Abstract
Ancient Chinese society was a feudal society with a very rigid hierarchy, a factor which to a greater or lesser extent influences the use of the language. In the book of rites (one century BC), the author prescribes that different words should be used to express the death of people according to their positions in the social hierarchy. This paper investigates in the general history of China (one century BC) the relation between the various variants that express the meaning of death and the social status of the one referred to; in addition to other factors that cause the language variation. This paper verifies the differentiations between the language norms in the book of rites and the applications in the general history of China.