The Transformation of Views on Life and Death From Human Sacrifice to Burial Practices in Ancient China

The Chinese view of life and death underwent a fundamental shift from human sacrifice to burial practices, driven by patriarchal, political, and economic forces. Both were rooted in the shared belief in the “immortality of the soul,” differing mainly in ritual form and burial systems. This transformation stemmed from the evolution of religious-political concepts from “rule by spirits” to “rule by rites,” alongside changing perceptions of labor’s value with advancing productive forces. Grave goods gradually shed practical utility to become a symbolic system of ritual and emotional significance, serving as direct material evidence of this shift. Ultimately, this change reveals how ancient Chinese society managed death anxiety through ethical ritual rather than fear-driven sacrifice, and how humanity achieves ancestral continuity via symbolic immortality—marking a transition from primitive catharsis to structured psychological regulation and offering a key Chinese case for understanding how humans cope with death.