An Autopsy 2,100 Years Postmortem
In 1972, archaeologists excavating a hill near Changsha, China, uncovered the Western Han dynasty tomb of Xin Zhui, the Marquise of Dai, who died around 168 BCE. The tomb itself was a structure, with its cypress plank construction layered in white clay and charcoal to control moisture. Xin Zhui was found inside the smallest of four nested and lacquered pine boxes, wrapped in 18 to 20 layers of silk and linen fabric. Her body was immersed in about 21 gallons of a mysterious, reddish, acidic fluid that contained salt and magnesium.
The state of preservation was so complete that on December 14, 1972, pathologists from the Hunan Provincial Medical Institute were able to conduct a full autopsy. Her skin was still moist and elastic, her joints could be moved, and her soft tissues were intact. Veins in her arm still contained congealed Type A blood. The examination revealed a woman about 50 years old who suffered from a range of ailments common to a sedentary, wealthy lifestyle. She had arteriosclerosis, coronary thrombosis, and gallstones, one of which lodged in her bile duct. The immediate cause of death was a massive heart attack. Her stomach contents showed her last meal, consumed just a few hours before she died, included melon. Pathologists counted 138 melon seeds in her digestive tract.
A Library for the Afterlife
The Mawangdui tombs belonged to a family: Li Cang, the Marquis of Dai and Chancellor of the Changsha Kingdom; his wife, Xin Zhui; and a male presumed to be their son. While Li Cang's tomb (Tomb 2) had been looted, the other two contained many artifacts. Tomb 1, Xin Zhui's, held over 1,400 items, including 162 wooden servant figurines, complex lacquerware for cosmetics and meals, and over 100 silk garments.
Tomb 3, belonging to the son who died in 168 BCE, held a collection of ancient knowledge. It contained a wealth of texts written on silk and bamboo slips, totaling around 120,000 words. These Mawangdui Silk Texts include the earliest known copies of philosophical works like the Tao Te Ching and the I Ching. The medical manuscripts are important. They show what may be the oldest surviving anatomical atlas, describing eleven "meridians" or pathways in the body that correspond to physical structures like veins. One text, Wushi'er Bingfang (Prescriptions for Fifty-Two Ailments), details 283 medical prescriptions for 103 different conditions, mixing practical remedies with shamanistic incantations. The tomb also held three silk maps showing topography, military deployments, and prefectures, which were the oldest maps in China at the time of their discovery.