New revelation on the yellow-haired king, he died at the age of 36

Shocking facts have come to light about the ruler who ruled China 1500 years ago. With the help of the DNA of the Chinese king, scientists have guessed his face and the cause of death. According to a study published on Wednesday (March 28) in the journal Current Biology, Emperor Wu ruled China’s Northern Zhou dynasty from 560 AD to 578 AD. The new report states that Wu is perhaps best known for building a strong army, fending off the Turks, and unifying northern China after defeating the Northern Qi dynasty.

Emperor Wu died at the age of just 36. However, the reason for the emperor’s death at such a young age has been a matter of debate for a long time. Some historians believe that he was poisoned by rivals and others say that he died of an unknown disease. According to a statement, this new DNA study shows that he died due to a brain stroke.

The emperor came from a small nomadic group called the Xianbei. The place where the emperor’s empire existed is today Mongolia and northern and northeastern China. Researchers found out from the DNA report that Wu had brown eyes, black hair and a dark complexion. Some scholars believe that Wu looked foreign, with a thick beard, high nose and yellow hair. “Our research shows that Emperor Wu’s facial features were similar to those of East or Northeast Asian people,” said Shaoqing Wen, an associate professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, who was involved in the study.

The team used Wu’s skull as well as a lot of genetic information. Then with their help, a 3rd picture was made. However, it is difficult to guess the colour of skin, hair and eyes from the skeletal remains.