Love, Death and Us

This is a surprising

Extremely sad, extremely upset

Extremely sad topic

It is also a topic that no one can avoid.

How should we face death?

How to face parents, brothers and sisters

Spouse, children, friends, etc.

The departure of all those we love in this world?

(A cemetery in Ningbo, Zhejiang, image source: Visual China)

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In many people's minds

There is an answer

Timeless

People believe

Death is not the end of life

Go to another world to survive

therefore

Whether rich or poor

Our parents, our brothers

Our sisters, our spouses, our friends

All the People We Love

They should all live better in another world.

(T-shaped silk painting from Mawangdui Han Tomb No. 1, showing the tomb owner ascending to heaven, with three parts: heaven, earth, and underground, showing the ancient people's pursuit of ascension. Photographer @柳叶氘, map @龙雁羽/Planetary Research Institute)

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We buried them with gold and silver

We buried them with jade

We buried them with paintings and calligraphy

Even if we have nothing

We must also work hard for our relatives and friends in another world

Pave a blessed road to the underworld

And this emotion

For thousands of years

No change

01

Departure

If people can live their lives in peace

Natural aging

How lucky it is

But life is full of pain

Death is no exception

Some people left because of wild animal attacks

More than 10,000 years ago

Ancient people in the hunting and gathering era

Facing various ferocious animals

Often killed by beasts

(Tiger skeleton fossil unearthed from the Zhoukoudian Cave in Beijing, of which the ribs are restored models, image source @Zhoukoudian Site Museum, map @Long Yanling/Planetary Research Institute)

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Some people died because of the plague

About 5,000 years ago

A village in Tongliao, Inner Mongolia

A plague suddenly broke out

The men, women and children in the village

Falling one after another

Nearly 200 people died.

(Human bones were found buried in several houses at the Haminmangha site in Tongliao, Inner Mongolia. The ages of the deceased were mainly concentrated in minors and middle-aged people. It should be an abnormal death. According to various signs, it is speculated that it was probably caused by a sudden plague. The picture below shows the burial of human bones in house number F40. The picture is from @Inner Mongolia Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute)

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Some people died due to natural disasters

About 4,000 years ago

A village in Minhe County, Qinghai

Destroyed by sudden landslides

Unexpected

Many residents died

A woman in her last moments

Build a wall of life with your body

Protect the child in your arms

But the disaster is still ruthless

Took their lives

(The disaster site at Lajia Ruins in Minhe County, Qinghai Province. There is still debate about the cause of the disaster. Some scholars believe that it was caused by the earthquake and the subsequent flood. Some scholars believe that it was not related to the earthquake but a sudden mudslide that buried the village. In addition, tests have shown that the woman and the child in her arms are not mother and child. Photographer @仇梦涵)

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Some people died due to childbirth difficulties

About 2,500 years ago

In a village in Turpan, Xinjiang

A pregnant woman is about to give birth

Her family is full of expectations

During childbirth

Pregnant woman dies in childbirth

The newborn baby also died

Originally a happy day

It became a farewell

(A tomb of a mother and a baby found in the Jiayi Cemetery in Turpan, Xinjiang. The woman was identified as being about 20-25 years old, and the baby was about 40 weeks old, with no pathological symptoms. Both died of dystocia. Image source: Turpan Academy of Archaeology)

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Some people leave because of love

Eastern Han Dynasty

A minor official in Lujiang County

(now Anqing, Anhui)

His parents forced him

Divorce his wife with a divorce letter

But true love can transcend life and death

Under the repeated torture of the elders

They chose to go to hell together

In another world, we live together

"We will share the same pillow and bed together, and we will be friends in the underworld"

(The above is from the Han Dynasty's "The Peacock Flies Southeast", and the picture below shows a red bird holding a copper cup. When it was unearthed, there were traces of vermilion in the cup. Some people speculate that it was a box for cosmetics, while others believe that it was a cup used for drinking wedding wine at ancient weddings based on the shape of the cup. Photographer @李文博, map @龙雁羽/星球研究院)

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Some people left because of court struggles

Even the emperor's closest relatives

Will also face ruthless killing

For example, Wu Zetian's son Li Xian (Prince Zhanghuai)

The eldest grandson, Li Chongrun (Prince Yide)

Granddaughter Li Xianhui (Princess Yongtai)

In the struggle for power

Died due to persecution by Wu Zetian

And was finally buried in Qianling Mausoleum

(Qianling Mausoleum and the tomb of Prince Yide, photographer @勾炳宸)

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also

Some people left because of the war.

(From the second of Four Poems on a Journey to Longxi by Chen Tao of the Tang Dynasty)

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Poor Wuding Riverside Bones

Still the person in my spring dream

Left because of poverty

(From Li Shen's Poem of Pity for the Peasants in the Tang Dynasty)

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There is no idle land in the world

The farmer starved to death

because

Died due to fire, drowning, illness , etc.

These people who left

Where will it go next?

02

Another World

Maybe they went

Another World

That is a

Still need food, clothing, shelter and transportation to maintain life

Still need music, chess, calligraphy and painting to settle the body and mind

The World

so

We deal with their departure

It should be like they are alive.

(Pastry and pasta unearthed from the Astana Cemetery in Turpan, Xinjiang, photographer @刘玉生, map @龙雁羽/Planet Research Institute)

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As early as 8,000 years ago when material things were not developed

Villagers from Jiahu Village, Henan

Then he took the sickle, the millstone, and the millstone

Or bottles and jars used for cooking and storing food

Buried generously with deceased relatives

Even if they themselves are not rich

Because that's the best they know.

Essential tools for a family to survive

They hope their loved ones are in another world.

They can also be self-sufficient and have no worries about food and clothing

(Cultural relics unearthed from the Jiahu culture cemetery in Henan Province, dating back to 9,000 years ago. Photo courtesy of @Professor Zhang Juzhong of the Department of History of Science and Archaeology of the University of Science and Technology of China, and drawn by @Long Yanling/Planetary Research Institute)

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With the development of society

Material abundance

Wealthier people began to bury their loved ones

Exquisite jade, bronze, gold and silver wares, etc.

In the hope that they are in another world

Have the same abundant life

These items

It also allows us today to witness

The endless love of the ancients for their loved ones

(Tomb No. 152 of Jiaojia Site, Shandong Province, image source @Department of Archaeology and Museology, Shandong University, map @Long Yanling/Planet Research Institute)

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include

Dislike for his wife

Fuhao

Lived in the Bronze Age more than 3,000 years ago

She was the wife of King Wu Ding of Shang

She is also a female general who led troops in battle.

When Fu Hao died

The king and his family were very sad.

A large number of items were buried with Fu Hao

There are weapons such as axes and halberds

Let her in another world

Continue to have the right to kill

(Tongyue, photographer @柳叶撺, map @龙雁羽/Planet Research Institute)

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There are bronze ritual vessels such as tripods and zun.

Let her in another world

Continue to enjoy a prestigious position

(Fuhao Bronze Owl Zun, photographer @Tomorrow Will Be Better, map @Long Yanling/Planet Research Institute)

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And buried her with care

Bronze mirror for dressing and hairpin for bunting

Let her in another world

Keep on being beautiful

This is the family's best wishes to Fu Hao

(Kuishou bone scepter and bronze mirror, photographer @柳叶氘, map @龙雁羽/Planetary Research Institute)

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And the reluctance to leave my brothers

Heifu, surprised, sincere

Life in Qin is in full swing

The Three Brothers who Annihilated the Six Kingdoms

Heifu and Jing join the army to fight

But he stayed in his hometown to take care of the old and young at home

On the battlefield

Heifu and Jing miss their family very much

Keep writing to Zhong

Expressing concern

But it is likely that they will all die in battle.

I couldn't see my family again.

(In addition to their concerns for their families, Heifu and Jing also asked for the money and supplies needed for the war in their letters. The following picture shows part of the greetings to their families. Map by @龙雁羽/星球研究院)

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I miss my brothers very much.

After Dangzhong's death

The family took the two brothers Heifu and Jing

The letter I sent to him was placed next to him.

Brothers' feelings

To another world to continue

(There is still controversy about the identity of the tomb owner. Some believe it is Zhong, while others believe it is another family member. The picture below is a wooden slip of the Hefu family letter from the Qin Tomb at Shuihudi. Image source: Hubei Provincial Museum, and map by Long Yanling/Planetary Research Institute)

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When the children leave

People are also reluctant

Li Jingxun

She is the granddaughter of Yang Lihua, the daughter of Emperor Wen of Sui.

She was brought up in the palace since she was young.

Considered the apple of one's eye

(Glass bottle unearthed from Li Jingxun’s tomb, photographer @柳叶氘, map @龙雁羽/Planet Research Institute)

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But when I was nine years old

She died young

Relatives send off their children

Put all the reluctance

Transformed into rich burial objects

Accompanying her in another world

Continue to live in luxury and wealth

(Gold necklace and gold bracelet buried with Li Jingxun, photographer @苏李欢, map @龙雁羽/Planet Research Institute)

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Not only that

To bless her to live safely in another world

And buried her with him.

A tomb guardian beast that protects against evil spirits and demons

(The tomb guardian beast was not unearthed from Li Jingxun’s tomb, it is for illustration only, photographer @吴玮, map @龙雁羽/Planet Research Institute)

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even

Carve a curse on the sarcophagus

"Whoever opens it dies"

The elders did their best

I just hope she is in another world.

Not to be disturbed

Still loved

Still cared for

Still be a "little princess" without worries

(The inscription "Opener will die" on the stone coffin of Li Jingxun's tomb in Sui Dynasty, source: Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Tombs of Sui and Tang Dynasties in the Suburbs of Chang'an City, Tang Dynasty [M]. Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1980, map by Long Yanling/Xingxing Research Institute)

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The deceased emperors

Apparently in another world

The greatest possibility of continuing to be noble and wealthy

They often start building it for themselves before they are born.

Underground Empire

(Human figurines buried with the dead in Yangling Mausoleum of the Han Dynasty, photographer @李文博)

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Qin Shi Huang

With the most exquisite craftsmanship

Created many types of troops including infantry, cavalry, chariots, etc.

Underground Legion

For him in another world

Continue to fight and explore

(Pit 1 of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum, photographer @张天柱)

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Emperor Taizong of Tang

Carving out a future of underground living

His six favorite horses during his lifetime

Known as the "Six Horses of Zhaoling"

It is still a masterpiece of art that is famous both at home and abroad.

(The Six Horses of Zhaoling were inscribed by Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, and were painted by the painter Yan Liben. They were all top-notch in painting, sculpture, and calligraphy. The picture below shows the White Hoofed Crow, one of the Six Horses of Zhaoling. The photographer is @朱福升, and the map is @龙雁羽/星球研究院)

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Emperor Jiajing

It is very likely that the largest "encyclopedia" in ancient Chinese history

Yongle Encyclopedia

To his tomb

In another world

He needs to continue to enrich himself

(The Yongle Encyclopedia was completed during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. It is the largest encyclopedia in my country, containing seven or eight thousand important classics before the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Due to its vast content and lack of stereotypes, a fire in the palace once affected the classics. Emperor Jiajing issued three or four orders overnight to properly rescue the book. Afterwards, he quickly ordered people to copy a backup, but the original copy was missing in the late Ming Dynasty. Therefore, some scholars believe that the original copy was buried in the Yongling Mausoleum of Jiajing, but some scholars believe that it was burned by fire. There are different opinions. Image source @汇图网, map @龙雁羽/星球研究院)

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also

And the princes

Take away countless gold and silver

(Gold cake unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Haihun of the Han Dynasty, photographer @脉影)

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The Emperor and Concubines

Take away the most gorgeous decoration

(Phoenix crown of Empress Xiaoduan of the Ming Dynasty, photographer @脉影, map @龙雁羽/Planetary Research Institute)

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They lived a life of luxury

Power over the world

After death, there is still another world

lord it over

But

They can take away many treasures

But I can't take away this picturesque landscape

Can't take away this eternal peace

Tomb robbers throughout the ages

Almost all the tombs of the emperors of the past dynasties were looted.

(In the last century, the tombs of Emperor Qianlong and Empress Dowager Cixi were robbed. The night-shining pearl in Empress Cixi's mouth was pried away and her body was discarded at random. The scene after the robbery was a mess and horrible. The picture below shows the Ming Tower of the Dingling Mausoleum of the Qing Dynasty, which was once robbed. The background is picturesque. The picture is from @图虫创意)

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Compared with the powerful

The poor people lived a life of frugality and poverty.

After death, they are often miserable and desolate, with no one to bury them.

It can be said

(From Du Fu's "Five Hundred Words of Thoughts on the Way from Beijing to Fengxian County" in the Tang Dynasty)

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The rich are drunk and feasting

Frozen corpses on the road

A Liang , A Guo

They all lived in the Shanzhou area during the Song Dynasty

(now Sanmenxia area, Henan)

A lonely person dies alone in a nursing home

A poor person who has to rely on relief all his life

For them

Life is hard enough

It is even more difficult to prepare for what happens after death

(At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the government established some charitable institutions to provide elderly care, poverty relief, medical care, and funeral services for the lower classes. The following picture shows the tombstone of the lonely woman Aliang. Among them, Renxianyuan was probably a nursing home at that time, funded and operated by the government. Source: @Sanmenxia Cultural Relics Team. Northern Song Shanzhou Louze Garden [M]. Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1999, map by @Long Yanling/Xingxing Research Institute)

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Fortunately

Song Dynasty

For the elderly without support

Beggars and poor people died on the roadside

The government will fund

Let the dead rest in peace

After the death of A Liang and A Guo

The burial institution under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, Louzeyuan

Responsible for burial

No relatives to see you off

There are no burial objects.

There is only a brief epitaph.

Records that they had come to this world

(Aguo Tombstone, Source @Sanmenxia Cultural Relics Team. Northern Song Dynasty Shanzhou Louze Garden [M]. Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1999, Map @Long Yanling/Planetary Research Institute)

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The rich take away their wealth

The poor only want to be buried in peace

But that's not all there is to Another World*

03

Renew the relationship

In the cold underground world

What people need most may not be wealth

It's emotion

The ancients realized this a long time ago.

As early as prehistoric times

When fellow tribesmen leave

The tribe will bury them in the same cemetery

(An ancient tomb complex from the Warring States Period discovered on a construction site in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, for illustration only, photographer @勾炳宸)

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even

The same tomb

Let them stand shoulder to shoulder

(When a member of the tribe died, he or she was buried individually first. After a period of time, the remains of all members were dug out and buried together in one grave. The picture below shows a joint burial tomb at the Baligang site in Dengzhou, Henan. Map by @龙雁羽/星球研究院)

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In some areas where burial customs are extremely strange

The tribe will take the remains of the deceased

Placed in pottery jars

Buried together again

(Ur burial in Hongshan Temple, about 5,500 years ago. Urn burial is a burial tool specially made for the dead. There is a small hole at the bottom, which is presumably for the soul of the dead to enter and exit. There are men, women, old and young in the urn burial. The collective burial method is a reflection of the strengthening of clan blood relations, which is conducive to the cohesion of ethnic consciousness. Image source: Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Ruzhou Hongshan Temple [M]. Zhongzhou Ancient Books Publishing House. 1995, map by Long Yanling/Planetary Institute)

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The ancients used this method

People who wish to live in harmony during their lifetime

In another world

Continue to maintain kinship

It can be said that "life and death depend on each other"

also

When the mother and child leave

The family will bury them together with tears

I hope they are in another world.

Renewing the blood relationship

(Reconstruction of the mother-infant joint tomb found in the Jiayi Cemetery in Turpan, Xinjiang. Image source: @Turpan Academy of Archaeology, Map by @Long Yanling/Planetary Institute)

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When the lover leaves

Especially those

There is endless longing in life

People who are experiencing a "long-distance relationship"

We have traveled thousands of miles since we left, and there is no date for our return.

On the 30th day of the month, there is no night without longing

(The green-glazed poem-inscribed porcelain pot, the poem above comes from this pot, which belongs to the Changsha Kiln. The works of this kiln mostly have poems by folk poets written on porcelain, but most of them do not have the author's information, and the creation background is unknown. Photographer @脉影, map @龙雁羽/星球研究院)

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or those

No fear of age gap

Ignore the secular perspective

People who pursue a love like "age-gap love"

You were born before I was born, I was born when you were old

You hate that I was born late, I hate that you were born early

(The poem “You were born when I was not yet born” on the celadon pot comes from this pot, photographer @脉影, map @龙雁羽/星球研究院)

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Before death

They love each other so much

After death

Their relatives will bury them together.

Even let them hug each other and leave the world

Love in life till death

Love lasts forever after death

It can be said that

(From the Jin Dynasty Yuan Haowen's "Mo Yu'er Yanqiu Ci", there are other versions of this sentence)

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What is love in this world?

Until life and death

(Reconstruction diagram of the Northern Wei Embracing Tomb. There are few burial objects, but the burial posture and the ring on the woman's ring finger bear witness to the eternity of their love. Image source: @Datong Archaeological Research Institute Hou Xiaogang, Chang Liang, restoration design @Wang Anqi, drawing @Long Yanling/Planetary Research Institute)

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And those who have special burial customs

People follow their beliefs

Send them to their ideal country

Facing the passing of Buddhist monks

People would build pagodas and temples for it.

Pay homage

(The relic casket in the underground palace of Famen Temple. Famen Temple was a royal temple in the Tang Dynasty. It enshrined the real body relic of Sakyamuni, which is the supreme sacred object in Buddhism. Many emperors in the Tang Dynasty enshrined the Buddha's relics. Photographer @jimmy's Little Universe, map by @龙雁羽/Planet Research Institute)

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Tibetan compatriots face the departure of their loved ones

They will be given a sky burial

Dedicating the body to the eagle

Soul to the sky

(Mount Everest in Tibet, image source: Visual China)

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also

Facing the death of a loved one

Even with all the difficulties

Even if the mountains are high and the road is long

Also according to funeral customs

Bury your loved ones on the edge of the cliff

Buried on the other side of the ideal

(Hanging coffin burial in Gong County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province, photographer @王进)

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This is death

and our thoughts and behaviors in the face of death

Every person

Will face death

Every person

Will all reach the end

Facing the death of a loved one

We buried them with various items.

Give them "continuation" of various emotions

Doing everything we can

Give them a better world

A warm world

A paradise world

(The Tomb of Queen Duling of the Western Han Dynasty, photographer @闫雨)

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so

My dear one

When you leave

Please take my love away

A cooking utensil for making fire

A bronze mirror for dressing

A lovely necklace

And the unquantifiable

Our family and love

(The inner wall of the silver belt hook with the inscription "长勿相忘" is engraved with the inscription "长勿相忘", which means never forget each other. This belt hook witnessed the relationship between Liu Fei, the King of Jiangdu and the son of Emperor Jing of Han, and his concubine. Photographer @路客看看)

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This article was created by

Written by | Wang Changchun

Editor | Director

Design | Long Yanling

Photo | Pan Chenxia

Proofreading | Jiang Shangfan & Lushumao

Audit Expert

Han Jianye, Professor of the Department of Archaeology and Museum Studies, School of History, Renmin University of China

Zhang Lidong, professor of the School of History and Culture of Henan University

Special thanks

Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology

Datong Archaeological Institute

Institute of Archaeology, Turpan Academy of Studies

Department of Archaeology and Museology, Shandong University

Mr. Zhang Juzhong, Professor of the Department of History of Science and Archaeology of Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China

Mr. Lü Enguo, Researcher at Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

【References】

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[2] Zhu Hong, Zhou Yawei, Zhang Quanchao, Ji Ping. Paleodemographic study of human bones in the house of Haminmangha site: Forensic anthropological evidence of the cause of prehistoric disasters[J]. Journal of Social Sciences of Jilin University, 2014, 54(01): 26-33+172. DOI: 10.15939/j.jujsse.2014.01.001.

[3] Wang Anqi, Zhang Wenxin, Zou Zining, Wang Long, Zhang Quanchao. The phenomenon of mother-infant joint burial in Jiayi Cemetery in Turpan, Xinjiang[J]. Acta Anthropologica Sinica, 2022, 41(01): 1-10. DOI: 10.16359/j.1000-3193/aas.2021.0094.

[4] Lu Guoquan, Wang Fen, Tang Zhongming, Song Yanbo, Tian Jibao. Neolithic Site of Jiaojia in Zhangqiu District, Jinan City[J]. Archaeology, 2018(07):28-43+2.

[5] Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Department of History of Science and Archaeology, University of Science and Technology of China. Wuyang Jiahu (II) [M]. Beijing: Science Press, 2015.3.

[6]Compiled by Sanmenxia Cultural Relics Team. Louze Garden in Shanzhou, Northern Song Dynasty[M]. Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1999.

[7] Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Tomb of Fu Hao at Yinxu[M]. Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1982.

[8] Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Tombs of the Sui and Tang Dynasties in the Suburbs of Chang'an, Tang Dynasty [M]. Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1980.

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