, they would have been poisoned, and the mercury would have evaporated.