Burial Practices

• Burial practices throughout Chinese history have been deeply connected to their mythology and worldview.
• The use of Jade items in burial practices began in Neolithic cultures and the practice of using them to cover parts of the body began in the middle of the Western Zhou dynasty.
• This jade Cicada, which was a favorite piece of burial jade of the Han dynasty, it was part of a set of jade plugs or coverings for the body that would have been placed on the tongue.    
• These jade plugs were believed to prevent the body from decaying and that they preserved the deceased’s vital spirit or qi and therefor the body could be resurrected.  
• The reason a jade cicada was used specifically was because cicadas were a symbol of transformation and resurrection because of its unique life cycle.