北魏的"魂人",是一個頗具民族色彩與時代特征的詞語,指被用以象征死者神靈或作為死者靈魂依托的人,與先秦祭祀中的"尸"實質相同。起源古老的、類似于在中原地區早已消失的"尸祭"的"魂人"禮俗,曾經不僅盛行于拓跋鮮卑民間,而且存在于北魏皇室。但"魂人"與"尸"不能等同,一般不宜以"尸"直接替代"魂人"。其最大區別在于選擇標準不同。"魂人"的選擇最看重的是狀貌與死者相像。即使并無血緣關系,祭祀者仍將其視同親人。這兩點也最為漢族士人所詬病。高允嚴厲指斥"魂人"禮俗既不符合秦漢之禮,又不同于華夏古制,嚴重損害社會風氣,希望文成帝以移風易俗為己任,根除"弊俗",但其建議并未被采納。"魂人"禮俗的消亡時間無法確考,或已至孝文帝改制時。這一禮俗的存在與逐漸消失的過程,是北魏文化認同曲折進程的一個集中反映。

The "Soul Man" (魂人)in the Northern Wei Dynasty,a word with national color and characteristic of the time,referred to the person that symbolized the spirit of the dead or as the attachment of the soul of the dead and it had the same meaning as "shi" (尸)in the sacrifice in the pre-Qin period.The old "soul man" ritual,similar to the "shiji" (尸祭)which has already disappeared in the central plains region,was once popular not only in the Tuoba Xianbei folk society,but also in the royal families in the Northern Wei Dynasty.However,the "Soul Man" and "shi" were not equal to each other,so it is not appropriate to use "shi" directly in the place of "soul man" .The biggest difference between them is that in criteria of selection.The most important criterion of selecting "soul man" was that the selected man must look like the dead.Even if there was no blood relationship between them,the "soul man" was still regarded as their relative by the kinsfolk of the dead.These two points had been criticized most severely by the Han scholars.Gao Yun condemned that the "soul man" ritual didn’t accord with the etiquette of the Qin and Han Dynasties,in addition,it broke away from ancient Chinese system,and thus seriously spoiled the general social ethos.So he hoped that Emperor Wencheng had the rituals changed as his responsibility and eliminated the vulgar ritual,but his recommendation was not adopted.The vanishing time of the "soul man" etiquette could not be determined,and it might be at the time when Emperor Xiaowen began to restrict the system in the Northern Wei Dynasty.The process of the ritual existing and gradually disappearing was a concentrated reflection of the tortuous process of the cultural identity in the Northern Wei Dynasty.