In Northern Dynasties,the practice of burying people of the same clan in tombs that were near one another was prevalent.A number of family cemeteries have been found in Hebei,Henan,Shaanxi,Shandong and other places.The tombs are found arranged in multiple rows,each of which was for a specific generation.The normative multi-row arrangement in accordance with generations shows comparatively strong orderliness,and abides by the principle that complies with the Zhao-Mu arrangement,which stipulates that"memorial tablets of the fathers shall be placed abreast","memorial tablets of the sons shall be placed abreast"and"memorial tablets of the fathers and the sons are all here,yet they are arranged in the order of precedence and ethics".On the premise of"the father and the son are different",which pinpointed the direct line,and also on account of collateral male relatives of the same generation,the principle is about the ordering of tombs,and was developed upon the convention that"the father's tomb shall be on the left,while the son's shall be on the right".
Zhao-Mu Arrangement(orderly laying ancestors'memorial tablets on left and right sides according to generations)family cemetery of Northern Dynastiesordering
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
