Many people are curious about artifacts because they have witnessed a history longer than our lifetime.
So whenever an ancient tomb is found somewhere, people are very much looking forward to what it has in it, and who is buried forever.
The so-called cultural relics do not just refer to objects, and a female corpse excavated in 1972 from 2,000 years ago attracted widespread attention at the time.
At that time, many people felt novel, and rushed to the Hunan Museum to view the female corpse, and the number of daily visitors could reach tens of thousands.
Where did this female corpse come from?
In front of the main entrance of the Hunan Provincial Museum
What did the female corpse go through before the autopsy?
What is the significance of her excavation?
No one dared to dissect her, but Mr. Peng Longxiang said, "I will take the main knife."
What is Peng Longxiang's identity?
For this body that no one dared to dissect the 2000-year-old female corpse, what was the situation of Peng Longxiang's main knife dissection?
Peng Longxiang
Where did the female corpse come from?
Since the female corpse was reported in the news, people have rushed to the museum to see the real face, what is her origin?
It can attract so much attention.
In 1972, a military hospital on the outskirts of Changsha City, Hunan Province, planned to implement the policy of "digging deep holes, accumulating grain extensively, and not seeking hegemony" and began to dig air raid shelters to reserve grain.
However, in the process of excavating the air raid shelter, a strange phenomenon was found: when the hole was punched, a cool air came out of the hole, and the staff poured water into the hole and found that the water not only did not sink but actually splashed out!
Excavation site
This strange phenomenon attracted local attention, so the military hospital reported it to the local government, which observed and studied it.
When it was ready, archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Hunan Provincial Museum excavated the tomb, which was named "Mawangdui Han Tomb" because it was located in Mawangdui Street next to the Liuyang River in the eastern suburb of Furong District, Changsha City, Hunan Province.
Excavations revealed three tombs, and the woman's body was located in Tomb No. 1.
A painted lacquered coffin of Zhudi unearthed from Tomb No. 1
According to the investigation, it was further found that this tomb pile has a lot of history, and it is the burial place of the Licang family of changsha in the early Western Han Dynasty.
The real identity of this female corpse is Xin Chai, the wife of Li Cang, the minister of Changsha.
Xin Chai's status is noble, and when Xin Chai's body was unearthed during the excavation, he was wearing 20 layers of silk clothes, which are first-class cultural relics and can be called national treasures.
It can be seen that this female corpse is noble, so it stimulates the curiosity of the masses.
The uncorrupted corpse of Xin Chai
Twists and turns! What did the female corpse of Mawangdui go through before the autopsy?
Although I was not able to participate in the history of the Western Han Dynasty as a modern person, I had the opportunity to see the remains of the Western Han nobles, and it was very proud to say it, so when it was placed in the Hunan Museum as an exhibit, many people from all over the country rushed to it.
When he learned that the female corpse had not been properly disposed of, Premier Zhou ordered that the study of the female corpse must be carried out immediately.
When the mawangdui female corpse was first excavated, it was sent to the Hunan Museum, and the people who came to see it were endless, and the museum issued more than a thousand tickets every day, and the fixed number of visits every day made other people dissatisfied.
Mrs. Xin Chai's wax figure of about 37 years old is restored
Even if the museum adds a lot of security measures, it still can't stop the enthusiasm of the audience.
In addition, there are rumors that the female corpse will soon be transferred to the central government, resulting in an increasing number of people crowding in front of the museum every day, so it is difficult to study it.
In addition to the excessive enthusiasm of the crowd, the research was also hindered by the scene when the Mawangdui female corpse was unearthed, which was a little strange, because most of the female corpse was soaked in a slightly reddish solution when it was excavated, and it was wrapped in 20 layers of silk clothing.
Excavation process of the Mawangdui Han Tomb
At that time, the mainland had limited understanding of this aspect, and the researchers did not see the true face of the female corpse, maintaining a skeptical and unappreciated attitude, and the research was temporarily shelved.
The difficulty in dissecting the female corpse is not only that the masses are extremely enthusiastic, but also that the weather in Hunan is humid and hot, and there was no ice chamber at that time, which was not conducive to the preservation of the corpse.
So the Hunan government discussed and decided to store the female body in the teaching building of the medical school and place it in a room where radioactive material was leaked and no one dared to approach it.
Photographs of Tomb No. 1 of Mawangdui were excavated at that time
After the body was placed, the Hunan Provincial Party Committee immediately reported to the central government for the next step, and Premier Zhou, who was seriously ill, felt very sorry for this treatment and asked the Hunan Museum to immediately transfer the female body and perform an autopsy.
After receiving instructions in Hunan, the female body was quietly transferred one night in early June 1972 and the glass coffin was refilled with embalming liquid.
The museum also posted a notice claiming that the female corpse had been transported to Beijing overnight, and in order to confirm this statement, the museum opened its doors for the public to inspect, and the storm finally came to an end.
Restoration of different ages
Peng Longxiang took the initiative to ask Miao to dissect the corpse, how was the dissection?
MaWangdui female corpse half of the body was soaked in solution, the body was also wrapped in multiple layers of clothing, dissection is quite difficult, no one dares to dissect it, for fear of mistakes, can not pay the responsibility.
However, Peng Longxiang bravely stood up and asked for the main knife, so what was the situation of the dissection?
First of all, the whole body is soaked in red solution, which is "coffin liquid".
According to the test results, this "coffin liquid" is actually toxic, which has many Chinese medicine ingredients, but also contains the substance cinnabar.
cinnabar
Cinnabar contains two toxic substances, arsenic and mercury, and at the same time it is red in itself, so it appears red, and there is a reason why it is difficult to start.
Secondly, the Mawangdui female corpse is the first "wet corpse" found in modern times, which is different from the Egyptian mummy, so every move to dissect the Mawangdui female corpse will be concerned by the world, so many researchers do not have this risk.
However, Peng Longxiang took the initiative to ask Miao to apply for the main knife.
At that time, Peng Longxiang was 40 years old and had certain anatomical experience, and had performed more than 200 autopsy surgeries in his career.
Scene of the 1972 Millennium Female Cadaver Autopsy
As a doctor, Peng Longxiang is well aware of the value of this dissection, he is eager to participate in this dissection, but also shouldered the responsibility, before the operation alone, he designed 108 anatomical protocols, and strived to preserve the female corpse in the results achieved.
Peng Longxiang recalled the feeling of dissecting the first knife and said that the female corpse was well preserved, and it could be seen that it was a woman of about 50 years old, and it was only more difficult than the fresh corpse when cutting the surface of the skin.
Do not rot female corpses
After the preliminary dissection of the female corpse, Peng Longxiang was relieved, because the internal organs of the female corpse were very well preserved, and even there were food residues in the intestine, which was very conducive to the study of the pathology of the ancients.
Peng Longxiang carefully removed the internal organs of the female corpse and preserved them for follow-up research.
In the pathological anatomy examination, it was found that Xin Chai suffered from a variety of diseases before his death, such as coronary heart disease, multiple cholelithiasis, systemic atherosclerosis, and tuberculosis in the upper right lung.
At the same time, she had a variety of eggs in her body: whipworm eggs, pinworm eggs and schistosomiasis eggs.
Melon seeds
According to the judgment, Xin Chai should have died of a heart attack.
Because she still had melon seeds in her body, death was sudden.
These studies help us understand the ancient pathological history, and the Mawangdui female corpse Xin Chai is undoubtedly a priceless treasure of the mainland.
Ma Wangdui female corpse Xin Chai
What contribution did the research findings on the female corpse of Mawangdui contribute?
Since the excavation of the Mawangdui female corpse, it has implied that unlike other ancient corpses, no corpse can be preserved so well, she is a miracle that can be vividly lived in the world after more than two thousand years, what contribution and significance does the mainland have to the world for the study of the Mawangdui female corpse?
Its medical value is self-evident, through the anatomical analysis of the female corpse of Mawangdui Xin Chai, a new field of medicine was discovered and explored, and Peng Longxiang also became one of the leading figures in the ancient pathological history by studying the corpse of Xin Chai.
Schistosomiasis eggs
As mentioned above, Mrs. Xin Chai had schistosomiasis eggs in her body, which was first discovered in Japan in 1904, and this discovery was directly advanced more than 2,000 years ago!
Breaking this record is difficult.
Japan has repeatedly asked the mainland to obtain the hair of the female corpse, and genetic secrecy based on the mainland has not been provided to the outside world.
The study of mawangdui female corpse is helpful to the preservation of corpses in mainland research, and provides extremely important scientific data for the ancient histology, paleopathology, ancient disease history and the history of Chinese medicine development in the mainland.
The original site of the Mawangdui Han Tomb
In addition to the great contribution of the female corpse of Mawangdui, the most important thing is the cultural system of Mawangdui, and all the objects in it vividly show the dynastic background of the Western Han Dynasty at that time.
The excavation of Mawangdui began in 1972 more than 30 years ago, of which more than 3,000 cultural relics were excavated, and most of the cultural relics were well preserved due to the unique geographical environment of the Mawangdui tomb.
The artifacts inside are enough for generations of us to study.
Partial lacquered wood artifacts excavated from Tomb No. 1
With the development of science and technology and the improvement of human understanding, the puzzle of Mawangdui will continue to improve, and it will surely have more cultural achievements to benefit mankind.