Ancient Chinese funeral etiquette?

For different ethnic groups, different regions, customs vary greatly, as the so-called "ten miles of different customs"

The old Han funeral tradition is to pay attention to the heavy coffin burial, and mixed with many superstitious customs. The Han Chinese since ancient times, the prevalence of coffin burial, funeral ceremonies, coffin, funeral, burial of three stages.

Embalming, is to dress the body under the coffin. People first died in the coffin before the dead soul, bathing. Embalming is divided into two steps of small and large coffins. Small coffin is a body wrapped coverlet, generally with cloth and silk, affluent families with silk, some royalty with jade clothes. Mortuary is the body into the coffin. Coffin called "Shou material", the male coffin engraved with the word "life", the female coffin engraved with the word "Fu", some are engraved with the "Fu Lu Shou "The three words of the combined writing body. Small coffins also put rice in the mouth of the deceased, affluent people with bik, beads, etc., the royal family with jade, modern times contain a silver dollar, are called "rice contains". Mortuary often with some of the items, the average person has clothes, quilt and daily necessities and other things, the rich and the royal family buried with a large number of items and expensive.

Funeral, that is, after the coffin in the funeral palace, funeral period varies in length, less than 3 days, more than 30 days, mainly by the mourners. In ancient times, more than 3 months to stop the coffin and burial, up to 7 months. Traditional Han Chinese custom, parents died, children must be mourning, otherwise unfilial. Friends and relatives will come to mourn the dead, called "mourning" or "condolences". Mourners should be mourning clothes. Ancient Han Chinese mourning clothes divided into chopped down, Qi decline, big work, small work, weaving hemp five, known as the "five clothes", with thick, thin made of different linen, according to the affinity of different relationships and wear different mourning clothes, known as "wearing hemp mourning". In recent times, white cloth is used to make funeral clothes. Modern cities generally Xing chest white flowers, arm wearing black veil.

Burial, is to bury the remains of the deceased, that is, the coffin into the ground. The old custom is often to look at the feng shui before burial, choose the cemetery, so-called "choose auspicious ground". Burial is also called funeral. Burial, the ancient Han Chinese generally "filial son" in front of the funeral, bier sing elegy. Elegy has evolved into mourning music in recent and modern times. Family and friends write elegiac words or couplets to send funeral, to the recent, modern and evolved into sending wreaths, wreaths written on the elegiac couplets.

Anciently, there was the custom of burying people as martyrs (mainly close relatives, close ministers and servants, and there are still survivors of martyrdom in the Qing Dynasty), which was gradually replaced by terracotta figurines, and in the modern era, the burials were accompanied by paper effigies.

After the funeral, there are to do seven, break seven, hundred days, anniversary and other memorial ceremonies, and will be sent to the ancestral hall, which has been changed from the funeral rituals for people to "ghosts", "ancestral spirits" rituals.

Additionally, the Han Chinese also have the custom of "return to burial", which is to return the body of a person who died in another country to its place of origin.

During the funeral, the relatives of the deceased are required to wear mourning clothes and keep watch at the funeral hall. In ancient China, mourning clothes were categorized into five classes according to the degree of kinship with the deceased, and in modern Chinese there is also the term "wu sui" (five clothes), which denotes how close or distant the blood relationship is. The mourning clothes were made of white cloth, which was very different from the western custom of wearing white clothes as a dress. In the Qing Dynasty, an Englishman came to China for the first time, and encountered a funeral procession in which everyone was dressed in white, but looked miserable and sad, which was very strange. In ancient times, some people sang elegiac songs at funerals. Tao Yuanming, a great poet of the Jin Dynasty, wrote three "elegiac poems" for himself during his lifetime. The elegiac couplets and hanging scrolls of later generations evolved from the ancient elegies.

The size of the funeral ceremony is closely related to the status of the deceased, and in feudal society, there are strict regulations on the funeral ceremonies of people of different status. Princes and nobles, rich and powerful families often show off their power with a large-scale funeral ceremony. A Dream of Red Mansions" wrote the Ningguo House died Qin Keqing, the coffin worth thousands of taels of silver, by two or three hundred monks and Taoist priests chanting, the funeral procession, "vast and mighty, the pressure of the ground, silver mountain general". And the poor people even the minimum of food and clothing is not yet reached, naturally, we can not talk about "heavy funeral". Sometimes even with a piece of mat wrapped around the body, hastily buried.

After the death of the elder, the children and grandchildren should be at home to keep twenty-seven months, during which to stop socializing and entertainment, the official must also leave the home to keep filial piety, in order to express the condolences of the honored relatives, said "keep the system"

Examples of funeral procedures

Set a person aged 81 years old, male, military personnel, full of children and grandchildren.

Dressing up, wearing military uniform and birthday shoes. Body covered with yellow silk, face covered with white silk scarf.

Buttons on the clothes should be cut off, and the clothes should be tied with a cloth belt, but not tied in a "knot"

Preliminary cosmetic changes: reset of the five senses, and a golden dollar or a coin in the mouth. Holding a gold dollar in the left hand (both imitations) and a dog-beating stick (handy chopsticks) in the right hand.

The body is tied with red thread, mainly hands and feet. If there are cats and dogs in the house, they should be watched over and not be allowed to approach the body. (so that the soul of the deceased is not attached to the animal) transported to the funeral parlor.

Home set up a simple hearth

Portrait: has been prepared in advance to enlarge a photo, purchase a special frame. The black silk ribbon is placed.

Table offerings: a bowl of grains (with five kinds of cereals), an incense burner, a number of incense, seasonal fruits, pastries, old-fashioned but also a bowl of rice, a pair of chopsticks inserted on the large steamed buns, and so on.

Ming Lantern: Procurement of funeral goods: black yarn, white flowers, white cloth, red cloth, burnt paper, tile pots (with holes in the bottom),

Paper work: roosters, white streamers, paper horses (women with paper cows), villas, gold and silver bank on the night of the day of the death of the family members of the tile pots burnt paper, friends and relatives visit also burned. The next day, to the police station for the cancellation of household registration procedures. The third day, the funeral.

Family dress

Direct descendants of blood relatives Department of white mourning belt, the generation wear black veil. Other relatives wear black veil. Grandchildren sew a small piece of red cloth on the white mourning belt and black veil. Other guests wear white flowers.

Prepared items: a few days to burn the ashes of paper wrapped in paper seven small packets or seven coins, two one-inch photos.

Items to bring: offerings in the funeral hall, a death certificate from the police station, clothes of the deceased, a bottle of white wine.

Before the funeral, the statue will be placed in front of the head of the car, the eldest son led by all the younger blood relatives kneeling in front of the car, will be tile pots raised above their heads, saying: "Dad, you go well", then the tile pots will be hard to break, the more broken the better, but can not fall twice. The paper rooster is placed at the head of the car, meaning "the golden rooster leads the way". The eldest son (or grandson) gets on the first car and holds the streamer.

Each vehicle in the caravan is labeled with a sign. The age of the deceased. The deceased was 81 years old, plus one day of age and one year of age in one place. The number of the car is 83. If the deceased is a male, it is affixed to the left rear side of the car, and if a female, it is affixed to the right rear side of the car.

There are also places where it is customary to scatter paper money. The way to keep spreading, meaning "buy the road money", but also in some places to meet the bridge, will be placed on the bridge, with a stone pressed well. The hearse usually does not stop after the beginning of the red light, the driver counted the time, slowly moving forward, waiting in the distance, when the signal becomes a green light to accelerate through.

Car to the funeral home before the paper rooster thrown out of the car. (Some places use live roosters.)

On entering the funeral home:

Pick up the body and go through the cremation procedures.

Before the cremation formalities, choose an urn and a small spirit tablet. You can ask the staff to write the plaque for you. Pay attention to the male and female writing: the first testament, the first mother. After the body is taken out of the refrigerator, an "opening" ceremony will be held. When the body is taken out of the freezer, the eldest son holds the head, while the others hold the body, and the body is placed on the morgue cart. If there is a need to move, the eldest son will still be at the head of the body. Before the ceremony, the red threads on the body are cut, and the ashes of the burnt paper are put into the paper coffin, or in some cases, into the coat pocket of the deceased, and then the body is put into the paper coffin. Meaning the money given by the children for the journey.

The undertaker instructs the filial son (eldest son or grandson) to open the light. The son holds a cotton swab, dipped in white wine or alcohol, and rubs it on the body of the deceased, which is known as the opening of the light. It is meant to revitalize the body's functions. The order of opening the light is from head to toe, in order of head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, chest, right hand, left hand, feet. The undertaker says a sentence, the mourning son repeats it, and then rubs it on that part. Example: open nose light, smell the flowers; ...... open right hand light, write articles; open left hand light, grab money and food; open feet light, feet on the lotus flower Dengkaitang. Open light rhetoric men and women are slightly different.

Opening the light, the family can not cry, not to mention the tears fall on the body. After the opening of the light, the body will be handed over to the staff make-up.

The memorial ceremony or farewell ceremony is held. Before the ceremony to the master of ceremonies to explain the life of the deceased (at home beforehand), the list of major guests, will be a one-inch or two-inch photo plate to the staff. After the ceremony, the body is cremated. Meanwhile, a memorial service and the burning of things are held under the leadership of the eldest son.

The statue and the spirit version of the offering, set up grains and fruits, pastries, *** five (some places are four), put flowers, white wine, cigarettes and so on. The eldest son first incense a chopsticks, and then according to the generation in turn on the incense. According to the order of first long after the young, first near after far.

Burning things. First burn a few sheets of paper, then burn the clothes of the deceased, etc., and then burn all the offerings. If there is a wreath of flowers, the seven flowers should be removed and burned at a later time.

When you burn something, sprinkle the white wine you brought with you on the clothing to help it burn. After the burning, the funeral is over, and the white flowers and ribbons are removed. Immediate family members wear black veils instead.

Except for a few people left behind, others go to the funeral banquet. Outside the banquet hall, there are a few pots of water, white wine and candies, and all those who come back from the funeral parlor have to wash their hands before entering the banquet hall, and use the wine to name the blossom or to contain a piece of candy.

Before the start of the funeral banquet, the families line up and the undertaker officiates. The presiding officer announces that the family is grateful to all relatives and friends for coming to the funeral, gives a bow, and then a representative of the family speaks. The main content is to thank, slightly prepared thin wine, please enjoy.

Funeral banquet is in progress, the main late blood relatives to toast at each table.

Collecting ashes. In the urn, seven coins are placed in the shape of the Big Dipper. Then choose a large piece of ashes into the urn, the last fast should be the skull.

Place a photo of the deceased on the front of the urn.

Ashes deposit, end.