In the late 1970s, Chinese archaeologists opened a tomb in China that dated from 100 BC. inside, they found the body of a noble woman/empress, perfectly preserved. in fact, the body was so well preserved that the joints were still flexible. I believe the secret was a fluid containing a mercury compound, which the body was immersed in. Compared to this, ancient Egyptian and Western embalming is lousy bodies rot away after a few centuries. Why haven’t undertakers revived the ancient Chinese technique?
What is the need?
Along with “What do you need a posable corpse for?” let’s have some evidence this method actually exists.
I’m sorry, I must have missed something here. You’d like some significant fraction of 3,000,000 bodies to be pumped full of a mercury compound and placed into the ground?
Because “Mad as an Undertaker” doesn’t roll off the tongueas easily…? Shit be mad poisonous, yo.
Also, we, as a society, don’t want to keep bodies around. Witness the growth in cremation.
Mercury is not something one wants to have to deal with in their occupation, and will it leach out and eventually contaminate the water table?
Though the body you state is perfectly preserved, we don’t necessarily know how and might have failures that leach the materials.
I can’t stop laughing at this.
But yes, the answer is:
- We don’t want to preserve corpses indefinitely;
- Mercury is dangerous to handle, and
- A danger to public health should it leak into the ground; and
- It’s probably also a much more expensive process.
I’m really not seeing the upside here, except as a ridiculous vanity project.
ETA: Wait - I just thought of an answer to naita’s question…
Archaeological Institute of America makes no mention of the preservation fluid. In fact it says
So they don’t seem to know what the original preservative was so there’s no way to expect modern embalmers to reproduce the procedure.
And apparently now they’re pumping her full of Calgon. :dubious:
I’d like to see some cite that the OPs original premise is accurate.
When in the 1970’s?
Where in China?
Who were the Chinese archaeologists?
What was this “fluid” and what “mercury compound”?
I am not sure I am prepared to believe any of it.
I make my own preserved corpses at home better and cheaper.
There are a number of ways to preserve bodies, most involve strong toxins that prevent bacteria and mold from surviving.Sylvester the mummified gunslinger is steeped in arsenic, for example.
Do you buy the corpses or do you make your own raw?
This is one of many articles you will find if you Google “Lady Dai”:
It doesn’t seem to be mercury - it was a magnesium fluid, and they haven’t been able to reproduce it.
Which does make “Why haven’t Undertakers Adopted This Method?” a legitimate question.
Because no thread would be complete without a Cracked link: Lady Dai was in a Cracked article just the other day. 7 Archaeological Discoveries Out Of Your Darkest Nightmares.
I heard there was a show on tv about how to do this, but not having a tv, I can’t say for sure…
I saw that that show was going to air but I missed it because I was having my cat declawed.
This. Embalming is nothing but an attempt to deny the most essential truth of our existence–that Death always wins. I would no more want such a thing done to me than I wanted my dead mother buried within a steel vault (something I strongly opposed).
Related current thread, about green burials and “dog funerals”.
What shall we do with an undertaker?
What shall we do with an undertaker?
What shall we do with an undertaker
Who’s mad as a hatter?
(Sorry, couldn’t resist…)
(But whatever was done, it should be early in the morning.)