A Silk Road Saga: The Sarcophagus of Yu Hong

Discovered by farmers in 1999 in Wangguo, a village in central China's Shanxi province, this magnificent 6th-century marble sarcophagus reveals both the story of a man and his times as well as life along the Silk Road. The sarcophagus is that of Yu Hong (c533-92) who, at the age of 13, was sent as an envoy by the king of Rouran to Persia and Tuyuhun (modern-day Qinghai and Gansu provinces in northwest China). Between 550 and 554 he served as an ambassador to the Northern Qi dynasty and continued to work as an official in China during the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties.

This new English-language edition examines how the tomb of Yu Hong offers a fresh interpretation of the cultural interaction that occurred between China and the West due to the travel and trade along the Silk Road.