Coffins are containers for human remains. Why are people buried in coffins after death? Because the ancients believed in "burying the dead in the grave", they buried the dead in coffins and preserved them for as long as possible.
This is not only in China, but also in many countries and regions. Of course, there are also some regions and ethnic groups that practice cremation, celestial burial and water burial. This is related to the local concept of funeral culture.
Under the Book of Changes: "The burial of the ancient people was rewarded with thick clothes and buried in the field, without sealing or trees, and there were countless mourning periods. It is easy for later saints to cover up all big mistakes with coffins. " At first, people just buried the dead in the wilderness. This is not only disrespectful to the deceased, but also inconvenient for future generations to find a place to sacrifice.
The ancients thought that when people died, vital signs disappeared, but the soul could ascend to heaven. Therefore, the living will gradually sort out the dead bodies and bury them properly, such as in coffins. This concept is superstitious, but after all, it also reflects the respect for the deceased and carries people's grief.
The coffin contains the remains, and the coffin (guǒ) is a box added to the outside of the coffin, that is, the outer packaging. Matching the coffin system, there is also a "funeral" system. These ceremonies and a series of ceremonies show the identity and status of the deceased.
Why is the coffin made of wood?
The ancients "regarded death as life" and thought that after death, people meant living in another world. Wood and soil are mixed together. For example, in China's "five elements" concept, wood represents relaxation and growth; Trees can take root in soil, so they can make soil. Seemingly similar, but in fact they are made for each other.
Moreover, the wood is convenient to obtain and the economic cost is low. People think that coffins are the shelter of the dead, and they are called Shoumu, Shoucoffins, Fangs, Shoufang, Old Houses and Old Houses, which means adding longevity and happiness. Because it is mostly made of wood, it is called a coffin.
In the past, it was the greatest blessing to have a good coffin after the old man died. Moreover, when you are still alive, you should carefully select the wood, please make a longevity square by skilled craftsmen, brush it with tung oil for anticorrosion, put it at home for later use, and die peacefully.
In the past, people were very particular about coffins, generally using high-quality cypress, pine, willow, paulownia and other materials, and even paying a lot of money to use golden nanmu.
The coffins produced in Liuzhou, Guangxi, China, are exquisite in materials, fine in workmanship, tough and light, free from insects and ants, and have a long history and are famous all over the world. Therefore, there has been a saying of "dying in Liuzhou" since ancient times.
In addition to materials, there are also many stresses on the technology and external decoration of making coffins. For example, it is called "four corners" made of four whole squares, that is, the cover plate, bottom plate and side plate are all a whole square. There are hexagon, octagon, decagon and dodecagon.
The external decoration of coffins usually has auspicious words such as "blessing" and "longevity", and some still depict cranes, deer, colored glasses, cranes, pines and cypresses in the monument hall.
The craft of coffin mainly depends on status and family. Of course, coffins also have copper, stone and jade, and there is another meaning.
According to archaeological findings, wooden coffins appeared very early, which has been 10 thousand years since. Accurately speaking, coffins appeared in Yangshao culture period of Neolithic age in China, and wooden coffins appeared in Longshan culture, which were used as clan leaders. In the tombs of Shang kings in Yin Ruins, many large wooden strips are stacked into square or sub-shaped tombs, and the coffins of Shang kings are placed in the middle.
But at that time, coffins spread to civilians, which was later.
The reason why wood is used as a coffin after death is not only convenient, but also has a special significance, that is, wood is the meaning of life, which means endless life. Therefore, the ancients used wood to make coffins and put human remains in coffins.
The ancients were in awe of life and full of affection for their loved ones, so as long as conditions allowed, they should be buried in coffins.
Of course, with the development of society, funeral culture and etiquette are constantly changing. Nowadays, the society advocates cremation and the use of urn. The concept of coffin burial should also keep pace with the times.
I didn't say to put it in a coffin and cremate it with an urn. There are also customs of celestial burial and water burial. Some of them are buried directly by car because the deceased likes cars because they save money. Which law stipulates that coffins must be used? On the contrary, the country advocated cremation a few years ago, and even banned the use of coffins in some places.
Who says you must put a coffin after death!
The Chinese nation is a multi-ethnic collective composed of 56 ethnic groups!
The customs and habits of different nationalities are more or less different!
This has caused various burial methods after death!
As far as I know, the known burial methods in China are: earth burial, cremation, water burial, celestial burial, hanging coffin burial (ancient, unheard of now) and clay pot burial (ancient, unheard of now). (Of course, if you have friends who know other burial methods, you can give me a popular science. ).
Everyone in front should know something about it. Let me talk about the last pottery burial!
In ancient times, after the death of some ethnic minorities in southwest China, the priests in the tribe would take out some organs such as the heart of the deceased and put them in a clay pot; Then let the families of the deceased put them on the cliffs in the mountains or bury them in unknown corners according to the instructions of the priest!
The burial methods I mentioned above, except for burial and hanging coffin burial, need to put the body of the deceased in a coffin, and other burial methods do not need a coffin!
Therefore, not all people must be put in coffins after death!
All the above are personal opinions, please forgive me for the shortcomings!
Recently, I attended the funeral of a relative in a sparsely populated place, and really felt how happy it was to sleep in a coffin after death. Although the original cypress coffin was lined with yellow cloth and filled with clothes I usually wear, the final effect was to set people off as if they were sleeping on their back, cover the coffin and sleep quietly forever. I really think that death is just the end of a journey, which makes me less afraid of the end of my life.
Who said anything about coffins? There were urns in ancient times, but now there are urns.
In the old customs, the dead are usually put in coffins.
Among them, Bao Zheng, a well-known master of mending the sky, used as many as 2 1 mouth.
The original intention was to guard against theft. However, the gold industry was moved by Bao Qingtian's justice, and it also made rules for its owners. Nobody touches master Bao's grave.
The ancients believed that the end of life was to go to the grave, and the other end of the grave was the world of ghosts and gods.
The funeral custom in our country is actually the product of the concept of soul. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, and people are divided into groups.
The body is immortal, the soul is immortal, and it can protect future generations in the dark and make a fortune.
Coffin entry is one of the most important links in funeral.
So, where did the word "coffin" come from?
"Coffin" means "covering the body". In the ancient ritual system, the identity of the ancients was often reflected through coffins, that is, "coffins".
Because its material is mostly wood, the word "coffin" came into being.
In our tradition, many people regard it as a blessing to get a good coffin after a hundred years. It is naturally beautiful to use high-quality catalpa and nanmu as materials.
Therefore, in ancient times, people who were dying often put their coffins at home in advance and put some blessings on them every Chinese New Year holiday.
The earliest coffins originated from Yangshao culture in Neolithic age.
After that, it changed constantly, forming a unique China coffin in China, and then spreading to the west. Coupled with the different manners, it gradually divided.
Why did the ancients take pride in "entering the coffin"? Reason one: things die like things happen. As a continuation of life after death.
Reason 2: promotion and wealth. China people are homophonic, which has a unique congenital advantage in association.
Reason 3: bury yourself in peace. But direct burial is easy to damage the body of the living owner, so the coffin has the function of "covering the body".
In fact, it is very simple to say that there is a house before death and a coffin after death, so there is always a face.
Pay attention to @ penzijun, let's eat spicy food together and talk about more interesting topics ~
This is just a local custom, which is not found in some places.
Coffin means promoting to a higher position and making a fortune. The ancients believed that descendants and parents' grandparents were conjoined, and they were part of grandparents and parents. Even if parents and grandparents die, the breath will always exist, and the last bone can leave a trace of breath for future generations. Choosing the land of feng shui is such a role.
Good feng shui can bring shade to children and grandchildren, so that children and grandchildren can be promoted and made rich and have good luck.
A beautiful wish.
There are fewer and fewer tombs with coffins. The former burial was changed to cremation, and the urn replaced the coffin, which is also a manifestation of social progress.
Please comment.
This can't be generalized. When the Hui people are buried, there is no need to put a coffin, but they are wrapped in white cloth and buried. There are also water burial, celestial burial and other ethnic burial methods that do not use coffins. Most people who put coffins are Han Chinese and burial areas. In primitive society, there were no coffins. People die and abandon the wilderness. People at that time had no sense of life and emotion. Later, people realized that people died, the body died, and the spirit lived forever. In order to make the deceased live a better life in another world, people began to use grass to sweep graves and bury bodies, and gradually turned them into wooden boxes for holding bodies, and then more exquisite coffins appeared. It is said that someone died and buried the coffin high and deep, which is respect and admiration for the deceased, and also entrusted with the memory and grief of the deceased.