Rare painting depicts mythical Han ancestors with half human, half snake bodies

According to Chinese legend, Fuxi and Nüwa are ancestors of the Han Chinese people. Here is a painting that depicts the two mythical figures.

Nüwa and Fuxi are portrayed as half human and half snake. Nüwa holds a compass representing the heaven and Fuxi lifts a tool for drawing squares that signifies the earth. They extend their other arm to hold each other and intertwine their snake tails with each other. The sun, the moon and stars are around them.

What makes the painting unique is that it was unearthed from the Astana Tombs in Turpan, Xinjiang, near the ancient Gaochang Kingdom (460-640). It indicates that Han culture originating from the Central Plains had been spread westward and impacted the Gaochang at that time. The painting is in the permanent collection of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum.