According to historical records, in the history of our country, the monument was erected in the Han Dynasty. At that time, only literati, that is, people with status, could erect a monument after death, but ordinary people could not. In that Tang dynasty, with a more open and inclusive attitude, the people began to erect monuments. At that time, the upper level adopted a tacit attitude. Since then, it is also possible to set up tombs with people's surnames, but only for the rich, and the poor generally have few monuments. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was common for the people to erect monuments, especially in the Qing Dynasty.
Judging from the existing old tombstones among the people, there are not many tombstones erected by the people in the Ming Dynasty, but there are still some. After Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, the existing old tombstones became more common and the number was the largest, especially in Xianfeng, Daoguang, Tongzhi and Guangxu years. During the Republic of China, the number of grave monuments was not large, which may be related to social unrest and poor people's physical weakness. After the founding of New China, especially after the reform and opening up, the construction of monuments reached its peak again. Many tombs that were not erected during the Republic of China were erected as long as Feng Shui allowed, not to mention new tombs.
The custom of whether to erect a monument to the dead depends on whether the people can erect a monument to the dead. There are not too many restrictions. They are all based on local customs and habits, and relatives of the deceased generally decide for themselves.
After the death of a minor, it is generally considered inappropriate and unnecessary to erect a monument. As an adult, no matter whether there are descendants or not, as long as people can enter the ancestral grave (there are some local customs, as long as they don't die suddenly as adults, they can enter the ancestral grave at home), whether or not to erect a monument is decided by their relatives according to the specific circumstances. There are also monuments in the existing old graves. In those days, they were all rich families, and they all erected monuments in the name of nephews. Some unmarried deceased, their relatives also arranged wives for him, calling his wife "Fu's". There is a "Fu's" tombstone on the tablet, and he never married before his death. Generally, poor families will not erect a monument, mainly because it will cost a lot of money. They are willing to erect a monument, but there is nothing they can do. Its graves are scrawled, let alone erected monuments. In some places, people who die suddenly outside can't erect a monument, but in most places, as long as there are descendants, although they can't enter the ancestral grave, their descendants can also erect a monument for their graves, because the monument itself is a symbol of the grave owner. There is also a kind of person who died for the benefit of the local or family. Even if it is a sudden death, there must be a monument to show praise and commemoration. Today's heroes have inherited this ancient tradition, and they all want to erect monuments.
Whether the monument can be erected is very special. Since ancient times, both the imperial court and the people have believed in Feng Shui. For example, during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the court was afraid that the local "Dragon Cave" was good, and suddenly there were suitable people competing with the court for seats. In order to maintain its family rule, the royal family specially invited Mr. Feng Shui to visit the "Dragon Cave and Dragon Spirit" of Feng Shui all over the country. If you find the "dragon cave", destroy it and cut off the vein to avoid future trouble. Some local chronicles and privately written historical books have such records. Such as Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan and other places, many places have nicknames of "Duanlong 'ao", and its source lies here, and there are also many folklore in this respect. This superstitious behavior of the royal family naturally affected the folk belief in Feng Shui.
In the old days, Feng Shui described all kinds of landforms and mountains and rivers as figures, animals, or furniture and utensils, which were vivid. In this way, there are two situations in which there are no monuments.
One is that feng shui people's trust cannot stand a monument. Mainly because some places are considered as the key parts of animals or objects, which hinders the geomantic omen of the tomb after the monument is erected. For example, there is a kind of terrain called "yellow dog's nest", which is a rare "geomantic treasure". It is a good place for a mountain to sleep in a nest like a yellow dog, such as a grave buried under the dog's chin, but this part cannot be erected. The reason is that the dog's chin will be propped up after the monument is erected, and the dog will run away after waking up, and the geomantic omen in this place will lose its spirituality. For another example, the place where the tomb is buried is a chair shape of a grand master. It is said that future generations are full of talented people, but it is impossible to erect a monument. Setting up a monument is equivalent to putting an upward nail on the bench. No one dares to sit, and the meaning of Feng Shui is lost. There are various versions of this.
In another case, in order to hide Feng Shui, there is no monument. Some people always think that their old people have been buried in the satisfactory "land of geomantic omen", others will be jealous, spoil the good geomantic omen in their cemeteries, and deliberately scribble the graves, pretending that they don't care, let alone erect monuments. This kind of situation is intentional, deliberately not erecting a monument, and crossing the sea. In this case, there are many people among the people. What's more, Mr. Feng Shui deliberately mystifies the terrain of Feng Shui, and some people among the people are convinced.