Funeral custom of falling burial

Burial is a way of burying a corpse in a coffin and buried underground. It is also a traditional burial method with the longest duration, the most complicated customs and habits, the widest spread and the largest number of nationalities since the concept of soul appeared. Archaeological excavation materials confirmed that China's burial first began with Neanderthals in Beijing, who covered the dead body with soil in the depths of the cave. In Yangshao cultural site from 7000 to 5000 years ago, more than 2000 graves were buried in soil pits. By 4000 years ago, the Yellow River Basin, the Yangtze River Basin, and places far away from the Yellow River, the northeast and southeast coasts of the Yangtze River had adopted burial.

As far as the nationalities used for burial are concerned, besides the Han nationality, there are Zhuang, Dai, Bulun, Miao, Yao and Tibetan nationalities 10. At present, among the 56 ethnic groups in China, more than 40 ethnic groups are buried in the earth, including Han, Yi, Bulang, Lahu and Naxi. The Menba people adopt burial, cremation and water burial; Yugur people adopt burial, cremation and celestial burial; Tibetans use burial, cremation, celestial burial and water burial. From ancient times to the present, burial is a way of burial used by most ethnic groups. Today, 65,438+00 ethnic groups still have the tradition of burial. The state respects their burial tradition and does not force cremation.

As far as the specific burial methods of Han nationality in feudal society are concerned, there are roughly the following three forms: 1. The simplest way is to bury the body directly in the pit, or wrap it with straw mats before burial, which is the burial method of the destitute or criminals in past dynasties; The most common way is to put the body in a coffin and bury the coffin in a pit. This method is used by the most populous civilians. 3. The most complicated and luxurious method is to put the body in the coffin, and there are coffins outside the coffin, and even several layers of coffins, and then put the coffins and coffins containing the body in a pit or a brick house or a stone house. This complicated and expensive burial method is only available to emperors, nobles, bureaucrats and wealthy families.

The formation of funeral customs is closely related to people's ideas. They believe that the earth of the dead is the inevitable destination of mankind. In Zhou Li, it is said that "all sentient beings die and return to the earth after death", in Han Dynasty Reform, it is said that "when people die, ghosts return, essence returns to the sky, and meat returns to the earth", and Li Yun also said that "soul and god belong to the sky, and shape and god belong to it". As can be seen from the above, the ancients believed that after death, the body was buried underground, and the soul separated from the body could return to heaven. Burial is closely related to the concept of ghost. From Paleolithic to modern times, when people bury the dead, they have to bury a lot of things, including all kinds of utensils, food and decorations, in order to make the souls of the dead live better in another world.

The funeral etiquette is complicated, which is one of its important characteristics. In ancient times, people's funerals were extremely simple, with no graves, ceremonies and sacrifices. After entering the class society, the funeral methods have become increasingly complex to meet the needs of the ruling class and ethics. Superstition has become increasingly strong, forming a unique funeral etiquette in the world. It is required to "bury with ceremony, sacrifice with ceremony", "coffin must be heavy, food and clothing must be abundant, embroidery must be complicated, mountain dragons must be huge", "body hair and skin, parents' suffering, dare not damage". This traditional concept of funeral still has a certain influence on people and has become a major psychological and ideological obstacle to the implementation of funeral reform.