Sources | Lady Dai

WAX FIGURE

The secondary archaeological source is a wax figure of Lady Dai at the age of 30. Zhao Chengwen, a professor, created a technology called “Jingxing CCK-3 Model Human Faces Mirage System” which helped recreate Lady Dai. The reconstruction of Lady Dai was able to come together as the artefacts buried alongside her created a picture to capture her appearance. The wax figure shows the 30-year-old Lady Dai’s appearance from over 2,200 years ago.

As this is indeed a secondary source this does not create the best picture of Lady Dai. The slim and elegant wax figure contradicts the autopsy, which stated that she was of an obese body figure. The food she was buried along side, tells us of a life of being handed the richest and fattest food by her servants.

Thus, as a source, this wax figure's accuracy is compromised as it does not correlate with some of the scientific research done on the body itself.

FUNERAL BANNER

This primary archaeological source is a six-feet-long painted silk funeral banner of Lady Dai, and was found in her tomb atop of her innermost coffin in excellent condition. It can accurately be dated to the second century B.C.E., during the Han Dynasty when Lady Dai, her husband and her son had lived. Whilst historians still debate as to what the purpose of these banners were, it is generally accepted that they had some connection to the afterlife. It is speculated that this may be an example of a “name banner” used to identify the dead during the mourning ceremonies, or that it may have been a burial shroud intended to aid the soul in its passage to the afterlife. Regardless, this banner’s excellent condition and it’s location within Lady Dai’s tomb makes this an incredibly useful source to archaeologists for the insight it gives into burial customs in China during the Han Dynasty.