Do you know that there are those specific processes in a funeral?

The main color of traditional Chinese funerals is white, which is why they are also known as white affairs, as opposed to red affairs (happy affairs). Depending on the beliefs and financial situation of the deceased, Buddhist, Taoist or Feng Shui rituals are often mixed into the process. With the accelerated pace of life brought about by modernization and the fusion of world cultures, Chinese funerals nowadays are even more mixed with various religions (Buddhism, Taoism), local cultures, ethnic cultures (e.g., Japan), etc. The traditional mourning rituals, such as the funeral rites, the mourning clothes system, the mourning clothes system, etc., have already been "simplified", and those who are based on the Confucian system are seldom heard of.

The main processes are:

Small coffin: for the body purification and grooming, put on the life jacket. This step should be carried out as early as possible, sometimes even before the death of the body. Because after a few hours, due to the death of muscle cells, there will be called stiffness of the limbs stiffness phenomenon, affecting the wearing of life jacket. Leather can't be used for the life jacket, as tradition holds that the deceased will then be reincarnated as an animal.

Report of Mourning: Formal notification to friends and relatives near and far of the time of death, the circumstances of the death, and funeral arrangements. Often there are strict rules about the situation and order.

Running Mourning: family and friends come from out of town with gifts, gratuities, elegiac couplets, wreaths, etc. to attend the funeral.

Hanging of the Spirit: also known as the temporary house, the body will be parked in the spirit hall for a number of days, waiting for friends and relatives to come to the funeral; at the same time, help to determine the death rather than coma fake death. The spirit hall can be a room at home, a temporary shack, or a special room in the funeral parlor. Inside the shrine are memorial banners, a portrait of the deceased, food offerings for the deceased, incense, candles, paper money, and so on. In addition, in cases where it is not possible to officially bury the deceased for the time being, placing the coffin in a temple or other place and waiting for a future burial can also be called a wake.

Wake: During the period of mourning, friends and relatives who are already present, especially the deceased's juniors, take turns guarding the deceased at the funeral hall and accepting condolences from mourners. Throughout the funeral period, the close descendants of the deceased (called filial sons/ daughters) wear white coarse linen dresses or lab coats without sewn edges, with grass or hemp ropes tied around their waists and grass shoes, called filial clothing.

The coffin: In front of the family, the deceased is moved into a mattress-lined coffin, covered with a quilt, and nailed shut. Wealthy people may use two layers of inner coffins and outer coffins for burial goods.

Funeral and burial: The coffin is taken to the cemetery for burial. The start of the funeral is marked by the breaking of a tiled basin by the mourning son, known as the "tsukudan-er," or the "tsukudan-er. The mourning son leads the procession with a "soul-attracting banner" and a band playing and distributing paper money along the way to the cemetery. The burial ceremony is assisted by Taoist priests and Feng Shui masters.

Burning seven: after the burial, friends and relatives visit the cemetery every seven days and burn paper money, a *** go seven times *** forty-nine days. There are also similar activities such as calling the soul and burning paper money, which are called "doing seven". The ceremony on the forty-ninth day is called "breaking the seven days," and is the end of the formal funeral portion.

Guarding filial piety: According to Confucian tradition[1], a filial son should guard the area around his parents' tomb for three years, during which time he avoids entertainment, drinking and eating meat, and conjugal cohabitation.

Placards: Family members use incense and candles to offer offerings to the plaque with the name of the deceased.

Sweeping the grave: family members and friends repair and clean the grave during the Ching Ming Festival or Chung Yeung Festival.

Mourning clothes: During the Qing Dynasty, Chinese people (especially Han Chinese) were killed in large numbers for wearing their own national costume, the hanbok (Chinese traditional dress), see the entry on "Shaving Hair and Changing Clothes". After a hundred years of struggle, finally: the living were not allowed to wear it, but the dead were allowed to wear it. Therefore, about 360 years ago, when Han Chinese died, they were allowed to take off their robes and coats and put on their own national costumes, with a white cloth over their faces, to show that they were ashamed to see their ancestors underground. Nowadays, mourning clothes are one of the traditional Chinese costumes.