Some 1,400 years ago, a young girl, celebrated as China’s “most pampered child,” was laid to rest in a palace-like stone coffin, surrounded by her grandmother’s affection and a wealth of treasures. Li Jingxun, an aristocrat from the Sui dynasty (581–618), also known as “Little Girl,” hailed from Longxi, located in what is now northwest China’s Gansu province. Her story unfolded during a tumultuous period in Chinese history, marked by the transition from the fractured Northern dynasties (386–581)...