In our country’s culture from ancient times to the present, there is a tradition of putting filial piety first among all virtues. Filial piety is a virtue in the Chinese national cultural tradition. In the five thousand years of history of our country, "filial piety" has always played a very important role, and the culture of filial piety has always had a very special status and important role in our country. Especially in ancient times, "promoting filial piety and integrity" has even become a means of selecting talents.
"A family with an elder is like a treasure" has become a common concept among contemporary people, but this does not seem to be the case in ancient times when productivity was low. According to legend, there was a law in the Qin Dynasty called sixty-year-old return to armor, or sixty-year-old burial, which stipulated that if there was an elderly person in the family and the elderly person had not died at the age of sixty, he must be thrown into the mountains and left to fend for himself. Whether it is true or not cannot be verified. So far, this kind of law can only be found in some unofficial histories and miscellaneous books. Looking at the Twenty-Four Histories, we can no longer find any records about this kind of law!
"Crock Pot Grave" in "Unofficial History"
"Suihua Jili" written by Han E of the Tang Dynasty mentioned that in some places in Yunnan, the custom of "Crock Pot Grave" was popular. The tomb was dug underground, surrounded by blue bricks, and bricks were used to issue coupons on the top, leaving an entrance and exit. It was shaped like an earthen jar, hence the name.
When parents reach the age of 60, their children will carry their parents to a nearby mountain, dig a hole similar to a clay pot, and put their parents in the hole. The children of the family will come to deliver them every day. After the meal, a brick is laid. Day after day, the brick is built higher and higher until the tomb is sealed and the old man will no longer be able to come out.
When delivering meals, filial children will also chat with the elderly and talk about household matters. It takes a few days to add a brick. Those who are not filial will throw the rice in and eagerly add bricks.
"Yueshibian" compiled by Ye Mingzhu of the Qing Dynasty records that Song Renzong issued an order to abolish the custom of earthen jar graves.
Legend has it that in the Song Dynasty, a monster appeared near Kaifeng Mansion and often came out to harm people in the middle of the night. The people couldn't bear the disturbance. Song Renzong wanted to find someone to take in the monster, so he handed the matter over to Bao Zheng. Bao Zheng searched for more than half a month and finally found an old man who knew the demon in an earthen jar grave. Under the guidance of the old man, Bao Zheng accepted the demon. So Bao Zheng reported to Song Renzong and persuaded him: Although the elderly cannot work, their experience is also a valuable asset. He hopes that Song Renzong will issue an order to abolish the custom of earthen jar graves.
Difficult to tell true from false
In ancient societies that advocated Confucianism, filial piety was one of the basic norms. Abandoning elderly parents and letting them destroy themselves during their tenure was obviously inconsistent with the social morality and Confucian spirit of the time. Therefore, many historians do not agree with the existence of the "Crock Grave". Among them, Mr. Gu Jiegang clearly opposed it for three reasons: First, Kuda's productivity is low and its medical and health conditions are poor. It is difficult for ordinary people to live to the "advanced age" of 60 years old. Secondly, abandoning parents is not in line with the mainstream Confucian thought of "benevolence" at that time. Thirdly, judging from the existing ancient books and materials, "earthen graves" can only be found in some unofficial histories and miscellaneous books. When looking at the official history, there is no mention of it. Any record of this custom!
On the contrary, according to Mr. Hu Shi, this custom may have existed as early as the time of Qin Shihuang. Because the productivity at that time was very backward, many people did not have enough to eat at all! And those who were older, because they lost the ability to work and produce, became the so-called "free rice eaters"! In order to save food, the custom of crock graves was It came into being.
In addition, since 2000, a large number of ancient "Ji Si kilns" have been discovered in the middle reaches of the Han River Basin and its tributaries at the junction of Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hubei and Henan. These discovered ancient "Ji Si Yao" cave dwellings are regular in shape, with vague traces of man-made artifacts. The openings are square and square, and the interior of the cave is flat and can accommodate just one person, either lying down or squatting. It is very similar to the clay jar tomb recorded in unofficial histories.
This not only confirms that folk funeral customs have a historical evolution process, but also finds a basis for the story of "changing from abandoning the elderly to respecting the elderly" that is widely circulated in Asian countries.
Source
The productivity of ancient society was relatively low, and it may not be a strange thing to abandon the old and the sick. But no matter what, burying one's biological parents alive sounds like something that violates human ethics and morality. This goes against the Chinese nation’s values ??of respecting the elderly and caring for the young, and naturally cannot breed such bizarre funeral customs. There are two versions of the origin of the "Crock Grave" for your reference.
1. The theory of Japan
Han'e (the one mentioned above) believes that this custom was passed down from Japan. During the Tang Dynasty, a large number of Japanese envoys were sent to China. This is an indisputable fact. In addition, Japan was far behind us at that time, so it seems reasonable that they have this custom. The Japanese movie "Narayama Setkao" tells such a story.
"Narayama Setka" is a drama film directed by Imamura Shohei and starring Ogata Fist, Sakamoto Sumiko, Aki Takejo, etc. It was released in Japan on April 29, 1983. It tells the story of a poor mountain village in Shinshu in ancient Japan. Due to the chronic shortage of food, once the old man reached the age of 70, he would be carried to the mountains by his children to die in order to worship the mountain god.
2. The theory of nomadic people
Among the ethnic minorities in northern China in ancient times, the Huns had this custom.
They have not been influenced by the culture of the Central Plains, and they live by water and grass. The sky is vast and the fields are vast, and they have no fixed residence or cemetery. After a person reaches the age of 60, his family will leave him in the wild to feed wolves. This is a normal thing in the entire Xiongnu society. However, after the great integration of the ethnic groups, this method gradually disappeared.
Filial piety comes first
"The thread in the hands of a loving mother, the clothes on the body of a wanderer." As a member of the Chinese nation, we should pass on and carry forward our excellent culture of filial piety from generation to generation. . The way we treat the elderly today is how we will be treated in the future. Disrespecting the elderly means disrespecting our own future.