The custom of burying the dead in Jinzhong

China has always attached importance to funeral etiquette, especially the funeral etiquette of elders. "The Analects of Confucius Learn" says: "Be cautious and pursue the future, and the people are virtuous." Among them, "careful death" means that parents' funerals should be handled cautiously and reasonably. Mencius further developed this point. He believes: "Keeping healthy is not enough to be a big deal, but death can be a big deal." Under the control of the concept of "death is more important than life", as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, funeral ceremonies have formed a set of etiquette. There are about 40 items from the beginning to the end, funeral and burial, and after burial. Although it has been simplified and developed, the main procedures have not changed. Shanxi Jinzhong generally follows this procedure. ?

First, the beginning and the end?

After death, everyone pays attention to changing the pre-made "shroud" for the deceased as soon as possible when the body is not stiff, that is, "sending old clothes". There are also some places that were changed in advance before death. This is because it is more difficult to change clothes after the dead body is stiff. "Shroud" includes single clothes, double clothes, cotton-padded clothes, cotton-padded robes or cotton-padded clothes. The number of pieces is odd, not even. It is forbidden to use hides, wool and grey cloth. Change clothes, pay attention to pile them on the roof casually, burn them when buried or let them be exposed to the sun and rain, so as to dispel the ominous. ?

After putting the shroud on the dead, they need a haircut, a wash and a facelift. Put some paper money and flour in the sleeves of the deceased, knead them into a ball with your hair, and then tie the cuffs and trouser legs with hemp shawls, which is called "hemp partner" Jinzhong Qixian and other places put a string of cookies equal to the age of the deceased in the left hand of the deceased, which is called "bite cake"; Put a whip or dust on the right hand of the deceased; Wrap the burnt tinfoil of the deceased in paper and put it in the arms of the deceased; Finally, hug the dead with a ribbon wrapped with hemp rope. After death, the soul returns to hell, and paper money and tin foil are used as tolls; If you want to go to hell, you have to go through the evil dog village. With balls, cakes and whips, you can resist the bite of bad dogs. The small cakes wrapped in the sleeves of the deceased in Qinxian area are called "dog cakes". ?

After the death of the deceased, you should put an ancient copper coin in your mouth, which is called "money in your mouth". This custom evolved from the ancient burial with jade. Relatives of the deceased can't bear to leave the deceased empty, and their mouths are full of jade and grains. Later, some places put rice directly in the mouth of the deceased, calling it "rice-guaranteed". They all think that the dead have money in their mouths and food in their graves, and they will not starve to death in the underworld. ?

After dressing the deceased, the family moved him from the bed to a board. Pay attention to "hermaphroditism", that is, the male deceased lies on his back and the female deceased lies on his side. This is called "mourning" or "mortuary". After resettlement, the deceased should be covered with a piece of cloth, commonly known as "good paper". Masked cloth or paper was called "face coat" in ancient times. It is said that Fu Cha, the king of Wu in the Spring and Autumn Period, was the initiator. Ying Shao's "Custom Yi Tong" in the Eastern Han Dynasty said that Fu Cha did not listen to Wu Ziqian's exhortation, and even the country was ruined. When he died, he was embarrassed to see Wu Zixu who died first in the underworld, so that people put a piece of silk on his face before swallowing. People follow this custom, but it is not because the deceased did something wrong that they are ashamed to meet the deceased in the underworld. Some say that family members can't bear to see the face of the deceased; Some say it's because the deceased's face is not very good after death. In fact, they all show respect to the deceased and let them rest in peace. These procedures are "small funerals" in traditional funerals. ?

Be careful not to cry when burying the dead. It is believed that the deceased cried and got lost when he died, and the soul of the deceased had no home to return to; Or think that tears fall on the dead, and there will be ominous accidents such as walking dead and zombies. After putting the shroud on the deceased and putting it in place, the whole family cried loudly and burned paper money, commonly known as "corpse paper" and "kang paper", which was called "burning evening paper" in the evening after the death of the deceased. Its meaning is to bribe the Yan with money, buy off the imp, possess the dead soul and return to the world. After burning the paper money, for a long time, the deceased did not come back to life, and the family could no longer help but burst into tears, commonly known as "mourning." ?

After the death of the deceased, the family invited their elders and neighbors to discuss the funeral, and then went to relatives and friends' homes in person or invited people to attend the funeral. When an elder dies, children and grandchildren should wear mourning clothes and hold a mourning stick to kowtow to relatives and friends. ?

Black and white obituaries, also called doorways, should be posted at the door of the deceased, indicating the date of birth and death of the deceased, funeral arrangements and other matters. In Qixian County, Jinzhong, the street gate should be pasted with white paper. The deceased was a family, aged 70. The street gate is covered with white paper. Under the age of 60, or if one of the husband and wife is alive, only half of the street gate can be posted, usually male left and female right; If the deceased is a junior and his parents are alive, he can only hang a blank sheet of paper on his forehead. Jinnan folded the paper and cut it into strips. How old was the deceased? He cut several pieces and hung them outside the gate. During the mortuary, the deceased lit oil lamps or candles in front of his head or behind his feet, commonly known as "soul lamps", also known as "street lamps", "street lamps" and "ever-burning lamps". The underworld is dark, and the dead can only see the road with the help of lights. At the same time, it is necessary to burn paper money from time to time, put paper money ash in a crock and bury it with the coffin for the dead to use in the underworld. This is called "burning paper backwards". Put a clay pot beside the deceased, put some wine and food in it every time you pay homage, and keep it when you are buried, thinking that the deceased will not become a hungry ghost in the underworld. This is the so-called "pouring rice". ?

On the night of death, the deceased will hold a ceremony of "suppressing the soul" and "suing the temple" at the local land temple, city god temple or Wudao temple, which means reporting the case to the underworld. Under the drum music, the son of the deceased held a piece of paper, kowtowed to the temple and put it in the incense burner, commonly known as "receiving paper."

On the second night after the death of the deceased, Jiexiu paid attention to the family walking around the street, burning paper money and crying at the same time, which was called "knowing death" or "searching for the soul". Yuci and other places set up incense tables in front of the land gods in our hospital, burning paper money and clothes worn by the deceased before his death. The whole family cried bitterly and called it "Huadian Money". ?

During the mortuary, someone should be on the side to guard against cats, dogs and other living things jumping from it; If it is summer, it is necessary to prevent lightning and thunder, and be afraid of "shocking the corpse" and "exploding the corpse". The preventive measures in Qinxian and other places are to place knives, scales and other town objects on the deceased. ?

Awkward?

The coffins used for burial are mainly wooden coffins. Hardwood such as cypress and camphor is the best, followed by Pinus tabulaeformis, Catalpa bungeana and Sophora japonica, and willow is the most common. No matter what kind of wood is used in Qixian County, Jinzhong, the front baffle of the coffin should be made of cypress, or at least inlaid with one piece. Thick plates are thick, with the thickest being six inches, and those above five inches (five inches and five minutes) are all first class, and then go down. The bottom, cover and sides are all called "single width", and several pieces are called "X block head" according to the number of pieces spliced together. The whole coffin is rectangular, with high front and low back, wide front and narrow back. The coffin was painted black, purple, red and yellow. The coffin of the deceased less than 50 years old is painted with red paint, which is called "red coffin"; Those over 50 years old are painted golden yellow and called "golden coffins". There are generally painted patterns on the outside of the coffin, and the fine wood is based on natural wood and painted with plain push-ups, which looks magnificent. The general pattern is a century-old picture, a picture of the four seasons, a picture of the twenty-four filial piety, or a picture of "ten thousand words without stopping." Draw a moire lotus platform in front of the coffin and write "the spiritual fulcrum of X X"; The small head is painted with a fragrant tripod, burning incense, and some places are painted with cabbage. On the front of some coffins are written auspicious sentences such as "happiness as the East China Sea" and "sound and sound are all there". The coffin is made of rosin or paper and coated with yellow wheat paper, which means "gold goes into the cabinet" and "children stay". The coffin will also be affixed with a pattern of the sun, the moon and the Beidou cut with gold and silver paper. In Pinglu, Yanbei, Qixian, Jinzhong and other places, there is a seven-hole liner at the bottom of the coffin, which is called "seven-star partition", indicating that the deceased "drove the crane to the west". The bottom of the coffin is in Qixian County, Jinzhong. It is paved with lime, colored silk, thread and grain, and then seven copper coins and pig iron are put on it, seven gold paper scissors are put on it, and a mattress is put on it. ?

At the time of burial, the son of the deceased will carry the body into the coffin. Pay attention to wrap the head of the deceased with red cloth, then his eldest son holds his head, and four or six other people lift the body and leave the house with their feet first. Outside the house, a blanket is used to shade the sun or open an umbrella, which is called "not seeing the sun". When entering the coffin, the deceased's feet should be forward and then placed flat in the coffin. It turned out that the hemp shawl tied to the cuffs and trouser legs of the deceased should be removed at this time. In some places, the male deceased put a whip in his right hand and steamed bread in his left hand; Put the steamed bread on the hands of the dead woman. The whip is called "beating the dog" and the steamed bread is called "beating the dog requires dry food". In Qixian, Jinzhong and other places, the head of the deceased should be placed with a special concave hollow pillow, painted with patterns such as the sun and the moon, mountains and rivers, flowers, etc., and filled with fragrant particles. The dead man was covered with seven pieces of silver foil and finally covered with seven feet of red cloth from head to toe. This kind of cloth must be prepared by the married daughter, commonly known as "covering her daughter". ?

After paving the way for the deceased, some articles for daily use and the beloved things of the deceased should be put in the coffin, but woolen and fur products, such as blankets, blankets, leather plates and leather shoes, are absolutely forbidden. People think that if you commit this taboo, you will "become a hairy beast and reincarnate and give birth to the wrong child."

After the funeral, the coffin cover was tilted on the coffin body, leaving a gap. After the final inspection by the relatives of the deceased, the coffin will be built at night or at the time selected by the Yin and Yang division. ?

Covering coffins, also known as "closing coffins", means that family members, relatives and friends get together and take off the masked cloth or paper on the face of the deceased to bid farewell to the deceased. If the deceased is a woman, let her nephew or family check her clothes and bedding to see if there is any objection. Then officially cover the coffin and nail it, and relatives and friends bow to say goodbye. In Qixian County, Jinzhong, before closing the coffin, the red cloth covered on the deceased should be pulled down from his feet to show his face, and then a piece of red cloth should be torn off conveniently, and the wooden lock should be quickly closed, that is, the mortise and tenon between the coffin cover and the coffin body. Nail the coffin to one side with seven nails, and put a small piece of torn red cloth on each nail. When nailing the coffin, the whole family avoided crying. Only the son of the deceased shouted "hide the nails" to the coffin that stood by. Neighbors and friends who participate in coffin nailing should wear red cloth strips to reward those who nail coffins, which is called "love for money". After the coffin is covered, the children of the deceased have to take a few pictures of the coffin, commonly known as "wake up."

In the middle of the night on the second day of the funeral, paper wagons, incense burners, tin foil and paper figures should be prepared, and the children of the deceased will be sent to the crossroads where the funeral will pass in the future in tears to see the deceased off, commonly known as "sending the soul".

Condolences?

The day of mourning for the deceased is usually the day before the funeral, commonly known as "opening the funeral" or "opening the crane". When the memorial service is held, the funeral shed is set up and the coffin is moved into the funeral shed. It is called "wandering soul". A memorial arch will be erected in front of Peng Ling and a grand funeral will be held. Hang a curtain or bamboo curtain in the mourning shed, with the coffin behind and the mourning hall in front. In the mourning hall, there are tables for offering spiritual flowers, displaying memorial tablets, sacrificial vessels and sacrifices, and hanging portraits of the deceased. On both sides, there are various paper bundles and funerary objects, such as boys and girls, two buckets of gold and silver, two treasure mountains, cash cows, cornucopia, guiding bodhisattvas, ghosts, Fang Xiang, elegiac couplets, holding flowers and wreaths. After the opening ceremony, relatives and friends came to pay their respects, regardless of the size of generations, and burned incense to worship according to the rule of "the deceased is the biggest". Pima Dai Xiao, the descendant of the deceased, knelt on the straw or straw mat on the west side of the memorial hall, leaning on a mourning stick.

During the funeral, foreign relatives and friends mourn the dead in three forms: hanging, toasting and paying money. Pay attention to the use of incense sticks and wine fruits; Use currency, silk and gold coins; Burning paper after drinking is hanging. In the funeral activities, there is also a custom of "managing the kang", that is, family members, neighbors or relatives and friends help the bereaved to entertain the guests. It is generally carried out in three steps. One is to invite Kang. The funeral home determines the required number of kang according to the number of guests (generally, each kang family is responsible for six to eight people), then prepares water and wine, and invites the kang owners to come to discuss. After obtaining the consent, the Kang family settled down. The second is to manage health well. After the first day of ancestor worship, the general manager will assign Kang staff to copy the famous post to Kang's family. The Kang family took the guests home and entertained them with alcohol, tobacco, tea and rice. Generally, eating noodles at night means that relatives have been in contact for a long time. The next day, after the funeral, the guests will sit in the funeral home, that is, have a funeral meal. After dinner, the Kang family had a short rest at home. In the afternoon, the obligations of the Kang family were completed. The third step is to thank Kang. At noon the next day after the burial, a banquet was held to reward the Kang family. After Xie Kang finished, the activities of running Kang were all over. There are two kinds of health management: dry and wet. The above is called "wet kang", that is, live and eat;

On the day before the funeral, family members, relatives and friends should hold memorial tablets, hold banners for evocation, carry lanterns and play drums, and visit nearby temples or their ruins to evoke spirits. After the sacrifice, the family shouted at the deceased and cried all the way home. After the memorial tablet was put in place, the lid of the inclined lid was lifted, and the eldest son of the deceased took a bowl of clear water and wiped the face of the deceased with a new cotton ball, commonly known as "opening the light". Symbolically, after wiping, the water in the bowl will not pour, and the children and grandchildren will share it to show their filial piety to the deceased. Everyone will walk around the coffin in turn to pay tribute to the remains of the deceased, and then ask the carpenter to seal the coffin again and mark it with "silver explosion" to show that the coffin will not be opened again. ?

The custom of "seeing off" is that at dawn, the eldest son of the deceased went out to burn paper carts, paper horses, "domestic slaves, medical staff" and pillows used by the deceased before his death, which was locally called "sending ebony paper". Then carry a can of red bean porridge and spread it from home to the grave before dawn.

Before the funeral, the deceased enjoyed fireworks as before, in addition to various mourning offerings. Three meals a day must be provided by his family, toiletries in the morning are as usual, and even mouthwash cups are indispensable after meals. Every time there is a sacrifice, the family will cry. In this way, the deceased will be considered to have left home before the funeral. ?

Funeral?

After the funeral, it is necessary to set a time for the funeral. Generally speaking, it is not a "thermal death burial", otherwise it will be considered unfilial and disrespectful to the deceased. As for the time of funeral, it often depends on the preparation, season, whether the next of kin arrives and whether the tomb is complete. The time can be long or short, the shortest is about three days, followed by five days, seven days, nine days ... The elderly can reach more than 100 days, all of which must be singular. In the old days, Yin and Yang teachers also paid attention to choosing an auspicious day, and set the tomb as "empty", that is, when the cemetery could enter and leave. ?

After the funeral time is determined, friends and relatives should be informed to "send filial piety". Take a piece of filial piety cloth with you when you go to see the relationship. The older one wears mourning clothes, and the younger one wears mourning towels. Jinzhong Qixian and other places, on the day of the funeral, banners cut into patterns with white hemp paper should be hung in front of the door; The connection between paper and paper does not need paste bonding, but the paper is folded with iron or stone tools and tamped together, which is called "tamping paper", which is similar to the "chronological paper" mentioned above, but the hanging time is different. When the deceased gets the "New Year's Paper" of the octogenarian, the locals sometimes tear one for their children to wear, which is said to prolong life. Tear it home and stick it on the urn, so there are no bugs. In the old days, some places set up "taboo signs" outside the gate, with men left and women right, indicating not only the date of birth and death, the date of funeral, but also the taboo items. ?

Bury. That is, "tombs", some tombs were built in advance, and some were temporarily opened after death. In the old days, teachers of Yin and Yang should be invited to sit and watch Feng Shui and set points. Then sprinkle five pills and use a silver needle to open a "ten" on the set acupuncture point, which is called "breaking ground" or "breaking ground". After "digging", you can dig the grave. Those who are buried together only need to open another hole next to the old burial place. If the deceased entered the ancestral grave, his grave was at the foot of the previous generation. Row to the grave in turn, and you can't open it again. Then ask the Yin and Yang teachers to see the geomantic omen and choose a new place to build a new grave. ?

Before the funeral in the old society, there was a ceremony of "ordering the Lord" in Qixian and other places. That is, ask someone to add a little to the original word "Wang" written on the tablet with a cinnabar pen, so that the word "Wang" becomes the word "Lord". Commonly known as "master", that is, becoming a god. The person who points to the Lord is called the "point-in-charge official", and it is necessary to invite local respected celebrities, scholars or local governors to serve. This kind of ceremony is generally limited to middle-aged and elderly people who die normally, and no young dead are held. ?

On the day of the funeral, relatives, friends and neighbors gathered to mourn and offered a glass of wine to express their condolences. A libation usually includes a sacrificial mat, a steamed bun, a spoon and a paper tie. The closest relatives send sacrifices. Commonly known as "sacrifice", it is mainly dishes, and each pair should be inserted with paper flowers of different sizes, followed by steamed bread, which is a kind of pasta steamed in a bowl. Most relatives and friends asked them to pull their arms and tie couplets, which later became a piece of cloth. Ordinary neighborhoods send wreath. ?

After the mourners offered public drinks, the eldest son of the deceased bowed down to pay tribute, that is, carrying the big head of the coffin on his back and moving it out of the coffin shed with the help of everyone, commonly known as the "coffin." Before waking up, the sons of the deceased will hold a ceremony of "pressing the bowl with food" in Qixian County, Jinzhong. They put all kinds of vegetables and food in a porcelain jar, and then press them in turn until they are full. Cover it with a steamed bread, erect a hole with a pair of chopsticks and put some red vermicelli on it. This can of food, together with "steamed bread" and "ever-burning lamp", will be buried with the coffin at the funeral. ?

After the coffin is carried out of the mourning hall, it is placed on a pre-tied shelf, which has several forms, such as tofu rack, two dragon bars and one-stop bars. ?

The coffin lid is very popular at funerals. It is shaped like a long sedan chair with a tin gourd head and a golden top. The four-cornered male victim used a dragon head and a dragon tail, and the female victim used a phoenix head and a phoenix tail. They are decorated with red, blue and yellow curtains and painted with auspicious patterns. This kind of utensils is specially rented in shops. ?

Heavy coffins, plus huge coffins, are even more difficult with fewer people. Therefore, the number of loads increased from 8 to 16, 24 or even 32, commonly known as 16, 24 and 32 bars. There are many people carrying coffins, which is not only convenient but also imposing. ?

Before the coffin was lifted, the eldest son of the deceased knelt down. Holding a clay pot for burning paper money, crying, and then throwing the playing pot on the ground. Folk believe that if the burial basin is broken, the deceased can take all the burnt paper money to the underworld for use. ?

After falling on the "funeral basin", the funeral officially began. When the coffin leaves the hospital, the big head should be in front; Out of the door, everyone will turn their heads and carry them to the cemetery. It turns out that people think that the deceased lying in the coffin is like standing alone, and going out with his head forward is equivalent to looking back at his home and expressing his attachment to the world; When you go out, you turn your head back, just don't look back and go straight to the paradise in the west. ?

If there is an open road in front of the funeral procession, a "road flag"-a small pennant made of five-color paper or white paper will be inserted along the way to guide the deceased; Throw paper money to lead the way to show that you can buy off ghosts along the way. Then there are ceremonial ceremonies, all kinds of paper (called "paper writing" in Xingxian area), music lessons in rough and fine, soul-drawing banners and stools carried by nephews or grandchildren, followed by dutiful sons holding ropes and funeral sticks, followed by coffins, followed by wives sitting in sedan chairs and relatives and friends walking around. ?

The funeral procession will go to many places or intersections, and there will be spiritual sacrifices and drum music stops. In ancient times, relatives and friends usually set up sacrifices in the neighborhood. Later, most of them set up sacrifices for the bereaved, which shows that the funeral was extravagant and grand. ?

After arriving outside the village, relatives and friends attending the funeral stopped, and the son of the deceased was called "Xiao Xie". Then, the coffin lid was removed, and the memorial ceremony was stopped. Only family members and close relatives were buried with the coffin with paper sticks and sacrifices. We'll bury it right away. After the coffin enters the tomb, the master of Yin and Yang will put down the compass and move it left and right until he thinks it is ok. Generally speaking, the direction is southeast-northwest (dry loss position), and there is a saying in the local area that "Purple Mountain is overhead, which is almost equal to Yanmenguan". The son of the deceased came to visit the grave, and then the family threw "rich" and "rich buns" into the grave. After the mound is finished, the "crying stick" and "soul-inducing coffin" held by the children and grandchildren of the deceased should be inserted in front of the grave (the soul-inducing coffin is also placed on the top of the coffin), and then all the papers should be burned (the heads or feet of the "boys and girls" should be turned back and placed next to the coffin), so that everyone can pay a memorial service again, cry bitterly, and then quietly quit, so that the deceased can be forever. ?

build

Early the next morning after the funeral, the family sent food to the grave to pour wine, indicating that the deceased and his family had another light meal. The next day, when family members pay homage to the grave, they should add new soil to the grave with a spade, so that the front and back of the grave are straight and unbiased, commonly known as "supporting the mountain". After the burial in Taiyuan, it was not until three years later in Tomb-Sweeping Day that soil was allowed to be added to the grave. The customs of the two places are different. ?

Adding soil and giving paper to new graves, most places are on the third day after the dead are buried, which is called "Fu San", also called "round grave" and "warm grave". Generally, the eldest son of the deceased leads the whole family. In some places, all relatives with clothes go.

From the date of death, there must be a memorial service every seven days, which is called "doing seven" or "passing seven". Where 17 is called "top seven", 37 is also called "scattered seven", and 57 and 77 are also called "full seven", "broken seven" or "exhausted seven", which is more important. ?

On the day of "17", a memorial tablet was set up for the families of the deceased and a grand ceremony was held. ?

On March 7th, the children of the deceased should bring incense to the fork in the road to call the deceased, or burn incense in front of the grave to lead the deceased home. ?

"May 7th", people think that on this day, the deceased went home to "visit relatives". In addition to holding a memorial service, monks and Taoists were invited to chant Buddhist scriptures, and relatives and friends came to worship. In Qixian County, Jinzhong, the male deceased steamed one more "Lotus" and the female deceased steamed one more "Ruyi". Paper flowers and paper-cut flags were made according to the age of the deceased, and a "liter" was posted. The paper flag was pierced with straw stalks and inserted all the way into the cemetery from the door. ?

On July 7, the funeral home held a grand memorial service, and friends and relatives came to burn paper or worship at the grave. ?

The100th day after a person's death or burial is also a grand day to worship heaven. On this day, people who wear bulk density mourning clothes should wear regular mourning clothes, and most people take off their mourning clothes. In Qixian and other places, paper must be a "bucket". As the saying goes, "five or seven liters, a hundred days of fighting ..."?

After a person's death, his children have to mourn for three years, commonly known as "clothing three", and the first anniversary of burning paper is called "anniversary" or "anniversary burning", which was called "Xiaoxiang" in ancient times. The second anniversary is called "Daxiang", and we will also go to the cemetery to offer sacrifices. After the third anniversary, the relatives and friends of the deceased arrived, each with offerings and paper. After the third anniversary, the children of the deceased can take off their mourning clothes and put on ordinary clothes. Therefore, the third anniversary is also called "undressing" or "removing filial piety", which was called "Tantan" clothes in ancient times. According to tradition, the funeral etiquette has officially ended. ?

On or before the day of Tomb-Sweeping Day one year after the death of the deceased, there was a custom of "heartburn" in Jinzhong area. On this day, family members, relatives and friends, especially married daughters, must come to the cemetery to offer a glass of wine. In addition to tying clothes, shoes and socks with all kinds of paper, we should also steam hollow noodles and bury them in front of the tomb. "Heartburn" is also called "peace of mind", which means comforting the dead. From now on, you don't have to miss your relatives in Shi Yang, so you can rest in peace. ?

After the "service three", the memorial service for the deceased was moved to the ordinary grave, and there was no special death day. Go to the grave about three times a year: that is, Qingming, a new fire; July 15, tasting the new valley; On the first day of October, send cold clothes. There are also five festivals in a year, that is, in addition to the above three festivals, New Year's Day and winter solstice are added. In this way, the family continued to maintain "contact" with the deceased in the long years, pinning their endless grief. ?