The "Cemeteries" and "Bang Tombs" of Zhou Dynasty Clan Tombs

The cemetery area and the state cemetery area are strictly separated. In the Zhou Dynasty, cemeteries mostly implemented the clan burial system and were divided into cemetery areas and state tomb areas.

The cemetery area is used to bury monarchs and other high-ranking nobles.

The state cemetery area is used to bury civilians and small and medium-sized nobles.

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In the Zhou Dynasty, people believed that death was when the soul entered another world to continue living, so they valued death and the place where they lived in another world after death - the cemetery. Cemeteries are carefully selected. This is reflected in:

First, the selection of cemeteries is like selecting a capital city, paying attention to the geographical location, and choosing a high-level land surrounded by mountains and rivers. From the early to mid-Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period, the Tianma-Jinhou Cemetery in Qucun has a very good view. The excavators believe that the surface around the cemetery is generally flat, and the terrain gradually decreases from north to south. Looking north to the Beishan Mountains, the remnants of the Taihang Mountains, the mountain terrain gradually decreases from east to west. To the south of the cemetery, the terrain gradually decreases, with mountains behind and rivers facing, distant mountains facing each other, and a broad view. The terrain of the Weiguo Cemetery in Xincun, Junxian County in the early Western Zhou Dynasty is high in the north and low in the south, with the north bank of Qishui River in the south. The Liulihe Yan Kingdom Cemetery in Fangshan District, Beijing is also high in the north and low in the south, with the Dashi River in the south. This is especially true for the Guo State Cemetery in Sanmenxia. Its entire terrain is located on the high hill of Shangcunling, the highest point in the urban area of ​​Sanmenxia. It has a wide view and a good view. The top of the high hill is a relatively flat slope to the south, and it is a terrace-like land to the north, descending step by step. Looking from a distance, to the south is the majestic Weishan Mountain, with the Qinglongjian River flowing from southeast to northwest into the Yellow River; to the north is the Yellow River, 600 meters away, with the Yellow River flowing slowly from northwest to southeast. Such careful site selection may have been influenced by the original Feng Shui theory, which gradually developed and became China's far-reaching practice specifically for selecting cemeteries. However, judging from the fact that the M2009 Guo Zhong Tomb in the Guo State Cemetery is 21 meters deep from the ground surface, and the M2001 Guo Ji Tomb is 11.15 meters deep, this can at least prevent floods and groundwater from eroding the cemetery.

Secondly, the north is an important direction in the cemetery. This is reflected in the following: first, cemeteries are mostly located in the north of the capital. The Weiguo cemetery area in Xincun, Junxian County, is located to the north of the Weiguo capital, and the Guoguo cemetery is also located to the north of the capital, Shangyang City; secondly, the heads of the tomb owners are mostly facing north, with the head north and the feet south. This is more clearly shown in the Guo State Cemetery. Not only is the tomb area of ​​the Guo State Cemetery located at the northernmost end of the cemetery, but the level of the tomb owner continues to decrease from north to south. Moreover, even the heads and carriages of the chariots and horses that were buried with them were facing north. The reason for this choice may be that the Zhou Dynasty regarded the north as a secluded capital where ghosts and gods lived (see Li Boqian: "Several Issues in the Cemetery System of the Western Zhou Dynasty from the Cemetery of the Marquis of Jin").

Third, the cemetery area and the state cemetery area are strictly separated. In the Zhou Dynasty, cemeteries mostly implemented the clan burial system and were divided into cemetery areas and state tomb areas. The cemetery area is used to bury monarchs and other high-ranking nobles, while the state cemetery area is used to bury common people and small and medium-sized nobles. In the cemetery of the Marquis of Jin, except for the tombs of the Marquis of Jin, his wife, and a few slave tombs attached to the big tomb, no other tombs have been found in the entire cemetery, which is similar to the general nobles located in the west end of the Tianma-Qucun site and north of Qucun. , there are obvious differences in the civilian burial areas. Judging from the burial characteristics of Guo State cemeteries, the tombs discovered so far are divided into 8 groups. Although there are some tombs of small and medium-sized nobles buried in the tombs of the monarchs Guo Zhong and Guo Ji, to the south of these groups of tombs, there is an east-west Boundary ditches separate them from other noble and civilian tombs.