The ancient funeral culture in China has a long history, in which there are numerous allusions and stories. Especially in recent years, film and television dramas about funeral themes have emerged in an endless stream, which has become a topic that everyone in the streets talks about. It is said that after death, the ancients had the custom of putting things under the tongue of the deceased, which entrusted the living with their grief and expectation for the deceased. There are many things, such as rice, millet, pearls, jade, coins, food and so on. But as far as emperors are concerned, cicadas are the most common.
Cicada is a very interesting creature. There is an ancient poem, "Before the golden wind moves, cicadas will feel uncertain before they die", which vividly describes the characteristics of cicadas' foresight. Cicada's life begins in the cool autumn, and then comes out and returns to the tree when it blooms in the following spring. Cicada's life is endless. Therefore, the ancients often gave jade cicadas to their deceased ancestors, hoping that their ancestors could be reincarnated. Yuchan also represents the spirit of optimism and perseverance.
In addition, why does Cixi put a luminous pearl? This statement is not uniform, but the night pearl contained in Cixi's mouth is indeed a night pearl, which can emit green fluorescence at night. This kind of article is a rare treasure in today's society, let alone in the feudal society with backward technology at that time. It is enough to see how extravagant the life of feudal rulers is. That's why they still want the next life to be the same as the last one.