I'm not certain about the time-period either, really, but based on the outfit of a British-type foreigner that's in the game briefly, I'd have to say it's definitely between 1300-1600ish. ... I guess not quite "ancient" China
( ... )
It looks like the primary division in treatment of the dead is confucianism vs buddhism- buddhist cremation wasn't popular, but did occur. From a practical viewpoint, cremation is the most effective mass grave-reduces the risk of disease, etc. But mutilating the body was a punishment for criminals, since it affected them in the afterlife. Take a look at the causes of ghosts, and you'll see mass cremation might well cause angry offended ghosts, which would be counter-productive. OTOH, it would be possible to do it respectfully, and make offerings, if a Buddhist priest and handler of the dead could be found.
That is an awesome link. Thanks! I especially love the ghost-emphasis, since this is in a universe where ghosts are kind of a big deal.
But mutilating the body was a punishment for criminals - just gave me another idea on how to handle this chapter of the story, since some of the people who slaughtered all the villagers were killed in the village, and their bodies are lying around. Would it be something that she would dare to think she could take upon herself, I wonder?
But thank you very much! The link is awesomely helpful. (And it surprises me how accurate the game got... as well as inaccuracies that I suppose were just to cater to a Western audience who might get squeamish of the idea of children not getting their due respect, for example.)
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http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=102&catid=3&subcatid=69
It looks like the primary division in treatment of the dead is confucianism vs buddhism- buddhist cremation wasn't popular, but did occur. From a practical viewpoint, cremation is the most effective mass grave-reduces the risk of disease, etc. But mutilating the body was a punishment for criminals, since it affected them in the afterlife. Take a look at the causes of ghosts, and you'll see mass cremation might well cause angry offended ghosts, which would be counter-productive.
OTOH, it would be possible to do it respectfully, and make offerings, if a Buddhist priest and handler of the dead could be found.
..your call.:D
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But mutilating the body was a punishment for criminals - just gave me another idea on how to handle this chapter of the story, since some of the people who slaughtered all the villagers were killed in the village, and their bodies are lying around. Would it be something that she would dare to think she could take upon herself, I wonder?
But thank you very much! The link is awesomely helpful. (And it surprises me how accurate the game got... as well as inaccuracies that I suppose were just to cater to a Western audience who might get squeamish of the idea of children not getting their due respect, for example.)
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