The burial of the living is, from every point of view, a primitive, ignorant, inhuman and barbaric system. Because it originally came from a slave society that did not treat people as human beings, this is archaeological evidence in all ancient civilizations of the world.
The Chinese system of burial originated in the Yin Shang era because the nobles as slave owners hoped that in another world they would continue to drive the enslavement of their own tools – slaves. After the Zhou, Spring and Autumn Warring States, and Qin, although the slave system was gradually abandoned, the evil custom of the burial of the living could not only be passed down, but also evolved into a system because it could show its identity.
Archaeological excavations of human martyrdom pits
For example, the "Mozi Festival Burial" says: "The Son of Heaven kills martyrs, many hundreds, and the widows are dozens; the general doctor kills martyrs, the many are dozens, and the widows are several." ”
Even to the point where it is better to be buried than to harm the fortunes of the country. In 621 BC, after the death of Qin Mugong, one of the "Five Powers of Spring and Autumn", 187 people of the country were martyred. Among them, a large number of good governance talents, the rise of the Qin state has temporarily stalled.
Qin Bo served as a good pawn, and took the three dying breaths of the Ziche clan, Zhongxing, and needle tiger as martyrdom, all of which were Qin's liangye, and the people of the country mourned it, and gave it "Yellow Bird". -- "The Left Handbook"
Entering the Warring States period, out of the competition for human resources, and the promotion of people's thinking by a hundred schools of thought. Human martyrdom began to be universally ostracized and disliked, and the system of human martyrdom gradually began to die out. However, after Qin unified the world, it was revived. The sheer number is also rare in history.
After the establishment of the Han Dynasty, Gaozu Liu Bang formally abolished this cruel and inhumane system. This insignificant act for the magnates attracted widespread admiration from the commoners for Han Gaozu (because they were the material for human martyrdom). Since then, the Han regime in the Central Plains has basically abandoned this system, and replaced it with a system of burial after death that can bring glory to more people.
Explanation: The funeral system is not from death. After death, it can be buried in the tomb of the king or master.
Schematic diagram of the Tang Zhaoling Funerary Tomb Partial
In the Song and Yuan dynasties, due to the relatively primitive nomadic and remote ethnic minorities entering the Central Plains, the cruel system of human martyrdom rose again (the Northern Song Dynasty and the Partial Southern Song Dynasty did not have a human martyrdom system). However, the Ming Dynasty, which restored Han rule in the Central Plains, did not abolish the evil custom of human martyrdom.
Although there is no direct evidence that Taizu approved the system of human martyrdom, indirect evidence is enough to prove that this inhuman system was his intention.
First of all, the earliest official record of martyrdom in the Ming Dynasty was Taizu's second son Zhu Zhu, the King of Qin, who was buried with two princesses after his death. Although the second concubine Tang Clan helped her to commit evil crimes, the ZhengFei Wang Clan was innocent and also died. The person who ordered the burial was Zhu Yuanzhang.
Description: Wang Shi (王王 Guanyinnu) was the younger sister of King Kuoko Timur (Chinese name Wang Baobao) of the Yuan Dynasty. This realistic version of "Zhao Min" has been imprisoned and abused by Zhu Zhu during her concubine, and Zhu Zhu was forced to be buried before enjoying a few days of tranquility after her death.
Another piece of evidence is that after Taizu's death, all but two of the forty palace people who slept in the palace were martyred (and more than a dozen palace women were martyred). If this was not Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention, then Emperor Jianwen would be too vicious. And Zhu Di, who rebelled and came to power to find various opportunities to smear Jianwen, why did he let go of this handle of reality?
After ascending the throne, Zhu Di put "obedience" to the Taizu ancestral system, and one of the reasons he accused Emperor Jianwen was that Emperor Jianwen did not obey the Taizu ancestral system. If the system of martyrdom was not the original intention of Taizu, but the system set by Emperor Jianwen, it would be impossible to understand why Zhu Di continued this system after his death and let more than thirty palace people be martyred. This is a very serious political issue.
Description: The Ming Dynasty itself did not leave an official record of the burial details, but two of the concubines buried after Zhu Di's death were Korean tributes, so the Korean envoys watched and recorded in the Records of the Lee Dynasty.
"Emperor Beng, the palace people have martyred more than thirty people. On the day of death, all are paid to the court, and they are paid, and they are led to the ascension of the church, and the cries shake the temple. A small wooden bed was placed in the hall, and a lanyard was placed on it, and the head was taken into it, and the bed was removed, and all the pheasants died of their necks. ”
Concubine Han, on her deathbed, cried out to the nursing mother Jin Heilian who was waiting by her side, "Mother, I am going!" Mother, I'm going! Before the words could be heard, the eunuch kicked open the wooden bed, and the man hung on the rope and struggled to his death, and the whole process was tragic.
After Zhu Di, the emperors began to subtract from martyrdom, such as exemption after the honor of the noble; those who were noble concubines and above were exempted; those who had children were exempted. Correspondingly, the number of martyrdoms also began to decrease, with Akihito having five concubines buried; Emperor Mingxuanzong's ten concubines being buried; and the number of concubines buried by Emperor Daizong is unknown in historical records (concubines and concubines of the Tang clan, etc.), but it is estimated that there are no more than three.
Description: There are five recorded concubines of emperor Ming Dynasty, of which Empress Hang died before Emperor Daizong, and Wang died in the first year of Zhengde. The Tang clan was the first recorded imperial concubine of the Ming Dynasty.
Not only did the emperor demand the martyrdom of the concubines after his death, but the kings of various clans also forced their princesses and maids to be buried after their deaths. Zhu You, the king of Zhou, could not bear to be buried after his death, and wrote to the imperial court specifically, hoping that he would be from Jane after his death. In the fourth year of orthodoxy, Zhu Youyi died of illness, and the imperial court ordered Princess Zhou and others not to have to die before the edict was delivered, and the princess and six other wives had already been martyred (they and the family of the King of Zhou should not have expected that the imperial court would pardon).
This edict should not have been issued by Emperor Ming Yingzong himself, because he was only twelve years old at that time and did not personally govern. It may be the cabinet or the meaning of the empress dowager Zhang. However, after Yingzong experienced captivity and captivity, he should have understood that people under power had no right to choose except to be manipulated.
Therefore, before Emperor Yingzong's death, he specifically criticized and abolished this cruel system in the form of the emperor's will, until the Ming Emperor and the king of the clan could no longer be martyred.
Martyrdom is not an ancient ritual, the benevolent cannot bear it, and the concubines should not be martyred... This is to be obeyed, not to be violated.
Yingzong's human actions not only unlocked the shackles of death for the women in the harem, but also saved the lives of countless women in daming in the nearly two hundred years since then.
In ancient times, the emperor was an example of the words and deeds of all his subjects. The burial of concubines descended by Taizu also triggered a so-called "festival woman" boom in the folk. Many women are unwilling even if they are unwilling, but in the face of "do not want to die, do you want to be a second husband?" How can they resist this kind of reproach?
Ming Yingzong Zhu Qi Town
Emperor Yingzong not only abolished the martyrdom system, but also criticized this kind of behavior as an emperor, which greatly curbed the behavior of creating "thrifty women" in society.
Finally, why did Taizu restore the system of human martyrdom that the Central Plains Imperial Dynasty had abolished since the Han and Tang dynasties.
Some friends feel that Ming Taizu simply continued the system of the Mongols in the Yuan Dynasty. This argument doesn't really hold up at all.
The slogan of Taizu's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains was "Expel Hu Yu, Restore China, Establish Chen Ji, and Relieve the Si People". Moreover, since ancient times, it has been "Yi Xi Huaxia", and Taizu has no reason to reverse it.
If we compare the difference between the martyrdom of the Ming Dynasty and the previous generations, we can find a clear difference. The martyrdom of the Ming Dynasty was directed only at women, and was directed at the "appendage" women of the dead.
Taizu was too deeply influenced by Cheng Zhu Lixue, and more importantly, his understanding of the "female scourge" chaotic government phenomenon in the Han and Tang Dynasties was too shallow. There are very extreme views of this group of women. He felt that the duty of women was to reproduce heirs, serve their husbands, and take care of the housework, and once they exceeded this range, they would cause trouble, the small would lead to family discord, and the big would cause trouble to the country.
Therefore, in order to prevent it from happening, he took measures such as engraving iron plates, establishing ancestral training, and strictly educating women to regulate the words and deeds of imperial women, "Ming Taizu jian the previous generation of female disasters, established the program Chen Ji, and the first strict internal education."
For example, in the first year of Hongwu, Taizu Xiazhao compiled the "Female Commandment": "Whoever rules the world, the family is the first." The way of the family begins with the couple. ”
Explanation: Another important reason why Ming Taizu was worried about the "female calamity" was that he let a large number of heroes and royal families marry. Although the problem was created by him, he left the responsibility for solving the problem to the women.
Taizu Zhu Biao's unexpected early death, and the fact that the heir to the throne was young made Taizu more and more worried about the problem of harem interference after his death. He always felt that when the young emperor was ready, he might not be able to suppress the concubines of the harem and would give them the opportunity to run amok.
Since the task of reproducing heirs has been completed, and they have no husband to serve after their own death, what value do they have? Martyrdom can avoid hidden dangers and set an example of loyalty and filial piety for subjects. This is the reason why Taizu restored the system of martyrdom.
However, shortly after Taizu's death, a granddaughter-in-law he personally elected not only changed his burial rules, but also directly participated in the government and completely changed the court of Daming. The system of voting and wearing red was born in her hands, and the eunuchs were also pushed to the front desk by her to participate in the government.
This is history's mockery of Taizu. (If you are interested, you can refer to the picture and text to break through the restrictions of Zhu Yuanzhang and change the political pattern of the Ming Dynasty)
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