The Deeds of the Dead in the Courts of the Living: Graves in Qing Law

In late imperial China, graves, in addition to serving as the resting places of the dead, served as a powerful mechanism for claiming land, securing and hiding wealth, and expressing social status. They were particularly effective because of several compounding factors. Ming Taizu’s ban on cremation in 1370 essentially mandated the creation of graves, while the spread of the lineage institution across China in the subsequent centuries disseminated burial practices associated with Neo-Confucian ritual.1 The imperial state recognized the power of graves and the dead buried in them through its law code and its administration. The legal code prescribed harsh punishments for those who violated gravesites.2 For those who had failed to receive a proper burial or had passed away unpropitiously, the