What is the tomb of the Warring States Period like?

1. The tombs in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were earth caves. In the late Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, many tombs of the ruling class built mounds on the ground. Graves and mounds are generally built with rammed earth, some of which are square cone-shaped and some of which are unclear in shape. The highest existing one is more than ten meters. The "incense hall" built on the ground of Zhongshan King's Tomb in Pingshan, Hebei Province and Wei Guo's Cemetery in Guwei Village, Huixian County, Henan Province should be regarded as inheriting the old system since Shang Dynasty.

2. The tombs in the Warring States Period still maintained the shape since Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and some big tombs even retained waist pits. Some monarchs and big noble's tombs, such as King Zhongshan's tomb in Pingshan, Wang Wei's tomb in Huixian and Zhao's tomb in Handan, have pyramid-shaped tombs on both sides, which are similar to those in Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties.

3. Due to the development of production and handicraft industry, the funerary objects in aristocratic tombs have reached an unprecedented level in variety, quantity and quality. At that time, lacquerware was beautifully made, and its proportion in funerary objects increased obviously. However, ritual vessels and musical instruments are still regarded as the most important funerary objects by the ruling class.

4. In the small tombs in Guanzhong and Central Plains in the late Warring States period, soil cave tomb with horizontal holes appeared, and a huge hollow brick was also used to build coffin chambers instead of wooden coffins. This kind of horizontal cave tomb and hollow brick tomb were not common at that time, but their appearance meant that the traditional tomb system had changed since Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

5. Human martyrdom still exists in some tombs in the late Spring and Autumn Period and the early Warring States Period, but generally speaking, the Warring States Period is rarer than the Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty. The custom of burying wooden figurines and pottery figurines is prevalent and can be regarded as a substitute for human sacrifice.

6. Since Shang Dynasty and Western Zhou Dynasty, the bodies of tomb owners are mostly straight limbs. During the Warring States Period, except for Chu in the south, the funeral of bent limbs was popular in Qin, Han, Wei, Zhao, Yan and other countries in the Yellow River valley to varying degrees.