Funeral Etiquette in Ancient China

Funeral etiquette in ancient China is very important and can be roughly divided into the following categories:

1. Body placement: first place the body in a house with a mourning hall to avoid being disturbed by outsiders, and the burial can only begin after the personnel are available.

2. Dress: The body is wearing robes, hats, silk packages, shoes and covers.

3. Hair introduction: Women's hair naturally hangs down and men shave their heads. There are strict rules on color and style.

4. Burial: Take sandalwood as coffin, lined with raw silk. The coffin was covered with silk, and four people carried it out of the house. Outside the door, at the door, on the loose wall of the road, they cried three times in front of the grave.

5. Sacrifice: that is, "joint sacrifice" and "separate sacrifice", that is, erecting a monument outside the parked hearse, and then placing a coffin at home, placing fragrant flowers, ox wine and musical instruments to pray for disaster relief.

6. Funeral: The body is carried on the hearse according to strict ceremony, and the main hearse is strictly commanded. There are "ghost instruments" or "chasing instruments" around the burial car, so cry together.

7. Graves: In ancient times, cemeteries had many taboos. It must be higher than the surrounding flat land, and the direction, width and depth of the tomb are fixed.

8. Sacrifice: Ancestor worship activities are held every year on Tomb-Sweeping Day, Mid-Autumn Festival and Double Ninth Festival.

These ceremonies were very important and serious in ancient China, and they had a profound cultural background.