In Life
and Death
The
Ancient Chinese worshipped their ancestors like Gods, and they asked them
for advice about their daily lives. An emperor spent lots of time consulting
his royal forefathers about ceremonies he was about to partake in. They
'spoke' to him through rituals and oracle bones, and gave him advice about
ruling his country. The poor, when they died, were buried in very cheap
coffins along with the little possessions they owned. Earlier, the tombs
of the rich contained human sacrifices, but later artisans made clay, wood,
and bronze models of servants and slaves to the deceased, which accompanied
to dead to their tomb underground. Burial pits held many chambers with
ceilings and walls decorated to look like a real house. Strange mythological
creatures and soldiers guarded the entrance tunnels to the chambers.
A
very important person called Princess Yongtai died during the Tang Dynasty,
and her burial pit surely was fit for a princess- the decorations on the
chamber walls and the furnishing reflected her high rank and position in
life. Magnificent food, wine and other household goods guaranteed she would
be in want of nothing.
Absolutely
beautiful silk coffin coverings featuring magnificent designs were draped
over a dead person's coffin, and the better quality the covering was, the
better the person was.
The
Ancient Chinese believed that the 'stone of heaven', jade, which lasted
forever, prevented the body from decaying after death. During the Han dynasty,
royal people were covered in suits made of tiny pieces of jade.
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