Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-06-13
A Chinese Funeral.

1t is the general custom in China.
when man is about to die, for the eld-
est son to remove him from the bed to
the floor of the principal room of the
house. where he is laid with his feet to
the door.
The inhabitants of the province of
Fuhkein are in the habit of placing a
small piece of silver in the mouth of the
dying person-with which he may pay
his fare into the next world-and care
fully stopping up his nose and ears. In
certain cases they make hole in the
roof. TO facilitate the exit of the spirits
proceeding from his body; their belief
being that each person possesses seven
animal senses, which die with him; and
three souls-one of which enters Ely
SUM and receives judgment; another
resides with the tablet which is prepared
to commemorate the deceased; and the
third dwells in his tomb.
The intelligence of the death of the
head of a family is communicated as
speedily as possible to all his relatives,
and the household is dressed in white
the mourning of China Priests and
women hired to mourn are sent for at
the same time; and on their arrival
table is set out with meats, fruits, light
ed candles and josS-sticks, for the delec-
tatiOn of the souls of the deceased; and
the wailing and weeping of the mourn
ing-women is relieved at intervals by the
intoned prayers of the priest or the dis
cordant ''tom-tomming" of musicians"
who have also been called to assist in the
ceremonies. The women weep and Ia
ment with an energy and dOlefulneSS
which, if genuine, would be highly COM
mendable; but ungenerouS "barbarians"
of extensive acquaintance with the
Chinese assert that this apparently over
whelming grief is, at least in the major
lty of cases, mere sham. In regard to
the nearest relatives of the deceased, it
would be uncharitable to presume there
is not a considerable amount of real
grief beneath all this weeping and wall
ing; but hired mourners, who are usually
the most demOnstrative on these occa-
sions, can hardly be expected to launch
every other day into convulsive lamen-
tatiOns of genuine nature over the
death of individuals they hardly know
by name. As it is, the priest usually
directs these emotional demonstrations
much in the same way as a conductor
controls the performance OF a band of
musicians: now there are few irregu-
lar walls. then burst of them, relieved
in turn by few nasal notes from the
priest, the intervals being filled up by
the ''tOm-tomS. and an occasional litter
from the latest comers.
Nobody in course of transportation
from one part of China to another for
the purpose of interment is allowed to
pass through any walled town. No
corpse, either, is ever allowed to be
carried across a landing-place or to pass
through a gateway which can in any way
he construed as pertaining to the En-
peror. The Chinese are, indeed, SO
superstitious in regard to death, as sell
dom to mention that word itself, pre-
ferring to take refuge in cIrcumlOcu-
tion-such, for instance, as having be-
come immortal
After the body of the deceased is
washed, it is dressed in the best clothes
which belonged to the man in his life
time, a hat being placed on his head,
fan in his hand, and shoes on his feet,
the idea being that he will be clothed in
these habiliments in Elysium, and con-
sequently that he must appear there as
a respectable and superior member of
society.
AT intervals during these and subse-
quent ceremonies, gilt and silver paper
in the shape of coins and sycee bars is
burned, i'll the belief that it will also
pass into the invisible world, where il
Will lie recoined into solid cash; and
clothes, sedan-chairs, furniture, buffa-
loes and horses, made of paper, are
transferred on the same principle to the
- better land for the benefit of the
dead.
Among the poor the bodies are put in
the cemeteries, but it is the practice with
the richer Chinese to keep the coffined
bodies of their relatives i'll their houses
for long periods-Sometimesf for years.