Customary Practice Ancient China

Customs

A custom is often an established behavioral pattern that prevails through years. It is commonly the result of social influences on the people of a society. Traditional customs have their own analogies. They associate certain things or actions with certain happenings in life. Traditional customs usually are meant to invite good omen while warding off the evils.

However, due to some of the practice may harm an individual and now is prohibited and enforced by law.

Customary Funerals Practice in Ancient China

• Sacrificial Funeral System (buried alive with the dead)

• The Tower Funeral (still practicing)

• Celestial Burial (still practicing)

• Water Burial (rarely practicing)

Customary Punishment Practice in Ancient China

• Drown in Cage

Sacrificial Funeral System [1]

Since Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BC) about 3000 years ago, during that time is the slave era and people believe that a dead person’s soul will live in another dimension of world, where the tomb is the residence of the soul in another world. When a master (slave owner) dies, slaves must be buried together with their master in order to serve their master in another dimension of world. According to the archeologist exploration in China, they discovered smaller tombs contained few slaves sometime up to dozen of slaves, in bigger tombs up to hundreds of slaves buried with their master. Some of them with swords, a guard of master, some of them with horsewhip, driver of master, some of them with a dog’s skeleton, etc.

After Shang, Zhou, Qin Dynasty still practices this customs. According to the history record, Qin Dynasty does try to abandon this practice at 348BC and replace it by using Terra-Cotta Warriors but it wasn’t success. Upon the death of the Qin Emperor his son “Hu Hai” gave an order to kill all Emperor’s wives who doesn’t give birth, also those servant who served Emperor. To secure the tomb information “Hu Hai” gave order to kill those workers who construct the...