Hunan Provincial Museum and the Han Tombs at Mawangdui

Lichang was Prime Minister to the King of Changsha between 193 and 186 BC. No.1 tomb is the wife of Hou Lichang, her name was Xinzui.No.2 tomb is Hou Lichang. No.3 tomb is the son of Hou Lichang, and the three tombs were built successively, and the time distance is over twenty years. Each body was contained in a set of coffins, one inside another. The bodies, considering their age, remain in very good condition, especially the Marquis's wife, Xinzhui, who died in 186 BC. The reason for her preservation was the body, that was wrapped in over 20 layers of silk and linen, a triple layered wooden sarcophagus, that was sealed with charcoal and white peat, and a tomb, that was lined with clay and charcoal.At present ,the West-Han-Female-Body was kept perfect and its skin still had flexibility,Archaeologists found melon seeds in her stomach. The cultural relics unearthed in the tombs were quite abundant such as silk book, silk picture, bamboo slips, and lacquer, silk, wood objects, porcelain and medicine. The unearthed cultural relics were exhibited in Hunan Museum.

Among many other remarkable finds, a painted T-shaped silk funerary banner, a so-called spirit robe, was laid over the innermost coffin. The banner has a cord, which may indicate that it was carried in a funerary procession before being draped over the coffin. Since silk is a perishable material, the discovery of a silk painting with well-preserved ink and brilliant color designs near 2,200 years old was a major event, matched by only a very few other painted silks of comparable age.The Xinzhui can now be viewed in the basement, partially unwrapped and preserved in a liquid-filled Perspex tank. Her organs are in separate jars.