Crystal coffins in addition to facilitate the preservation of human remains but also, can be used in the coffin lighting, optical cosmetic surgery program, is the use of photography to cast light and the principle of color matching, by casting colorful light on special points, change the fat and thin shape of the human face and facial color, so that people can see a lifelike dead. In the international arena, only the Soviet Union's Lenin, Stalin and Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh's remains have used the crystal coffin, China only Chairman Mao to use the crystal coffin.
Crystal coffins seem to have a simple structure, but the actual process is quite complex and involves many technical areas. The central design and manufacture of the coffin put forward the most stringent requirements are "solemn and generous, majestic. With a unique national style; may occur, such as earthquakes, war, destruction, wear and tear to have a reliable safeguard measures.
Chairman Mao's death before China has never made a crystal coffin, technical data reserves almost zero, which makes the comrades responsible for the design of the difficulty. At this point, it occurred to someone that when Dr. Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, the Soviet government had presented a crystal coffin, but it was not used, and has been placed in Xiangshan Park, the designers decided to follow suit .
With the technical difficulties were cracked one by one, finally, Beijing sixty-eight factory processing crystal coffin samples in November 27, 1976 to the simulation of the Hall, through the 8 earthquake, sealed, inflatable, cooling and other aspects of the test.
Expanded information:
Crystal coffins are cool, jade general antiseptic function, is conducive to prolong the preservation of human remains. In addition, the crystal coffin itself texture corrosion-resistant, especially its transparent characteristics to facilitate the people of the leader's remains of worship, which may be the main reason for the reuse of the crystal coffin. However, if in the same natural conditions, the crystal coffin of the remains of the antiseptic function than the golden casket inferior.
The burial furniture used for many of the uncorrupted ancient corpses found in archaeology is almost always made of nanmu. The Chinese History of Tomb Raiding mentions a short story in which a bowl of cooked braised meat was put into a casket made of nanmu in its southern origin, and then transported to the north for a few months, the meat not only remained uncorrupted, but also remained uncooled.
In addition, compared with the nanmu coffin, the production cost of crystal coffins is much higher, the production of a good crystal coffins at least one level of crystal. 1976 September, Mao Zedong died after the use of crystal coffins, is known as the "crystal town" of Suzhou Donghai crystal as raw materials. This through the 8 earthquake test "crystal coffin" is still China's quartz glass technology breakthrough.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Chairman Mao's Crystal Coffin
People's Daily Online - Mao Zedong's Crystal Coffin: Resistant to Magnitude 8 Earthquakes, No One Can Do It Again Today