When General Xiang Yu (232-202 B.C.), the self-assumed king of the State of Chu, captured Xianyang, his soldiers set fire to the Qin mausoleum, burning the whole structure to ashes and causing the vaults containing the pottery figures to collapse.

• 项羽(公元前232-前202年)的军队攻破潼关，进入咸阳，一把火使秦陵的建筑化为灰烬，兵马俑坑也随之倒塌被埋。