The system of human martyrdom can be traced back to primitive society, which is the conclusion drawn by archaeologists from the investigation of tombs in primitive society. With the continuous development of society, the degree of human civilization is also constantly improving, but the system of martyrdom has not disappeared with it, but has become increasingly fierce, so that such a funeral system was retained in the pre-Qin period. During this period, when the nobles were buried, they were all buried with the living. At that time, the king of Yin Ruins was buried alive and even reached more than 2,000 people.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the system of human sacrifice was still prevalent, but the quantity and specifications changed. Compared with before, thanks to Qin Xiangong, there are now strict regulations. Qin Xiangong himself hated burying the living, so he ordered the abolition of this system. However, the later kings were not as conscious as Qin Xiangong, and once again adopted the system of human sacrifice, which set off another upsurge. In Qin Mugong during the Spring and Autumn Period, more than 770 living people were buried with them, and a large number of women were buried with them in other Qin tombs.
As the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Ying Zheng was buried by a large number of living people. Qin Ershi, who presided over Qin Shihuang's funeral at that time, asked all the women in the harem who had no offspring to be buried with him. In addition, the workers who built the imperial tomb for Qin Shihuang were sealed together in the mausoleum to prevent the specific location of the imperial tomb from being leaked, resulting in tens of thousands of people being buried in the tomb of the first emperor.