Mingqi, sometimes referred to as 'spirit objects' or 'vessels for ghosts', are Chinese burial artefacts. They included daily utensils, musical instruments, weapons, armor, and intimate objects such as the deceased's cap, can and bamboo mat. Mingqi also could include figurines, spiritual representations rather than real people, of soldiers, servants, musicians, polo riders, houses, and horses. Extensive use of mingqi during certain periods may either have been an attempt to preserve the image of ritual propriety by cutting costs, or it may have been a new idea separating the realm of the dead from that of the living.