A portrait of Confucius - earliest portrait of the ancient sage

A lacquer screen was unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, Nov 14, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese archaeologists claimed on Nov 14 to have unearthed a portrait of Confucius from the "Haihunhou" tomb.

After they pieced together a broken lacquer screen found in the main chamber of the tomb, the archaeologists said, they restored two portraits, one of which is believed to be of Confucius.

"This is the earliest portrait of the ancient sage discovered so far," said Xin Lixiang, head of the excavation team and one of China's most authoritative archaeologists for the Qin and Han dynasties.

Before the new finding was reported, experts believed the oldest Confucius portrait was on a mural found in a tomb chamber in Dongping county in East China's Shandong province. The mural dates back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220).