In 1972, a female corpse that shocked the world was unearthed in Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan Province, and the body was uncorrupted for more than 2,000 years, and the whole body was soft and elastic when it was excavated, like a fresh corpse. This body is the famous Mrs. Xin Chai.
In April 2002, the standard map of the restored face of Xin Chai in the four stages was finally drawn, and for a time the words of "Millennium Beauty", "Oriental Sleeping Beauty", "Lifelike" and other praises came out of nowhere, so people gradually forgot the appearance of Xin Chai's body, and when Xin Chai was mentioned, what appeared in his mind was the following pictures, as well as her famous wax figure.
Standard diagram of the restored face of the 4 stages of Xinchai
But when I thought of this dignified and outstanding lady, this terrible-looking ancient corpse in front of me, I couldn't help but cover my eyes, not daring to look at it.
When I saw this wax statue of Mrs. Xin Chai below, I must be not the only one who had such a thought: Where is this Xin Chai's body come to life? Where is she "Sleeping Beauty"?
Sim chai wax figure
In order to write this article, I consulted a lot of information, risked across the field (industry leaders please spray ~), from the perspective of archaeology and medicine, trying to uncover how the experts see Xin Chai as "vivid".
This is a very interesting article, it is recommended to read the full text.
Cinque in Archaeology
The original meaning of the idiom "lifelike" is to describe the artistic image as very vivid and realistic, as if it were alive. Mrs. Xin Chai is not a work of art, and it is obviously inappropriate to describe it as "lifelike", but we don't have to delve into it, we just need to know that what the overflower wants to express is "Mrs. Xin Chai's body is like when she was alive". Then we just need to find evidence that embodies things like "while alive."
Xin Chai, played by Zuo Xiaoqing in "The Song of Great Han Sorrow"
Following this logic, I found some clues from the excavation report of Tomb No. 1 in Mawangdui. The report describes Xin's body as follows:
It is 154 cm long and weighs 34.3 kg. The form factor is well preserved. The skin is light brownish yellow, moist and elastic. The face is square, the cheekbones are high, and the facial features are clear. ...... True hair is sparse, yellowish black, no white hair. The lower part of the real hair is embellished with wigs, which are made of a bun style.
It can be seen from the keywords of "complete preservation", "clear facial features", "moisturizing and elastic", and "yellow and black real hair" that Xin Chai's body still retains the characteristics of his life at least in appearance.
In "The Lamentation of the Great Han", Zuo Xiaoqing played Xin Chai
However, there are also many dry corpses that still retain the characteristics of their lives in appearance, and there are also many "lifelike" boutiques.
Dry corpses are divided into two types: artificial dry corpses and natural dry corpses. Artificially dried corpses such as the mummies of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt and the "bodhisattvas of the flesh" of Mount Jiuhua in China. Due to the influence of different regional environments and climates, the "color" of natural dried corpses is also different, such as the Loulan female corpse unearthed in Xinjiang 3800 years ago, which can still feel her former beauty when excavated, and she is also known as "Loulan Beauty".
There are countless dried corpses found around the world, but "Loulan Beauty" looks serene, beautiful, well-preserved, is an extremely rare dry corpse, and it is not an exaggeration to say that she is "lifelike".
Restoration of "Lou lan beauty"
Although there are such dry corpses as "Loulan Beauty", its dry corpse characteristics of "gray and dark around, dry skin and flesh, and low belly" are still obvious, and there is still a huge gap with fresh corpses, which is not as close to the fresh corpses as the remains of Mrs. Xin Chai.
Therefore, the same is "beautiful", the closer to the "fresh corpse", the more "lifelike" it is.
Xin Chai, played by Zuo Xiaoqing in "The Song of great Han Sorrow"
The Pursuit of Sin in Medicine
On December 14, 1972, under the instructions of Premier Zhou Enlai, Peng Longxiang, a professor at the Xiangya School of Medicine of Central South University, conducted an autopsy on Xin Chai.
The autopsy report showed that the body not only preserved a complete shape, but also had intact internal organs, a clear structure of blood vessels in the limbs, a well-layered abdominal wall and fascia, and a well-preserved fatty acid part. Bone tissue and cartilage tissue are also well preserved, and the structural form of bone tissue is similar to fresh bone tissue.
Xin Chai Anatomical Medical Report (Topical)
From the professional medical dissection report, it can be concluded that Mrs. Xin chai's internal organs and bones are intact, collagen, fatty acids, connective tissue, cartilage tissue is like a person who has just died, and even chromosomes can be detected.
Xin Chai Anatomical Medical Report (Topical)
The preservation of the remains is so good that it can even be detected that Mrs. Xin Chai may have died of coronary heart disease, and even the medical history can be detected: she suffered from tuberculosis, schistosomiasis, and fractured her arm. Through the gynecological examination, Mrs. Xin Chai also gave birth. Even the blood type A was detected.
Although Lao Rui did not know much about many medical terms, it was certain that this was an extremely rare phenomenon, as the medical report said, "This is very rare in the world's record of the preservation of mortal remains."
Therefore, from an anatomical point of view, Xin Chai's body is very close to the "fresh corpse", which is also an important reason for scholars to feel "lifelike".
Xin Chai, played by Jiang Qinqin in "The Great Han Towel"
In fact, people who understand forensic science can see at a glance that the appearance of Mrs. Xin Chai's body is the phenomenon of "corrupt giant view" that appears 5-7 days after the death of a person, rather than what some people call "instantaneous oxidation" (archaeologists say that they do not carry this pot).
So what is the "corrupt giant view"? The text description may be uncomfortable, interested friends can search for it themselves, or you can directly view the following picture content. But you just need to know that the appearance of Mrs. Xin Chai's body is the initial state of the "Corrupt Giant View".
Forensic Science fragment of the Corrupt Giant View
Forensic Science fragment of the Corrupt Giant View
In ancient times, the deceased generally had to wait until 7 days had passed before they could be buried. But this is not superstition, and the story of "Bian Que Zhi Zhi Yu" is recorded in the "History of Bian Que Cang". It is said that when Bian Que traveled to the kingdom of Yu, he heard that the young prince had just died in the morning, and Bian Que, after some inquiry, determined that the prince was not dead, but faked death. Ordinary people can't distinguish between real death and fake death, but Bian Que, who is skilled in medical skills, quickly judged that the prince was a fake death, so Bian Que saved the prince, and this story was also widely circulated.
Bian Que
Later, it formed a funeral custom of staying for 7 days after the death of a person, on the one hand, it was afraid that the person was suspended, and direct burial would make him lose his last vitality. On the other hand, during these 7 days, the family can also have plenty of time to arrange the aftermath.
And these 7 days coincide with the emergence time of the phenomenon of "corrupt giant view". Therefore, it can be speculated that before Xin Chai was buried, there was already a phenomenon of "corrupt giant view", and since the time of burial, after more than 2,000 years, it has basically maintained the appearance of the burial.
Therefore, it is not too much to say that more than 2,000 years later, we can travel through time and space, look at the appearance of our ancestors, and say "lifelike".
Xin Chai, played by Zuo Xiaoqing in "The Song of Great Han Sorrow"
epilogue
From the perspective of anatomy and forensic science, we know that the cause of death of Mrs. Xin Chai is very likely to die suddenly, and after burial, the burial chamber is supported by white plaster mud and charcoal partitions, forming a closed space with good water absorption and waterproofing. Coupled with the protection of multiple layers of coffins, more than a dozen layers of fabrics, and the antiseptic effect of the unknown liquid in the coffin, mrs. Xin Chai's body stayed in a state of 5-7 days after her death, and maintained in this state for more than 2,000 years.
Compared with other types of remains such as dry corpses, tanned corpses, wax corpses, frozen corpses, etc., Xin Chai has become a unique archaeological and medical miracle in the world so far with its almost perfect preservation state, and experts use "lifelike" and "sleeping beauty" to describe it, which is not very outrageous.
Lao Rui believes that Mrs. Xin Chai must have been a graceful and luxurious beauty before she was born, and her encounter with us through thousands of years is also the best gift given to us by modern medicine and forensic science.
concern
@Old Rui Tomb Visit Notes
Don't get lost.
Resources:
Hunan Provincial Museum (1973) Mawangdui No. 1 Han Tomb in Changsha
Baojie Wang, 2001, Forensic Science, Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House