# Why haven't Undertakers Adopted This Method? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 28, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-undertakers-adopted-this-method/735957 "2015-10-28T12:53:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-undertakers-adopted-this-method/735957/21 "2015-10-28T18:39:53Z")
Mercury exposure (as noted) has its drawbacks. I’m surprised more people haven’t taken advantage of another Ancient Chinese Embalming Secret, which reportedly was highly effective, environmentally non-toxic and moreover continued the embalmed person’s usefulness to society after death. \*"…the mellification process would ideally start before death. The donor would stop eating any food other than honey, going as far as to bathe in the substance. Shortly, his feces (and even his sweat, according to legend) would consist of honey. When this diet finally proved fatal, the donor’s body would be placed in a stone coffin filled with honey. After a century or so, the contents would have turned into a sort of confection reputedly capable of healing broken limbs and other ailments. This confection would then be sold in street markets as a hard to find item with a hefty price."\* > **[Mellified man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellified_man)** > > A mellified man, also known as a human mummy confection, was a legendary medicinal substance created by steeping a human cadaver in honey. The concoction is detailed in Chinese medical sources, including the Bencao Gangmu of the 16th century. Relying on a second-hand account, the text reports a story that some elderly men in Arabia, nearing the end of their lives, would submit themselves to a process of mummification in honey to create a healing confection. > This process differed from a simple bo... ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-undertakers-adopted-this-method/735957/22 "2015-10-28T19:03:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Which does make “Why haven’t Undertakers Adopted This Method?” a legitimate question. Preserve your corpses with this one weird old trick that undertakers hate. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-undertakers-adopted-this-method/735957/23 "2015-10-28T19:11:37Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > 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? Something I don’t think has been mentioned is that I assume the ancient Chinese had similar beliefs as the ancient Egyptians. They believed that the physical body was needed in the afterlife, ah, somehow, so therefore preserving it after death was extremely important. More modern religions adopted the idea that the soul ‘leaves’ the corpse upon death and embalming and funerals etc. were mostly ceremonies for the living (and acknowledgement as to following your particular god’s wishes after death). ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-undertakers-adopted-this-method/735957/24 "2015-10-28T20:31:04Z")
I saw an hour-long special on TV about Lady Dai, might have been on National Geographic or Discovery, I don’t know, this was a number of years ago. From what I remember, its not just the liquid they preserved her in but also the layers of her coffin encased in wood and clay and a whole bunch of other things. That method would take up a lot of room, a lot of time, and a lot of money. It was pretty remarkable, but I don’t see how an ordinary undertaker could do that. But they did mention how the mysterious liquid was baffling them and had something to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-undertakers-adopted-this-method/735957/25 "2015-10-28T21:11:02Z")
Did the Lady Dai die in a cart crash while being chased through a tunnel? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-undertakers-adopted-this-method/735957/26 "2015-10-28T21:28:46Z")
How DO you get your corpses so soft and bendy, Mr. Lee? [Shhh!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJP5f-fsHrs) ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-undertakers-adopted-this-method/735957/27 "2015-10-29T00:58:46Z")
Damn! Should’ve added a link. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-undertakers-adopted-this-method/735957/28 "2015-10-29T11:32:36Z")
What prevented the body from undergoing anerobic decay? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-undertakers-adopted-this-method/735957/29 "2015-10-29T12:04:07Z")
Another reason we need to consider: corpses with supple limbs are going to be a lot faster when the Zombie Apocalypse comes. That’s not going to end well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-undertakers-adopted-this-method/735957.md?page=1)