Hanging and resting on the sides of a mountain, lies the mysterious hanging coffins of China. These hanging coffins were found on sides of mountains and maintained on top by wooden stakes. These coffins were constructed by the Bo people, who were an ethnic minority that existed in China before being killed by the Ming army.
The Bo people once thrived and lived in southern China. They lived in the Sichuan and Yunnan province. Information about the Bo people is limited due to the fact that they were killed by the Ming dynasty armies. The reason behind the ruthless killings is simply a result of oppression by the Ming dynasty. They were one of the minorities within the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces that were killed. Their remaining history and culture they have left for us are their hanging coffins. These hanging coffins are made from wood such as Namnu wood and other material. Some coffins were found inside caves.
Speculation as to why they hanged coffins were from the writing from a Li Jing, who wrote this during the Yuan dynasty " ‘Coffins set high are auspicious. The higher they are the more propitious for the dead. And those whose coffins fell to the ground sooner were considered to be more fortunate’. This suggests that the Bo people raised the coffins high so they can reach heaven better. Fortunately, they did leave behind paintings on rocks and cliffs, that described their culture, politics, economic and lifestyle.
Another interesting thing is that artifacts like bronze vessels, weapons, pottery, wood, stone, silk, blue and white porcelain. The continuing debate is how they managed to place the coffins on cliffs and the mountains. Three main theories are that they constructed ramps to move the coffins up the mountains but, this seems unlikely as evidence points out that it's not possible. Due to the massive amount of manual labor needed to achieve this compared to the small population the Bo people had. Another theory is that the Bo people used a scaffold-like construction with the stakes as a way to climb and reach the heigh to place the coffins. This theory is not plausible as no evidence was found to support this. The third and most likely theory is that the Bo people used a pulley-like system involving ropes to hoist them in the air and lower them. This rope theory has evidence as ropes were found near the coffins within the cave. The current belief is either that they pulled and used a rope to descend and lift them. Today the coffins are being repaired and taken account as how much coffins have been found. This is being done to preserve the coffins and the culture the Bo people left behind.
