The ancient emperors attached great importance to the affairs behind them, and this was no longer an individual behavior, but also an act of the state. Ancient emperors believed that if they were not buried well after death, it would affect future generations. Ancient emperors relied on their own funerals to fulfill such wishes.
Tomb culture, in the primitive social period, has already taken shape, they no longer randomly bury their relatives, especially some people with status, most of these people are tribal leaders, or people with special prestige in the tribe.
In the ruins of Longshan, Yangshao and the cave people on the top of the mountain further afield, some complete burial chambers have been seen, and although these places do not have much value, many pottery, bone tools, stone tools and a small amount of jade with tribal characteristics have been unearthed.
These funerals also prove from one side that five or six thousand years ago, people living on the land of China have begun to think about things like life and death, and have begun to pay attention to things after death.
The long evolution from thick burial to thin burial
Beginning with primitive tribes, people first realized the importance of tombs, and some powerful people, coveting the wealth of their lives, wanted to enjoy it after death. Therefore, as society developed, this desire became more pronounced, and at the same time, the burial chamber became larger and more luxurious.
In some of the burial chambers seen from the Yin Ruins, a large number of precious bronzes were unearthed, and the more bronzes there were, the more exquisite, and the higher the identity of the tomb owner. Even in the burial chamber, there are main burial chambers, side burial chambers, and burial pits, which are obviously divided into functional areas, like things that are very enjoyed before life.
But the work of deciphering the oracle bones is still difficult to carry out, so there is not much information to prove what kind of standards and exquisite tombs in the Shang Dynasty have. But judging from the excavated cultural relics, there must be a great doorway here.
From the written division of the specifications of the tomb, or to the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou rites strictly divided the tomb levels of Tianzi, princes, and scholars, and through these tomb levels, the level of the hierarchy was displayed. Zhou Li's burial system has been quite perfect, but this is also a long process. Therefore, there is reason to believe that the Shang Dynasty already had sufficient requirements for tomb specifications.
Throughout the Western Zhou, Eastern Zhou, Warring States, and all the way to the Qin Dynasty, thick burials became the mainstream. Moreover, the rulers were very obsessed with tombs, and many people began to look for feng shui treasures from the moment they became emperors (or princes), designed the shape of the tomb, arranged funerary items, and finally designed layer after layer of anti-theft measures.
Qin Shi Huang developed this kind of thick burial to the peak, from the historical records, Qin Shi Huang began to build his own mausoleum from the beginning of the throne, this kind of behavior, in the eyes of modern people, some obscure, but for the ruler, this is not obscure, but a status symbol, more hope to choose a feng shui treasure land, to bless future generations.
There were no ancients before, and there were probably no tombs of Qin Shi Huang who came after them
The tomb of Qin Shi Huang is still a mystery for thousands of years, and everyone knows the Qin Terracotta Warriors. In fact, less than one-tenth of the original can be visited by people, and the entire Qin Terracotta Army is only part of the burial of Qin Shi Huang. The mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, no matter from the scale, the number of burials, the quality of the burial, is unprecedented, perhaps it may also be the last one, at least from the ancient tombs found now, none of them can look back.
And the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, in addition to some of the things mentioned above, the anti-theft technology recorded in the historical records is also amazing, the historical records record that the Yongdao is arranged with crossbows, there is mercury in the tomb, and even said that the tomb roof made of gems to imitate the stars in the sky.
These things have not been fully proved, but after expert testing, the mercury content in the soil within the scope of the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang is indeed abnormal.
In order to prevent the secrets of the tomb from being leaked, when the tomb of Qin Shi Huang was being manufactured, according to historical records, some organs, such as some gates, were not only to prevent outsiders from entering, but also to prevent people inside from going out. Therefore, a large number of craftsmen were buried in the burial chamber as martyrs on the eve of completion. Later, this method was used by many later rulers. Therefore, in order to survive, some craftsmen often leave a hand and find a way back for themselves, but such a situation is rare, after all, every time the tomb is repaired, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people will be used, and the emperor cannot kill these people, but will only secretly dispose of some core figures.
The tomb of Qin Shi Huang did not make the Qin Dynasty thousands of generations, but exhausted the national strength, therefore, from the Qin Dynasty onwards, the two Han Dynasties and the Wei and Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties period, the tombs were based on thin burials as the mainstream, whether from the scale of the tombs or the number of excavations, they were not comparable to the tombs of Qin Shi Huang or even the Warring States of the Western Zhou Dynasty. And the funeral also changed from terracotta figurines, bronzes, to some pottery and lacquerware and a small amount of porcelain.
Since the Qin Dynasty, in addition to the Sui Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty Before the Anshi Rebellion, there has also been a thick burial fashion, but the overall tomb, although the specifications are very high, but relatively speaking, it is a lot more shabby.
All kinds of red tape, shabby is actually only relative
Speaking of the later tombs, in fact, it is only relative, I have visited the Dingling Tombs in the Thirteen Tombs, dozens of people along the dark and damp Yongdao, straight to the underground, saw the Wanli Emperor and his two concubines of the huge sarcophagus, such a amount of work is already breathtaking.
According to legend, although the Wanli Emperor was very "homely", he attached great importance to the things after his death, like other emperors, and went to the scene many times to supervise the progress of the project, and it is said that this mausoleum cost more than eight million taels.
The place outside the tomb is also very large, almost like a royal garden. According to the tour guide, this originally had a large-scale complex of buildings, but it was destroyed by the war, and all that was left was a few castle towers and pavilions. We walked around this garden for most of the day before we got a rough idea. It can be seen that although the future generations are not as terrifying as the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, they are also very amazing.
In addition to these amazing above-ground and underground buildings, the funerals of ancient emperors are also extremely luxurious, different dynasties, with different exquisite, from some Qing Dynasty wild history materials, the Qing Emperor funeral process, the light coffin of the people, each class there are 128 people, divided into three shifts, in front of the soul flag there are sixty-four people, honor guard more than a thousand people, followed by the Eight Banners and the Janissaries.
These people added up to as many as thousands of people, not to mention the relatives of the civil and military officials and the emperor, and such a huge contingent could catch up with a small-scale war.
From death to the end of the funeral, it will take at least a month, including the timing of the auspicious day. Such expenses are difficult to count. After the death of the emperor, under normal circumstances, all the people will not be allowed to have entertainment activities for a hundred days.
Of course, these are only in the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, as for the later, in fact, all the dynasties are the same, when the national strength declines, the tomb naturally will not pay attention to these pomp, for many last emperors, not to mention the funeral, there is a coffin, it is already good.