Approximately 1,800 years ago, a Chinese man standing 180 centimeters tall lay quietly at rest in the Yingpan (营盘) cemetery. When archaeologists discovered him 30 years ago, he was found lying in a coffin painted with traditional Central Plains patterns, with a pillow covered in exquisite silk fabric from the Central Plains too. Yet, he was dressed in a coat of Greek style. He is known as the "Yingpan Handsome Man (营盘美男)". This small tomb, just a few square meters in size, carries the millennia legacy of cultural exchanges between East and West along the Silk Road.

Yingpan is located in the heart of Xinjiang, adjacent to the Taklamakan Desert, the largest desert in China. In the Chinese imagination, this desert is desolate, even shrouded in the legend that "once you go in, you cannot come out," making it a place of peril. Yet, it was in this seemingly barren land that, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a group of European explorers, led by Sven Hedin and Marc Aurel Stein, among others, uncovered and took away many precious relics. Since 1989, Chinese archaeologists have carried out excavations in the area. Although many tombs had already been disturbed by European explorers, a 1995 excavation revealed one of the most significant discoveries in Chinese archaeological history.

The tomb, numbered M15, has been dated to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220). Due to the arid climate, much of the clothing worn by the tomb's occupant remained refreshingly colorful upon excavation. His face was covered with a mask made of hemp, with his facial features delicately outlined in ink, giving him a strikingly handsome appearance. His forehead was adorned with gold foil, and his pillow was a fine example of Central Plains craftsmanship too, elegant and intricate. Most striking, however, was the red and yellow woolen coat he wore, which Chinese scholars have identified as having strong Greek influences. The coat's patterns feature both human and animal figures: four pairs of nude male figures wielding spears, shields, engaged in what appears to be combat or training; alongside them are two pairs of bulls and rams, rearing on their hind legs and looking back, full of vitality and strength. Between the figures and animals, pomegranate motifs can be seen.

Beneath the coat, he wore a silk undergarment adorned with gold foil decorations. Similar decorations were also found on his socks. When I inquired with one of the archaeologists who participated in the excavation 30 years ago about the practicality of such clothing, she suggested that the gold foil was likely well-secured at the time and could have been part of his everyday attire.

As for his ethnicity, Chinese scholars have analyzed more than 30 human remains from the Yingpan cemetery. The results show that the ratio of females to males was slightly higher, with 15.8% dying in their youth and only 7.9% reaching old age, with an average death age of approximately 38 years. The physical features of the remains indicate slight European characteristics, but overall, they lean toward East Asian traits. This particular man was estimated to be between 25 and 30 years old. Debate about his identity continues to this day.

The "Yingpan Handsome Man," who lay quietly in his tomb, rests in the depths of history, and every detail of his mask, attire, and burial speaks to the story of cultural exchanges along the Silk Road 2,000 years ago. From his Greek-style coat to his Central Plains silk pillow, from the gold foil-decorated everyday clothing to his youthful face, these artifacts showcase the prosperity, diversity and global connections of that era.

Today, the artifacts of this handsome man have been removed from his remains, meticulously preserved and displayed in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum. This desert may seem desolate, but it has borne witness to the brilliance of human civilization exchanges. The footsteps of humanity have never ceased, and the exchange of cultures has taken place way earlier than we could imagine.

The mask photographed by a Chinese netizen, which I find incredibly evocative. This mask is the only known example made of hemp in Chinese archaeology. Why this man or his family chose to craft such a mask from hemp remains a mystery.

The "handsome man's" socks are also a major highlight-they are made of wool, with gold foil attached to the bottom, and tied with small bowties on the sides to secure them to the calves. Such gilded socks are extraordinarily rare; I have only ever seen one other similar discovery in the world.

On his arm, the man wore a bracer decorated with colorful plant patterns. According to Han Chinese records, such bracers were believed to be protective amulets, used to ward off evil and illness. Similar bracers have frequently been found in Han Dynasty tombs in Xinjiang.

The miniature garment found on the man's abdomen. This type of tiny clothing has been discovered in China's northwest, such as in Gansu, and most examples come from Xinjiang. Unfortunately, some were taken by Western explorers a thousand years ago, while others remain in disturbed tombs, making their original placement uncertain. This particular garment's style is associated with the Central Plains. According to historical records, Chinese scholars believe it to be a form of "spirit garment (冥衣)," a burial custom originating from Central China. A similar but life-sized funeral garment, over 2,000 years old, was unearthed in Jingzhou by the Yangtze River, complete with handwritten labels noting its purpose. 

Repost from Zhai Xiang 🙏