ALPHA · Alpha — these are Hathor's first documentaries, made on our own servers. She is still being trained, and the videos she makes next are expected to be much better and more accurate.

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The Dead and the Afterlife: Ancient China

A ten‑minute visual journey through Chinese tombs, burial rites, and beliefs about the soul’s passage to the ancestors.

Chapters

0:07 The World of the Dead
1:16 Rituals and Offerings
2:18 Journey of the Soul
3:36 Memory and Legacy

On-screen text

0:07 The World of the Dead
0:14 The World of the Dead
0:31 Ancestors consulted via oracle bones Historical record · Oracle bone inscriptions, Yinxu (Anyang)
0:49 Terracotta soldiers guard the emperor Historical record · Terracotta Army, Museum of the Terracotta Warriors, Xi’an
1:07 Bronze bells for afterlife music Historical record · Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, Hubei, excavated 1978
1:16 Rituals and Offerings
1:33 Mourning rites of weeping Tradition / scripture · Classic of Poetry (Shijing), poem “Fu”
1:51 Ancestral tablets in tomb Historical record · Ancestral tablets, Ming dynasty, Palace Museum, Beijing
2:09 Stone altar for incense Historical record · Tang dynasty ancestral altar, National Museum of China, Beijing
2:18 Journey of the Soul
2:25 Journey of the Soul
2:42 Silk banner shows soul’s ascent Historical record · Mawangdui Han tomb (M 1), silk funerary banner, Hunan
2:51 Jade suits protect the dead The Institute's interpretation · Han burial manual quoted in the Book of Han (Hanshu)
3:09 Jade figurine of the dead Historical record · Jade burial figurine, Han dynasty, Shanghai Museum
3:27 Annual ancestor sacrifices Tradition / scripture · Bronze vessel inscription, “Zhou Gong”, early Western Zhou
3:54 Spirit road in tomb Historical record · Epitaph of Liu Zhong, Eastern Han, stone stele, Luoyang

Sources

Historical record: Oracle bone inscriptions, Yinxu (Anyang) · Sima Qian, Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), vol. 1 · Terracotta Army, Museum of the Terracotta Warriors, Xi’an · Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, Hubei, excavated 1978 · Ancestral tablets, Ming dynasty, Palace Museum, Beijing · Tang dynasty ancestral altar, National Museum of China, Beijing · Mawangdui Han tomb (M 1), silk funerary banner, Hunan · Jade burial figurine, Han dynasty, Shanghai Museum · Epitaph of Liu Zhong, Eastern Han, stone stele, Luoyang

Tradition / scripture: Book of Rites (Liji), chapter “Zhouli” · Classic of Poetry (Shijing), poem “Fu” · Bronze vessel inscription, “Zhou Gong”, early Western Zhou · Zuo Zhuan, 5th century BCE

The Institute's interpretation: Han burial manual quoted in the Book of Han (Hanshu)

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 61 s of CPU.

Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (13) — the next things to make

The World of the Dead: Introduce the monumental tombs and the belief that the dead needed protection and companionship.
Workers hauling massive stone blocks for the Qin Shi Huang mausoleum.
Workers hauling massive stone blocks for the Qin Shi Huang mausoleum.
A Zhou‑dynasty family gathers around an ancestral hall, placing dishes on an altar.
A Zhou‑dynasty family gathers around an ancestral hall, placing dishes on an altar.
A Zhou‑dynasty family gathers around an ancestral hall, placing dishes on an altar.
A stone altar within a Tang burial chamber, incense smoke curling upward.
Fragments of a jade burial suit being laid over a lacquered coffin.
Workers hauling massive stone blocks for the Qin Shi Huang mausoleum.
Memory and Legacy: Illustrate how stories, dreams, and inscriptions kept the dead present in later generations.
A nobleman in a dimly lit chamber awakens, startled, as a ghostly figure fades.
Workers hauling massive stone blocks for the Qin Shi Huang mausoleum.
Workers hauling massive stone blocks for the Qin Shi Huang mausoleum.