Archaeologists Found Someone They Never Expected in an Ancient Chinese Tomb: a Blonde Man
A tomb discovered in Taiyuan from the 8th century features murals in the “figures under the tree” style.
The multiple scenes depicted throughout the tomb show daily life during the Tang dynasty.
One image includes a man with blond hair and western dress, likely an influence from the Silk Road trading route.
A Tang dynasty tomb decorated with colorful murals is providing a new glimpse into daily life in China during the 8th century. Most interestingly, the murals show signs of Western influence, particularly the inclusion of a blond, bearded figure.
A 2018 reconstruction project of a hillside road in the capital of the Shanxi Province led to unearthing the tomb, but archaeologists hadn’t really reported on the discovery until now.
Long Zhen, director of the Jinyang Ancient City Research Institute of the Taiyuan Cultural Relics Protection Research Institute, says, according to a translation from the state-run news outlet Xinhua, that the tomb has pairs of figures painted on both sides of the tomb door and that paintings of people continue throughout the tomb, including everything from women pushing stones to grind flour to men making pasta, women using oranges to fetch water, and men stepping on hammers to help pound rice.
Experts believe the tomb was owned by a man who died in 736 AD at age 63, during the middle of the Tang dynasty, which ran from 618 to 907 AD. He was buried in the tomb along with his wife.
The eight scenes painted on the tomb are in the “figures under the tree” style, trendy at the time, which—not unlike the name suggests—shows daily activities occurring under artistically rendered trees. The scenes offer a fresh view on what daily life and responsibilities were during the Tang dynasty. The figures painted on the tomb all appeared to be of the Han ethnicity—except for one: a figure painted with blond hair and a beard.
Victor Xiong, professor of history at Western Michigan University, who wasn’t involved in the discovery, told Live Science the “Westerner,” painted in the tomb leading camels, likely represented someone from Central Asia. “Based on his facial features and outfit style,” Xiong said, “we can identify him as a ‘Westerner,’ likely a Sogdian from Central Asia.”
The Sogdian people lived in what is now modern-day Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and were active along Silk Road trading routes.
The murals coat the entire tomb, save for the floor. The South China Morning Post wrote that the artwork is styled similarly to other Tang-era murals with strong outlines, simple shading, and two-dimensional artwork.
Zhen believes the style coincides with the paintings found in the tomb of Wang Shenzi, a key figure in the late 800s during the fall of the Tang dynasty and rise of the Song dynasty. The styles so closely match, it may have been the same painter.
Not only was the small, brick tomb covered in paintings, but the gates, corridor, and tomb pedestal holding the coffins were all adorned as well. The domed ceiling strays from the rest of the motif and features a dragon-like image. Figures painted at the gate may represent guardians, with yellow robes and swords tied around their waist.
Other scenes include a woman in a brightly colored dress leading four horses while a man stands nearby with a whip, women and men holding boxes or ceremonial bowls tucked to their chests, and an old man shown in various scenes reaching toward a snake, carrying an axe and firewood, and holding a cup. The paintings also feature plenty of trees, flowers, mountains, and livestock. Most of the figures throughout the tomb appear to be the same two people, leading the archaeologists to surmise they were the owners of the tomb.
The scenes painted on the mural offered some “never-before-seen” examples of Tang-era chores, Xiong told Live Science, and because the figures were most likely the owners of the tomb, probably depicted the minutiae of their daily lives. But the Westerner's presence adds a bit of mystery to the otherwise staid way of living for the long-deceased man and woman.
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