2100年前的辛追夫人长什么样？这场复原为研究者打开全新视角

What did a noblewoman dating back more than 2,100 years look like? This enigmatic question was answered in dramatic fashion when Hunan Museum in Changsha, Hunan province, unveiled a 3D digital image of the human female remains recently, the longest-preserved "wet "human body ever found in China.

2100多年前的贵族女性长什么样？这个神秘的问题以戏剧性的方式得到了解答。近日，湖南博物院公布了一具女性遗骸的三维数字图像，这是中国迄今为止发现的保存时间最长的“湿”尸。

Xin Zhui, also called Lady Dai, was unearthed from a tomb at the Mawangdui site in 1972 in Changsha. The other two tombs discovered next to hers belonged to her husband Li Cang, the Marquis of Dai, and their son. More than 3,000 artifacts were also uncovered, making it one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century in China.

辛追，也被称为轪侯夫人，于1972年在长沙马王堆遗址出土。在她旁边发现的另外两座墓属于她的丈夫轪侯利苍和他们的儿子。遗址中还发现了3000多件文物，也是20世纪中国最重要的考古发现之一。

When the noblewoman was discovered, her body was found to be intact and in a remarkable state of preservation.

辛追夫人被发现时，尸体完好无损，保存状况极佳。

Her skin remained moist, her subcutaneous soft tissue had retained its elasticity and some joints were still movable. Even her eyelashes were in place and the lines on her fingers and toes were discernible, leading to the estimation that she was about 50 years old when she died, says Duan Xiaoming, director of Hunan Museum.

她的皮肤湿润，皮下软组织具有弹性，一些关节仍然可以活动。湖南省博物馆馆长段晓明说，甚至连睫毛都还在，手指和脚趾上的纹路清晰可见，由此可以推断她死时大约50岁。

Xin Zhui's face was swollen, deformed and decayed at the time of excavation, making it impossible to know her appearance when she was alive. The 3D digital version of Xin Zhui was based primarily on X-ray scans of her skull.

由于辛追的脸部在发掘时已经发生肿胀变形，无法得知她在世时的模样，因此3D数字版的辛追主要是基于头骨的X光扫描。

The museum released a full-body version of Xin Zhui in a seated position at 35 years old and a head image of her at 50 years old.

博物院发布了辛追年龄约35岁的全身坐姿版和50岁左右的头部形象。

The digital project started last October. To protect Xin Zhui's body, experts did not directly handle it. Instead, they relied on close, multi-angled observations and measurements of the cadaver, practical experience, database sample comparisons, pathological examinations at the time of excavation and research on early Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) makeup to infer her appearance, demeanor and other physical characteristics.

这个数字化项目始于去年10月。为保护文物，专家们不直接接触辛追夫人遗体，而是通过多角度近距离观察测量尸体样貌、数据库分类样本比较、出土时的病理解剖、出土文物、汉初时期妆容考证来推断辛追容貌、气质、体态等形象特征。

Additionally, they paid special attention to the image of the hunched Xin Zhui depicted in a T-shaped silk painting, which corresponded with lumbar disease symptoms found during the pathological examination of the body. The expert team completed the preliminary facial reconstruction in January of this year. Details of her hairstyle, headwear and clothing are yet to be refined.

此外，同时，还重点参照了T形帛画中辛追夫人龙钟背驼的形象，也对应了尸体病理解剖发现的腰椎病症状。专家团队于今年1月初步完成容貌复原工作，目前发饰、头饰、服饰等细节还在进一步深化设计中。

Yuan Zhongbiao, a facial reconstruction expert involved in the digital version of Xin Zhui, says in terms of facial appearance, Xin Zhui was relatively ordinary and not the "noble beauty" expected by the public.

参与“辛追夫人”3D数字人项目的中国颅面复原专家袁中标表示，就面部外貌而言，辛追相对普通，并不是公众所期望的“高贵美人”。

"Due to the diversity of facial features, there are similar types but no exact matches. We restored her appearance as accurately as possible," Yuan says.

“人像特征千变万化，只有类型相似，而无完全相同，我们尽可能准确地还原了她的外貌。”袁中标说。

After the release of Xin Zhui's digital image, some netizens raised doubts about the depiction, suggesting that the facial features of the marquise, particularly the nose, bear a striking resemblance to Yuan. They suspect that Yuan may have used his own face as a reference in the reconstruction of Xin Zhui's appearance.

辛追夫人的数字形象发布后，一些网民提出了质疑，认为辛追夫人的面部特征，尤其是鼻子，与袁中标惊人地相似，怀疑专家是按照自己面容对“辛追夫人”的面容进行的复原。

In early June, Hunan Museum stated that the digital representation of Xin Zhui has no connection to the face of Yuan, the reconstruction expert.

6月初，湖南省博物院表示，辛追的数字形象与重建专家袁中标的脸没有关系。

It was not the first time the museum has attempted to restore Xin Zhui's appearance. In 2002, it invited a professor of forensic medicine to reconstruct the facial images at four different ages—7, 18, 30 and 50 years old. The next year, it unveiled a statue of Xin Zhui based on the painted images.

这不是博物院第一次试图修复辛追的外貌。2002年，博物院邀请了一位法医学教授来重建四个不同年龄的辛追面部图像——7岁、18岁、30岁和50岁，并在第二年推出了以此为基础的的辛追夫人雕像。

Explaining why the museum tried repeatedly to reconstruct the noblewoman's appearance, Zhang Xingguo, an assistant researcher at the Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, says that chasing the truth about history is a key part of how humans move forward. "To get closer to what really happened, we need to use scientific methods," Zhang says.

湖南省文物考古研究所助理研究员张兴国解释了为什么博物院一再试图重建辛追夫人的外貌：“追寻历史的真相是人类前进的一个关键部分，为了更接近真实情况，我们需要使用科学方法。”

In June, the digital rendition of Xin Zhui was showcased on large screens at a metro station in Changsha. Plans are underway for an interactive artificial intelligence-driven version of the marquise. Xin Zhui is anticipated to serve as a cultural relics interpreter and engage in real-time conversations with visitors.

今年6月，辛追夫人3D数字人形象现身长沙地铁站电子屏。一个交互式人工智能驱动版本的辛追夫人计划正在进行中。未来，“辛追夫人”AI智能体将用于湖南博物院马王堆汉墓陈列文物讲解、共情和实时对话等。