The core feature of this unique form of burial in ancient China is that the body is bent and the lower limbs are curled up, and then buried in a tomb. This kind of burial custom was particularly popular in the Central Plains during the Neolithic Age and the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and at the same time, among some ethnic minorities in the northwest and southwest regions of China, it was still more popular until the eve of liberation. In addition, some branches of the Gaoshan tribe in Taiwan and the Dulong and Lhoba ethnic groups in the southwest still use the bent limb burial style. As for the cause of the formation of bent limb burial, there are different opinions in the academic circles. One view is that the funeral posture may have been determined by the deceased's status during his lifetime. According to relevant statistics, among the tombs excavated in Shaanxi and Gansu during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, 70% of the tombs were bent limbs, while only 12% were buried with straight limbs, and another 18% could not be determined. Based on this, some scholars believe that the straight-limbed burial representative of the Qin clan nobles, while the bent-limb burial representative represents the buried slaves. However, this explanation does not fully explain the phenomenon of limb burial in the Central Plains and other regions.
Another view is that limb burial is the arrangement of the deceased according to the natural posture of people's daily life, rest or sleep, so that they can sleep comfortably. This theory is more popular among the ancestors of the Yongning Naxi people in Yunnan, some Tibetans and Pumi people in Sichuan, and the Zhuang people in Guangxi.
A third view is that the burial of bent limbs may have originated from some kind of religious belief in the transfer of souls. This belief is that the posture of the bent limb burial resembles the appearance of a fetus in the womb, symbolizing the return of people to the place where they were born after death. The basis for this interpretation mainly comes from the burial customs and interpretations of the Menba people, the Lhoba people, and the "Baima Tibetans" in Sichuan and Gansu. However, it has been questioned whether this claim links modern anatomical observations of fetal posture with ancient limb burials, which were not so developed in ancient medicine. The fourth view is that the purpose of bending the dead is to prevent the soul from fleeing and to avoid making trouble for the living. In twenty-four single-person burial tombs with bent limbs lying on their sides in Gouwei, Beidao, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, many skeletons were found covered with thick tree branches, which is believed to be due to people's fear of the dead. Because of the fear of the souls of the deceased, the Yamei people in Taiwan will bend the limbs and wrap them in sackcloth, put them in the tomb and press several large stones to show that the body cannot move, and then also perform a ritual to expel the evil spirits.
In addition, some scholars believe that the use of bent limb burial is to save cemetery space and human resources. In general, there are many ethnic groups in China, and the cultural concepts and living customs of various ethnic groups in various regions are different, so funeral customs also have different forms and characteristics. It is also a bent limb burial, and the way of understanding is different due to different regions and nationalities. Therefore, it is not necessary to pursue a uniform interpretation. Search Topic Full Time Challenge December