槨

The larger wooden shell into which the inner coffin (棺) is placed.

Contrast with 棺 (inner coffin). The use of an outer coffin was generally reserved for higher statuses and serves as a marker of social rank and ritual propriety (//li// 禮). Related funerary terms include 柩 (the coffin during transport/bier), 殯 (temporary storage/wake period), and 冢 or 墓 (burial mound or grave site).

Some data lists 棺 (U+6901) as a variant, but these are distinct objects in ritual practice. Treat them as separate terms unless specific textual evidence suggests scribal interchangeability.

In technical or ritual texts, maintain the distinction between "inner coffin" (棺) and "outer coffin" (槨), as the layering is a material expression of rank. In narrative or poetic contexts, this distinction may blur, and 槨 may be used as a formal or archaic term for the burial vessel generally.