| Liu Quan Human Mummy | |
| |
| Biographical Information | |
|---|---|
| Name(s) | Liuquan |
| Age | Unknown |
| Sex | Male |
| Status | Buddhist Monk |
| Height | Unknown |
| Source | |
| Culture | Chinese |
| Date(s) | 12th century-present |
| Site | Netherlands |
| Current Location | |
| Location | Hungarian National History Museum |
| Catalog # | |
A human mummy of a Buddhist monk, thought to have originated in China and lived around the year 1100. He was eventually interred in a golden statue of the Buddha. This statue made its way to a collector in the Netherlands, who then discovered that there were mummified remains within. Tests and CT scans were performed on the statue to confirm. He was displayed for a short time in the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, and now is housed in the Hungarian National History Museum in Budapest.
Mummification[]
Liu-quan was thought to have practiced an ancient Buddhist technique for self-mummification similar to Shokushinbutsu, which involved starving oneself for long periods of time,
and attempting to rid oneself bacteria. The practitioner would then lock oneself away in a small human sized box to meditate until they died.
Studies[]
Some basic analytical tests have been done on Liu-quan, such as carbon dating and CT scans. They have examined the thoracic and abdominal cavities and found paper scraps that are printed with ancient Chinese characters. A CT scan (pictured) shows the mummy inside the statue. Samples of bone material were taken for DNA testing.
External Links[]
Ghose, T. (2015, February 23). Mummy Found Hiding Inside Ancient Buddha Statue. Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://www.livescience.com/49909-buddha-statue-holds-mummy.html
Keyser, H. (2015, February 24). Mummy Discovered Inside an Ancient Buddha Statue. Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://mentalfloss.com/article/61857/mummy-discovered-inside-ancient-buddha-statue
Sokushinbutsu. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu