The Formation of Funeral Customs in China

In the primitive society of China, the concept of immortality of the soul was gradually developed as a religious superstition. In the past, there was no custom of burying relatives after death. Since the concept of immortality, there has been the custom of burying relatives. The Tong Dian of Tang Du's said that in the ancient times, it was stipulated in the fierce rites that those buried in thick clothes buried in the middle of the wild with salary, and there were countless funeral periods. The coffin of later sages was Yi's. In the tombstone of Banpo Site, most of the dead buried face west, which means that their souls are entrusted to the west. This religious belief, the worship of ancestors, came into being in our matriarchal clan. In the slave society, the custom of thick burial and superstition became more popular. In order to maintain its rule by using religious superstition, the slave owner class vigorously advocated the custom of cruel rites, even killing the slaves as sacrifices and burying them as burial objects. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the burial system of "honour and decency, and equality" was established. After the death of teachers, princes, doctors, scholars, and general slave owners, there were hierarchical divisions in the mortuary and funeral offerings from time, ritual coffins, to sacrificial objects. They were appointed or buried alive as sacrificial objects, such as the large tomb found in the northwest ridge of the ancient marquis villa. The tomb covers an area of more than 300 square meters and is 12 meters deep. In the tomb, slaves and dogs holding swords were buried. The coffin room is decorated with carved patterns, which are filled with precious clothing and artifacts. The outer chamber houses the weapons of the Shang king, the slaves with honor guards, male and female attendants, children, monkeys and other animals for playing. In a large tomb like this, three or four hundred people are killed and sacrificed. This luxurious, wasteful and cruel way of killing and burying is really outrageous.