Why did the ancients hang coffins in the cliff?

Hanging coffin burial [the custom of some ethnic groups in ancient China to bury the dead in cliff caves]

An ancient burial method in China. That is, after death, relatives bury the body in the coffin, and the wooden coffin is hung on the wooden stake inserted into the cliff, or placed in the cliff hole, cliff seam, or semi-suspended outside the cliff. It is often steep and risky, and there is a deep stream next to it, and there is no way to climb. Its custom is popular in southern minority areas, and the higher it is hung, the more it shows respect for the dead. According to literature and field investigation, this burial custom is found in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Fujian, Taiwan Province, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and other provinces. A large number of ancient hanging coffin burial relics from the Warring States to Qin and Han Dynasties were found in Xianyan, Guixi, Wuyishan, Womahan, Zhongxian, Kuixia, Fengxiang Gorge, Matangba and Gongxian, Sichuan. Wu of the Three Kingdoms wrote "Records of Foreign Bodies in Coastal Waters": "When parents die, kill dogs to sacrifice them, so that the four roads can hold their bodies. Singing and dancing after drinking is still hanging among rocks, and it is buried without burial. " "Zhang Tang Kunshu in the Ruling and Opposition" Volume 14: "When my parents died ... they made a coffin and carved a niche on the half rib near the river for burial. Hanging a big coffin from the mountain, the tallest man thinks there will be a coffin until he dies. He will be placed in a cave, and the tallest man will go thousands of feet or face the river without covering it. "