Why did the ancients bury funerary objects after death? Is it custom or system? Any explanation?

China has a traditional concept of "treating death as life" since ancient times. Therefore, many articles for daily use and items that can represent the status and wealth of the tomb owner may be put into the tomb, which are called funerary objects. Burial objects in ancient tombs. Most of them are practical things for life or funerary objects specially made for the dead. Imagine that the dead can use them in another world. The significance of funerary objects The funerary objects mark the identity and position of the tomb owner in traditional funerals. In ancient China, there were some regulations on funerary objects. The funerary objects should correspond to the identity and status of the deceased before his death, and those exceeding the level were called "exceeding the system". The appearance of funerary objects is related to people's social consciousness and religious belief. The concept of filial piety and immortality of the soul is deeply rooted in people's minds, which makes people generally have the consciousness of being kind to the dead and hoping that the dead can live a better life in the underworld, and funerary objects are the product of this consciousness. This is also the reason why the dead were buried in the past dynasties. Edit the classification of funerary objects in this paragraph. The funerary objects are divided into two categories, one is the objects used by the tomb owner before his death, and the other is the objects that the tomb owner has never used or even has no practicality before his death, and are purely made for the funerary objects. The latter is called funerary objects. Some items are inconvenient to be buried with, because they are bulky, precious or need to be used continuously. In addition, in most historical periods, the concubines, attendants and slaves of the tomb owner were not allowed to be buried with him. At this time, it is necessary to take funerary wares as the representative. Edit the development of funerary objects in this paragraph. Most of the earliest funerary objects of the deceased were daily necessities, such as grain, farm tools, livestock and poultry. People think that although the deceased is still alive, he still wants to live like a living person, so he should be allowed to take away the necessities of life. Later, people supported the dead and prevented them from working. The funerary objects gradually changed from necessities to luxuries, such as gold, silver, jade, silks and satins, furniture, articles, calligraphy and painting, and money, which also became the funerary objects consumed by the deceased. However, the fact that people die like lights goes out is obvious to the gradual change of people's consciousness. Because people will become loess long after death, there is no need to use physical objects as funerary objects, so there are imitation symbolic funerary objects. People call them ghosts. Most of the funerary objects in ancient times were physical models, made of bamboo, wood, pottery wood, cloth and silk, tin foil paper and so on. In the Song Dynasty, funerary objects made of paper gradually became popular. Generally speaking, physical model funerary objects can be used for burial or burning, and paper funerary objects burn in graves. Household appliances refer to pottery, stone, bone, wood and other appliances used in daily life. Pottery is not only the most important living appliance in prehistoric times, but also one of the most important funerary objects. Generally speaking, most of the pottery used for burial is practical, and there are a few so-called "funerary objects" (that is, "funerary objects") specially made for the dead. There are many use marks on the utility model, such as smoke on the cooker and repair marks after the container is damaged; Burial objects are small, light and fragile. They are symbolic objects and have no use value. The combination of funerary objects generally consists of cookers, water containers, food containers and containers, and some only bury one or two of them. In different times, regions or cultures, the combination and forms of buried pottery are often different, reflecting the distinctive characteristics of times, regions and cultures, which is one of the main basis for archaeological dating, distinguishing cultures and dividing regional types. The examples of decorations buried with people can be traced back to the cavemen's tombs in the late Paleolithic period. In the Neolithic Age, it was very popular in all cultures. Bone beads, dental ornaments, ceramic rings and hairpins are common in the Yellow River valley. Pipes, rings, ornamental plants and crevices made of stone or jade are common in the Yangtze River basin. Generally speaking, decorations are more common in female tombs, such as the young woman Jiangzhai M 7, with 8577 bone beads buried with her; M 10 of Dawenkou is an elderly woman. The headdress she was buried with consisted of 25 white marble feldspar and 2 conodonts, the headdress consisted of 3 1 marble bead, and the necklace consisted of 19 irregular turquoise and an ivory comb. Therefore, decorations can reflect gender differences to some extent. Production tools Production tools are also one of the common tomb varieties in prehistoric tombs. According to the production materials, there are stones, bones, horns, mussels and pottery. Among them, the stone tools are the most; According to the purpose, there are axes, hoes, shovels, sickles, chisels, knives, cones, files, needles, knives, spears, trowels, harpoons, spinning wheels, millstones and grinding rods. In different cultures, due to different economic models, the types of tools used for burial are also different. For example, in the tomb of Liu Xinkai site in Mishan County, Heilongjiang Province, which focuses on fishing and hunting economy, there are a variety of fishing and hunting tools (60 pieces) such as stone shovel, bone spear, harpoon, fish dart, fish hook and tooth knife; In all the cultures in the Yellow River valley with millet as the main feature, agricultural production tools such as shovels, knives, millstones and grinding rods are the main funerary objects. Sometimes the difference of burial tools in different tombs may also reflect the difference of the main work of the deceased before his death. For example, stone inkstone, stone roller, water cup and hematite pigment block were unearthed in Jiangzhai M 87, Lintong, which is a set of tools for painting, indicating that the tomb owner may have been a craftsman who mainly made painted pottery before his death (61); Among the funerary objects belonging to Dawenkou culture unearthed in M 38, Dadunzi, Pixian County, Jiangsu Province, there are 24 pieces of aggregate and dental materials and 4 pieces of sharpening stones. The owner of the tomb was obviously a craftsman who was mainly engaged in making bones and dental instruments (62). In addition, the statistics of burial tools of Yangshao cultural tombs in Guanzhong area show that there are far more male burial tools than female burial tools, such as 68.8% of male burial tools in Jiangzhai site and only 3 1.2% of female burial tools. 99.3% of the burial tools for men and only 0.7%(63 pieces) for women are buried in Beishouling site. It shows that men are the main undertakers of productive labor. Etiquette articles The so-called etiquette articles refer to the articles used to express identity, rank and status, such as cong, bi and jun, which symbolize divine power, imperial power and military power. In the early Neolithic period, there was not much difference in the scale of tombs and the number and types of funerary objects, which reflected that the status of clan members was basically the same. In the middle and late Neolithic age, there were differences in the scale of tombs and the number of funerary objects in clan cemeteries, especially the ritual vessels such as jade (or axe), jade cong and jade bi. This shows that the social organization structure at that time changed and there was a polarization between the rich and the poor. In the Yellow River valley, there are differences in the number of funerary objects in Dawenkou culture period, such as Dawenkou M 10, a well-shaped wooden coffin, 38 pieces of pottery, a large number of decorations, jade shovel, Yufu and so on. In the Longshan era, this difference further expanded. There are large, medium and small tombs in Taosi cemetery. The number of large and medium-sized tombs is small, but the scale is large and there are many funerary objects. For example, M 30 15 has more than 200 funerary objects, including daily necessities and production tools, as well as various painted wood products and etiquette articles such as stone chimes, drums, jade cymbals and stone cymbals; In 3072 AD, Tao Pan painted with dragon patterns was unearthed. The existence of this important ritual vessel shows that the owner of the tomb is a tribal dignitary in charge of sacrifice and military affairs (64). There are 83 stone tablets unearthed from M 48 in Huangniangtai, Wuwei, Gansu Province, which far exceeds the need of decoration and should be a ritual vessel to show status and power (65). In the Yangtze River valley, there were different funerary objects in Song Ze culture period. For example, M 05 in Zhanglingshan, Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province has a wooden coffin and 365,438+0 pieces of pottery (66 pieces). Since the early Liangzhu culture, jade ritual vessels have been popular in some tombs, such as the M 4 tomb on the upper floor of Zhang Ling, with 465,438+0 funerary objects, including Yu Fu, Yu Cong and Yu Cong. Jade cong is a cylinder with an outer circle and an inner side, and its surface is decorated with animal face patterns, which is obviously a ceremonial article. In the middle and late period of Liangzhu culture, the wind of "burying jade" became more prosperous. For example, M 3 in Sidun, Wujin County, Jiangsu Province is a 20-year-old male tomb, with more than 120 pieces of pottery, jade and stone tools buried with it, including 24 pieces of jade bi and 32 pieces of jade cong. Twenty-four pieces of jade of different sizes are placed behind the head and front feet, on the upper and lower parts of the body, and the largest piece is placed in the abdomen, with a diameter of 26 cm; The height of 32 jade cong varies from 1 to 15 knots, which surround the tomb owner for one week; There is 1 exquisite hostess beside the left upper limb. The newly discovered important jades buried with M 5 include cong, bi, cymbal, hook, etc. Among them, the jade with a diameter of 29 cm is 1 piece, which is the largest jade unearthed so far. The jade cong placed on the instep is 32 cm long, divided into 1 1 sections, and carved with 44 faces. It is the best jade among the dragons (67). In the late Liangzhu culture, M 198 of Caoxie Mountain in Wuxian County is the tomb of a man and two women. This man lives in the center of the tomb, with the most funerary objects, including Yu Fu, Yu Cong and Yu Bi. These two women are buried for the second time, and there are also jade jade, jade cong and jade ornaments. (68). In addition, in the tombs of the late Shi Xia culture in Qujiang County, Guangdong Province, South China, jade cong, jade bi, stone tablet and other funerary objects were also found (69). As early as Hongshan Culture's time, there were large tombs and ritual vessels buried in the northeast of China. For example, in Niuheliang stone mound group, the big sarcophagus is located in the center of the stone mound; A large number of exquisite utensils have been unearthed from various sarcophagi, including Jade Pig Dragon, Jade Bi, Gouyun Yu Pei, Yuhuan, Jade Bird, Jade Turtle, jade fish and Jade Beast. These findings show that at least in the late period of Hongshan Culture, profound changes have taken place in society. Other funerary objects besides the above-mentioned funerary objects, pigs, sheep, dogs and other livestock were widely found in the tombs in the middle and late Neolithic period. The Dawenkou culture in the lower reaches of the Yellow River is popular with pig's head burial. For example, among the 133 tombs in Dawenkou cemetery, there are 1/3 tombs with pig heads or pig bones. Among them, M 13 was buried with the pig's head 14, and half a pig was found in M 60. Other tombs were buried with the pig's mandible and teeth. Majiayao culture and Qijia culture in the upper reaches of the Yellow River have the habit of burying pigs, sheep, dogs and other bones. For example, a tomb belonging to the middle Machang type was found in Jiangjiaping, Yongdeng, Gansu Province, with more than 30 pieces of pottery buried with it. A rectangular pit was dug under the human bones, and 70 bones such as pigs and dogs were buried in layers; There are 9 tombs with pig mandibles in Dahezhuang Cemetery in Linxia, Gansu, with the number ranging from 3 to 36(7 1). There are 14 tombs in Taosi cemetery in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, with pig mandibles buried with them, and the largest one has more than 30 tombs. Majiabin culture, Songze culture, Liangzhu culture and Qujialing culture in the Yangtze River valley have also been found to be useful for pig mandible tombs. In addition, fishbones, wild boar teeth and antlers are useful. It was also found in the tombs of Liu Xinkai site in Mishan County, Heilongjiang Province (72). It is generally believed that livestock is one of the earliest concepts of private property because it can be eaten and exchanged. The appearance of livestock buried in tombs should be an important manifestation of private property. Edit funerary objects in this paragraph. In Neolithic civilian tombs, the most common funerary objects are all kinds of stone tools and pottery, because these are the daily necessities of the deceased. At that time, jade ritual vessels were common in aristocratic tombs, which represented their status and wealth before their death. Before the Qin and Han Dynasties (22 1-220 BC), most of the funerary objects in civilian tombs were pottery, while various bronze ritual vessels were common in the tombs of princes and nobles. In addition, since the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, offering sacrifices to horses and chariots is also very common. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, because it was no longer allowed to be buried with the living, a large number of pottery figurines and wooden figurines appeared. Qin Shihuang (247-2 10 reigned) and Han Jingdi (157-14/kloc-0 reigned) even took their entire army to the mausoleum. During this period, the bronzes in the funerary objects gradually decreased and were replaced by exquisite lacquerware and various silks, which was also a true reflection of social life at that time. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (220-58 1), the porcelain making technology gradually matured, and the porcelain and pottery figurines in the funerary objects were equally divided. Tri-colored pottery was buried in most tombs in the Tang Dynasty, which was a kind of colorful funerary objects. Song Dynasty Song Dynasty is a peak of the development of ancient Chinese science and technology culture. Since this period, social economy, science and technology have reached a considerable height, and the types of funerary objects have become increasingly rich, which no longer has the distinctive characteristics of the early tombs. Edit this famous funerary object1987 65438+In February, the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang and Terracotta Warriors and Horses were included in the World Heritage List. Qin Shihuang established the first unified multi-ethnic centralized state in China in 22 1 BC. Qin Shihuang Mausoleum is located in Lintong District, 35km east of Xi City, Shaanxi Province. It is the first royal cemetery in China history. The mausoleum of Qin Shihuang hopes that future generations will become emperors. In history, Qin Shihuang collected more than 700,000 craftsmen to build this mausoleum, which took 38 years to build and also created a miracle. 1in March, 974, the Terracotta Warriors emerged from a 5-meter-deep underground, which was the luck of several farmers and the inevitability of history. Although it is located at 1.5 km east of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, with pits 1, 2 and 3 as the main body, still covers an area of more than 300 mu, with a large scale and magnificent momentum. "These 8,000 terracotta warriors and horses are like resurrected legions, guarding the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor." Liu Zhancheng, head of the archaeological team of the Terracotta Warriors Museum, said: "Although they are terracotta warriors and horses, they are as big as real people, or they are wearing knee-length robes, armored, armed with long weapons, or wearing belts, and their legs are tied up, or they are covered with black hair, blue robes and green faces, leaving people with not only the military power corrected by men, but also the life of the ancients 200 years ago." After archaeological exploration, the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang can be divided into two parts: the cemetery area and the burial area. The cemetery area covers an area of nearly 8 square kilometers, with double layers of inner city and outer city. The surrounding soil is a quadrangular cone with an existing height of 76 meters, and there are a large number of ground building relics and buried objects around it. Mausoleum is the place where Qin Shihuang's coffin was placed. There are more than 400 burial pits and tombs around the mausoleum, including bronze chariots and horses pits, rare birds and animals pits, stable pits and terracotta warriors and horses pits. Over the years, more than 50,000 important cultural relics have been unearthed. 1980 A group of painted bronze chariots and horses, Gao Che and Che An, are the largest, most gorgeous, most lifelike and complete ancient bronze chariots and horses discovered in China so far, and are known as "the crown of bronze".