Life after Death in Ancient China - Ancient China
The ancient Chinese truly believed in an afterlife but thought that it would be very much the same to their life on Earth. They imagined that people would have the same needs and rights in the afterlife as they did when they were alive, which is why many people were buried with useful household items. In very early times, the servants and families of rich people were expected to commit suicide to accompany their master into the afterlife. Later, however, carpenters and sculptors were commisioned to make statues of servants that could be buried with the dead.