What are the general processes involved in a funeral?

The main processes are:

Small coffin: the body is purified and groomed, and dressed in a life jacket. This step is carried out as early as possible, sometimes even before the breath is broken.

Mourning: officially notify friends and relatives near and far of the time of death, the situation and funeral arrangements. Often there is a strict situation and order prescribed.

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

Spirit stopping: also known as 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, it helps to determine that the death is not a coma and fake death.

Wake: During the period of mourning, friends and relatives who have been 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 juniors of the deceased (called filial sons/ daughters) wear mourning clothes.

The Great Coffin: In front of the family, the deceased is moved into a mattress-lined coffin, covered with a quilt, and nailed to seal the coffin.

Funeral and burial: the coffin is taken to the cemetery for burial. The start of the funeral is marked by the breaking of a tile basin by the mourning son, known as the "wrestling of the basin". The mourning son will lead the procession with a "soul-guiding flag", and a band will play and distribute paper money along the way to the cemetery. The burial ceremony is assisted by a Feng Shui master.

Expanded Information

But China's ethnic minorities have their own unique burial methods, such as sky burial.

The Tibetans respect sky burial, and believe that feeding the vultures with the "skin bag" is the most honored form of charity, reflecting the highest level of Mahayana Buddhism's Paramitas - giving up one's body for charity. Like earth burial, water burial and cremation, it is a belief, a way of expressing mourning for the dead.

It is essentially a social and cultural phenomenon, and its origin, form, content, and the performance of the rituals are influenced by factors such as the natural geographical environment, lifestyle, and culture. Therefore, sky burial ceremonies have appeared in different historical periods, in different countries, regions, ethnic groups and even different social classes.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Sky Burial

Baidu Encyclopedia - Funeral