Sacrificial Burial China

The practice of sacrificial burials is not new to China's people. These burial rituals have been practiced since the very beginning of China's history, starting with the Shang Dynasty. These rituals are performed to provide the deceased person with companionship, necessary help and in the instance of animals, transportation.

Weddings of the Dead

The practice of sacrificing a virgin for a man's burial is controversial, though not uncommon in Chinese culture. While it is illegal to kill someone for this particular ritual, it still occurs today. It is popular in rural areas, and recently has been spreading to larger cities. In the Chinese underworld, families are willing large sums of money to procure a virgin for a son's burial. These "ghost brides" are necessary because the dead man would be lonely without a bride to keep him company in the afterlife.

A corpse bride trader usually gets the corpse by robbing graves. Many families arrange for this well in advance of their son's death so that he can be buried with this bride. It is also common for the current wife to purchase the corpse bride for her husband, in the event that he should precede her in death. Corpse brides are also needed for men who never married while alive, and die as a bachelor. These "weddings of the dead" often occur in April each year during the Festival for the Dead.

Headless Skeletons

Excavations of king's tombs from the Shang Dynasty reveal that they were buried with everything they needed for their journey in the afterlife, including many servants. The skulls in these tombs were found facing the center of the burial chamber. What makes this archaeological find strange is that there were more headless skeletons found than the number of skulls.

Further exploration of this sacrificial burial in China revealed several charioteers lying on the ramps that led to the outside of the tombs, which faced north and south. It was believed that the charioteers were there to protect the king from grave robbers and evil spirits.

The Duke's Horses

People aren't the only living beings used in sacrificial burials. Duke Jinggong lived between 577-537 BC. His burial tomb was found in 1976 and was again excavated in 1986. A chamber containing horses was discovered adjacent to the Duke's burial chamber. The horses would have been sacrificed in order to provide the Duke with the necessary transportation he would need in the afterlife.

Other tombs have been found to have sacrificial animals in them. A tomb found in the Dulan-Reshui area in Tibet was filled with a variety of animals that would have been needed in the afterlife. These tombs were filled with horses, dogs, cows, yaks and sheep. A total of 200 sacrificed animals were found, each posed in a particular position.

Sacrificial Burials in China's History

To date, more than 5,000 sacrificial burial sites have been found and verified in China. Burying someone with creatures or even fellow humans was, and still is, part of China's cultural heritage.

Archaeologists believe there are many more sacrificial burial tombs and pits to be found in China. It will be interesting to see what the next discovery will reveal about China's history.