What kind of ceremonies or traditions are there in China after a person dies?

Yes, Confucius said: "The dead are great."

Banned during the Cultural Revolution when the Four Olds were broken up

Only simple memorial ceremonies are performed

The present ceremonies are only a part of the past

There is a whole set of procedures from the departure of the deceased to the burial

Reporting of the Mourning

The mourners must make a list of relatives and friends and send someone to report to the family, which is known as a funeral report. In addition to making old clothes, nailing coffins, setting up beds, giving the dead cover masking paper, hanging dog cakes, burning paper, reading nephews' scriptures, and posting obituaries, mourners must make a list of relatives and friends, and send people to the door to report the funeral, which is known as "sending a letter of death". For maternal uncles, matriarchs and other important people, filial sons must go to kowtow in person. The only son guards the spirit of the deceased and does not report the death in person. The new friend must send a table box to the condolences after hearing the report, which is called "discussing the letter".

Mourning

The main procedures are to put the body in a coffin, put on mourning, and go to the temple. The body will be moved into the coffin, lined with lime rolls, known as the small coffin; cover the coffin is called "big coffin". Male mourning by the patriarch awarded axe to the craftsmen under the nail, female mourning by the mother's family to award the axe, are said to be "axe"; craftsmen nail nail, said "top"; sealing the nail to the filial son of the hair of the little nail holes, and burned Phi's hemp on, said "pulling nails The nail is called "pulling the nail". Wearing filial piety is also differentiated, filial son in addition to wearing mourning clothes and mourning cap, need to be in the hair and lapel draped in hemp, heavy grandchildren wear red mourning cap; not the daughter-in-law, need to send mourning cloth in the female family set mourning clothes, said "send filial piety"; come to the condolences of guests to give a mourning cap, said "scattered filial piety". Three days after the death, friends and relatives gathered, in the afternoon, by the filial son of the paper sedan chair to send the spirit of the deceased boarded to the city temple, along the way to set up sacrifices, friends and relatives also worship, such as the farewell ritual. Filial sons and grandsons in the temple burn incense and paper kowtow, in order to seek shade. In the countryside, it is often referred to as the "farewell journey", and the etiquette is very heavy.

Mourning

Since the day of death, every seven days must be sacrificed, called "burning seven". In front of the coffin, incense and oil lamps are lit and remain lit all night long until the end of the seven days, which is called the "seven lamps". One day before the first "seven", the monks recite seven sutras and place high streamers in front of the door to burn incense, known as the "dark seven"; friends and relatives come to pay tribute to the seven, eat fasting meals, known as the "should be seven". Filial daughters or daughters-in-law more in the "five seven" Jiaojiao super, said "recommended seven". Rich families in urban and rural areas are often in the "six seven" to start hanging. The funeral home first obituary, is the day of friends and relatives with the ceremony and other gifts to come to the condolences, to "goddaughter" hospitality. "Goddaughter", that is, fried dried tofu as the main dish. Where longevity of the death of the family must be fried dried tofu and porcelain bowl a number of, sent to the neighbors to eat, there are used to the baby's family even the bowl to compete for, in order to seek a long life of young children. Wealthy gentry home is in the "six or seven" please familiar with the rituals to open the festival, the festival guests are more than science and education, courteous and elegant stream, Instrumentation complexity and simplicity, the countryside is called "shouting sacrifice", "row of sacrifices"; there are monks and Taoist professional sacrifices. There are specialized monks and Taoist profession will open the festival. In addition, there are also doing jiao-festival, but also Shoushengjing, to the female deceased read the blood basin scripture, the family hall and other super rituals, to name a few.

Mourning

Mourning family because of the heir of the fight, or elders borrowed axe demand, or in-laws do not get along, the mother's family on the pretext of obstructing the conflict, the pretext of "the dead for the great", "the dead pressure on the living".

Burial

The burial of parents is regarded as a major event. In Tai County, there is a habit of stopping the bier, "six or seven" and even three years after the burial. There are "find the point", "point master", "road sacrifice", "break the ground", " Warming up the pit" and "resuming the three" ceremonies.

Mourning

The mourning period is usually three years. Filial sons keep their heads for seven years, and only after the last seven years can they cut their hair. The dead must be sacrificed on the 100th day and the anniversary of the death. Mourning period, all family members are dressed in plain colors, do not do festivities, no entertainment, no firecrackers, no red couplets on festivals, until the end of the three-year period "off".

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, funeral customs were greatly simplified. In the city, the general posting obituaries to report the funeral, a memorial service or a farewell ceremony, that is, cremation. Friends and relatives of the deceased only wear black or white paper flowers, wreaths, hanging scrolls, to show their condolences. Some party members and cadres take the lead in breaking the old customs, funeral from simple, and even the memorial service is also exempted, won the praise of the community. In recent years, some people have been influenced by the "unhealthy wind", and have used the deceased to make conditions and demands on the organization and to "make funerals" to the public. Rural areas are y influenced by the old customs, many people still retain the custom of "burning seven", and there are even "chemical family hall", "read the scriptures and confessions" superstitious rituals of the dead