Since ancient times, people in the East have for the most part believed that the soul does not perish after death. Egyptians developed mummies, and Taoists in China pursued longevity and deathlessness through alchemy. Even the Buddhists, who viewed the human body as a stinking sack of skin, took bodily incorruptibility as a sign of successful cultivation.
自古以來，東方人咸多相信死後靈魂不滅，於是埃及人發明木乃伊，中國道家則煉丹求仙，妄求長生不老；連視肉體為臭皮囊的佛教，也以肉身不壞作為修行成就的證明。