A shining moment for the north

"Ever since then, all of the Liao empresses — main wife to the Liao emperors — were surnamed Xiao with only one notable exception. In fact, it's not exaggerating to say that almost every Yelyu had married a Xiao and vice versa. The resulting familial relations could be absolutely daunting from a modern perspective," says Xu, referring to the marriage between the princess whose paternal grandfather was the fifth emperor of Liao and her husband, Xiao Shaoju, who was also the princess' maternal uncle.

Few aristocratic ladies would treat matters of beauty casually, certainly not the show's protagonists. From the tomb of the princess — more commonly known as the Princess of the State (fiefdom) of Chen — came a dragon-embossed gilt silver makeup case which, upon its discovery, yielded several smaller silver cases, some tainted with the residues of face powder and blush. Similar items, decorated with dragon, phoenix and lion patterns, were found in the tomb — also located in Inner Mongolia — of a lady whom some researchers suggest was a sister of Abaoji, a member of the nomadic Khitan people.