Xin Zhui's body was found within four coffins of decreasing size, with the outermost coffin painted black, the colour of death and the underworld. The other coffins were painted with scenes representing death and rebirth. The third coffin with a red background, the colour of immortality.
On top of the fourth, innermost coffin, a painted silk banner about two meters long was found and yellow and black feathers stuck to the coffin.
It was believed in Chinese culture, that to fly to heaven and become immortal, a person must grow feathers.
The excavators opened the coffin and found the body of a woman, remarkably preserved in some type of liquid.
Xin Zhui's skin was soft, her muscles on her arms and legs could still flex at the joints. Her organs and blood vessels were intact. Type A blood is later found in her veins. There's hair on her head and a wig pined on with a hair clip. Her face has skin, and eyelashes, and a nose.
She now resides at the Hunan Provincial Museum.
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| Xin Zhui also known as Lady Dai, at Hunan Provincial Museum |
