What is the funeral custom of Liao people? Why do people wear gold masks after death?

This is mainly due to the unique funeral customs of the Khitan people, who make a living by aquatic plants, fishing, grazing and hunting. They are a real people on horseback. In the long-term struggle against the harsh environment of nature, they gradually formed a kind of awe of nature. Therefore, the Khitan people will return themselves to nature after their death, and a unique "tree burial" will be derived. Custom. To avoid being ugly, I put on a mask.

First of all, ancient tombs are secular.

1On June 5, 986, in a small mountain village in Naiman Banner, Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia, hundreds of millions of excavators under construction accidentally dug up several very old blue bricks, and then an ancient tomb appeared in front of the world. This ancient tomb is located halfway up the mountain called Miao Zi Mountain in the village. In the eyes of local people, Miao Zi is a treasure trove of geomantic omen, and this mountain is like a plush chair. But thousands of years ago, this mountain became the graveyard of a prominent family because of its unique shape. According to the preliminary research of the archaeologists on the spot, this ancient tomb should belong to Liao Dynasty. However, experts are not excited about this. Therefore, a large number of tombs were discovered in Liao Dynasty, and people became accustomed to it. Secondly, there is a great possibility that the Liao tomb will be stolen. Judging from the tombs discovered in the Liao Dynasty, there is not a complete tomb that has not been destroyed. However, when archaeologists cleared out the general outline of the ancient tomb, they were surprised to find that the ancient tomb seemed to be complete, and the tomb door was intact without any trace of theft. When archaeologists opened the tomb, the strong sunlight made the whole tomb completely clear to people and inspired everyone present.

Second, the murals on both sides of the pyramid-shaped mound

Although it has been colorful for thousands of years, it presents a rich scene of nomadic life, and grassland customs come to the fore. This is a world-famous Liao tomb mural comparable to Dunhuang mural. It vividly describes the splendid civilization of the northern Khitan Empire. Although this ancient tomb is small in scale, there are many beautiful things buried in it, and everyone present is dumbfounded. A lot of gold, silver, jade, amber and agate are piled up on a mountain, leaving archaeologists with almost no place to stand. They are worried that if they are not careful, they will damage the priceless treasure under their feet.

Third, the careful examination by archaeologists.

More than 3,200 precious funerary objects were found. Only the total amount of gold products exceeds 1700g, while the weight of silver products exceeds 10000g. What excites archaeologists most is that two bodies, a man and a woman, are placed side by side in the middle of the tomb. They all wore gold-plated silver crowns, gold-plated chrysanthemums on their faces, silver nets, amber wreaths on their chests, amber pearl necklaces around their necks and silver boots on their feet. These two semi-relief-shaped Jin Mianju were made according to the face of the tomb owner before his death, which aroused great interest from experts. The face of the mask is plump, the lips are closed and the forehead is stretched, showing the remarkable characteristics of young women. The mask is connected to a silver net. Its face is 20.5cm long and17.2cm wide. Its ears are 7.6 cm long and 3 cm wide. The mask is 0.05cm thick and weighs 184g.

Qidan is a nomadic people. They live on aquatic plants, fishing, grazing and hunting. They are a real people on horseback. In the long-term struggle against the harsh environment of nature, a reverence for nature has gradually formed. Therefore, after death, the Khitan people will give back to nature and derive a unique "tree burial". Custom. As the name implies, the so-called? Tree burial? It means that after death, the body hangs on a tree for a period ranging from January to half a year or a year, leaving it to rot naturally. In the process of tree burial, the body will inevitably be eroded by birds and animals, so that it will become unrecognizable. In order to maintain the dignity of the deceased and facilitate the collection of the bones of the deceased, a metal mask was made to cover the face and the body was trapped with barbed wire. Because Princess Chen has a prominent family background and is a relative of the Liao Dynasty, her masks and nets can't be sloppy, so there are Jin Mianju and silver nets. This has nothing to do with the "golden thread and jade clothes" in the Han Dynasty, right? , have the same effect.