China's traditional feudal society, whether ordinary people or nobles in the palace, paid great attention to how to bury themselves after death. Not only the living people attach great importance to it, but also the dying people will explain to future generations how to bury themselves after death. Especially the royal nobles pay more attention to the way of burial after death. Most monarchs ask officials in charge of building tombs to make arrangements while they are still alive. When I was alive, I lived in a very luxurious palace on weekdays. When I die, I naturally need to live in rows of faces. Therefore, the tombs of most ancient monarchs were not only carefully designed by special masters, but also the coffins used for burial were carefully selected, so it goes without saying that the items used for burial are also precious items.
According to relevant data, Li Shimin used world-famous calligraphy works as funerary objects when he was buried. Cixi, as the actual manager of the late Qing Dynasty, lived a luxurious life before her death, and naturally would not handle the funeral arrangements after her death in a low-key manner. Countless treasures of gold and silver were buried together as funerary objects in Cixi's mausoleum. It is said that the coffin used to hold the body of Cixi at that time was worth millions of dollars. The coffin made of golden nanmu should be something that ordinary people can't afford for a few lives. After many years, the color of this golden nanmu coffin has actually changed. What's going on here? In the minds of ancient people, there is not much difference between life and death.
What was his identity when he was alive, and the coffin he used after death needs to be consistent with his identity. Most coffins used by ordinary people are just made of ordinary wood. After the death of a relatively well-off person, people will make coffins out of nanmu and other materials. The advantage of this material is that the remains can be preserved for a longer period of time and have a certain antiseptic effect. Through the unique smell, underground insects will not come near. It is good for ordinary people to have a coffin after death, not to mention any requirements for coffin materials. In turbulent times, poor people can only wrap themselves in mats and rush to the ground.
The wood used in Cixi's coffin is golden nanmu, which is a kind of nanmu, but the quality is the highest. As the saying goes, things are rare, the stock of this kind of wood is very small, and the maturity cycle of trees is very slow. Many times, even if you have money, you may not be able to buy it. The coffin made of this wood is not easy to be eaten by insects even if it is buried underground for a long time. Empress Dowager Cixi, the monarch who has gone through two periods, as the actual manager, is naturally nobler than the average person. When she was still alive, she sent eunuchs to make golden nanmu coffins, all of which were selected from thousands of miles away and sent to Beijing.