She was the wife of Li Cang (利蒼), the Marquis of Dai, and Chancellor of the Changsha Kingdom, during the Western Han dynasty of ancient China.

Her body and belongings are currently under the care of the Hunan Museum;[1] artifacts from her tomb were displayed in Santa Barbara and New York City in 2009.

[1][a] As a noble, Xin Zhui also had access to a variety of imperial foods, including various types of meat, which were reserved for the royal family and members of the ruling class.

Along with schistosomiasis, a parasitic infection, she also had coronary thrombosis and arteriosclerosis, most likely linked to excessive weight gained due to a sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, angina pectoris, liver disease, and hypertension.

Xin Zhui's body was found within four rectangular pine constructs that sat inside one another which were buried beneath layers of charcoal and white clay.

All painted images sealed inside this coffin were thus designed not for an outside viewer but for the deceased and concern the themes of death and rebirth, protection in the afterlife, and immortality.

The second coffin has a black background but is painted with a pattern of stylized clouds and with protective deities and auspicious animals roaming an empty universe.

Inside this tomb on top of the fourth and innermost coffin, the excavators found a painted silk banner about two meters long.

[12] In the Western Han dynasty, elaborate and lavish burials were common practice; it was believed that another world, or afterlife, existed for the dead, and they needed food and accommodation just like the living.

The coffin contained over 150 types of food and drink in total, including grains, vegetables, meats, pastries, and wine.

More than 1,400 precious artifacts were found with Xin Zhui's body[2] including a wardrobe containing 100 silk garments, 182 pieces of expensive lacquerware, makeup and toiletries, ornate burial banners, medicinal products, and 162 carved wooden figurines representing servants and musicians.

[12] Besides having some of the best preserved human remains ever discovered in China, the contents of Xin Zhui's tomb revealed much information about life in the Han dynasty that was previously unknown.

The discovery continues to advance the fields of archaeology and science in the 21st century, particularly in the area of preservation of ancient human remains.

Scientists in 2003 developed a "secret compound" that was injected into Xin Zhui's still existing blood vessels to assure her preservation.