The ancients put things in the mouth of the dead mainly to keep the dead from dying. They are:

Yu

The name of ancient jade. "Han" is also called "Han", and some books are also called "tongue". In ancient times, the dead would put jade in his mouth when he died. "Zhou Li Tiangong Tianfu": "The great mourning * * * (for) contains jade." Great mourning refers to the funeral of the emperor. Others are walls, pearls, bottles, rice and shellfish, which vary according to the identity of the deceased. Jade is mostly cicada-shaped, so it is also called "jade cicada". Archaeological findings show that as early as the Shang Dynasty, the dead had shells in their mouths. According to records, the mouth of the deceased in the Spring and Autumn Period contained "Zhu Yu". A cicada-shaped jade article with a hole was found in the mouth of the deceased in the tomb of the Western Zhou Dynasty at No.816 Zhongzhou Road, Luoyang, Henan. Jade cicadas were found in Han tombs as jade articles.

jade toad—moon

The name of ancient jade. In ancient times, the jade buried in the mouth of the deceased was named "Jade Cicada" because it was carved into the shape of a cicada. According to Guangxu: "Cicada, take its lofty, drink dew and not eat", "Historical Records and Biography of Qu Yuan": "Cicada, flowing in turbidity and filth, can not get the dirt of the world." Shuowen: "Shedding, snake cicada sheds its skin." It is known that jade is cicada-shaped, which seems to give the deceased a specific meaning by the physiological habits of cicadas, implying that people will not eat or drink dew after death, and will not get stained with mud and water. This is the meaning of the dead since the Warring States Period. See "jade"

Yusai

The name of ancient jade. It is known that there were nine orifices in the Han Dynasty, that is, nine jade articles, which filled or covered the nine orifices of the deceased. These nine jade articles were unearthed in two Han tombs in Mancheng, Hebei Province. Jiuqiao jade plugs are earplugs (2 pieces), eye plugs (2 pieces), nasal plugs (2 pieces), mouth plugs, anal plugs and genital plugs (each 1 piece). Because the mouth plug can't be completely contained in the mouth, it is different from "containing jade". Ge Hong in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, "Bao Puzi": "The golden jade will never die when it is nine tricks." This is consistent with the superstition that jade clothes can also make the body immortal.