Often, early rulers from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties had soldiers, officials, concubines and other attendants buried along with the dead emperor.

Ancient Chinese tomb reveals how a teenage concubine became a powerful duchess A new report details the discoveries inside Lady Mei’s tomb, first unearthed by accident in …

How true are the claims that Chinese concubines were buried alive alongside their dead emperor ... During one of our lectures, my professor made the claim that when the emperor would die his concubine would be buried alive with him. Chinese men’s penchant for mistresses is sometimes attributed to deep-seated cultural expectations, and it’s true that Chinese culture has rarely paid even lip service to ideas of male fidelity. Nobody was left alive to tell anyone where the 8000 Terracotta Warriors and horses leading bronze chariots were buried. Until the Song dynasty (960–1276), it was considered a serious breach of social ethics to promote a concubine to a wife. There are early records of concubines allegedly being buried alive with their masters to "keep them company in the afterlife". In ancient times, concubines were allegedly buried alive with their masters to “keep them company in the afterlife”. His 3,000 concubines were forced to self-sacrifice and other people were just plain murdered. Some people were buried alive.

During the Qing China (1644–1911), the status of concubines improved. By the Qing dynasty there were around 20,000. Chinese history is littered with wife-concubine intrigues that often end in murder. The Chinese Emperors kept concubines with them in the Forbidden City. During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), the status of concubines … Until the Song dynasty (960–1276), it was treated as a serious breach of social ethics to promote a concubine to a wife. Sometimes the sacrificial victims were killed first; even more horrifically, they were often entombed alive.

Concubines were sometimes buried alive with their master to keep him company in the afterlife. It was then buried and hidden from view. In More Light at London’s Arcola theatre several years ago, seven white actresses played Chinese concubines buried alive (allegedly) with China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who died in 210BC.