Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-04-17
Chinese Ancestor worship.


The Chinese are now engaged in cele-
brating the most singular of their pagan
rites-the ceremonies of ancestor worship
and in the light of investigation by
Chinese scholars, these forms possess a
curious interest. SO far as the major part
of the population of China can be said to
have a system of religion at all, it is the
alteration of the ancestral names. 1t con-
stitutes queer mixture of superstition
and filial piety-the most extreme develop
ment of the patriarchal idea. Patriarch
ism is a type of social organization COM
mon to most of the ASiatic nations, but
none other has carried it to the length of
the dedication of the shades 81 all the de-
parted. According to Chinese eschatOlOgy
the spirits of the deceased either spend all
| their time wandering about in this lower
world, or return to it at stated intervals.
The festival of the tSiR0 NINA, which cor
responds in time to the first days of the
month of April, is associated in some way
with the coming of spring, and in the
prayers appropriate for this occasion,
which have been translated by Chinese
scholars, the return of disenbOdied spirits
to the earth at the time when the flowers
and birds also come back is frequently re-
ferre1 to. The Chinese are great demon
olOgists, their demons being the souls of
the dead who may be possessed of malevo-
lent impulses, or who have cause for
grievance against the living, because
they are not pTOpItiated by sacrifices and
prayers. Therefore, in the Chinese tenn
pies, persons areemplOyed to make sacri-
fees to the deceased who may have left
no families TO perform the rites of ances-
tor worship. Hunger plays an important
part in the Chinese demOnOlOgy. A hum
CRY demon is the especial terror of the
Chinese soul, and TO appease the appetite
of the malevOlent ghost is the easiest way
TO disarm his evil intentions. Hence the
placing of food on graves and its Of
fering as Il sacrifice in the temples. The
Chinese are not quite so superstitiOus as
to suppose the ghosts actually deVOur the
cooked food placed on graves, but they
conceive that spiritual substance de-
parts from it which answers all the pur-
poses of more solid provender.
The needs of the departed spirit, accord
ing to Chinese ideas, are the same as those
experienced in this existence, and hence
the effort is made to supply not only food,
but many other things, such as houses,
furniture, servants. etc. To accomplish
this bits of paper are twisted up into
shape to represent those things, and then
burned with due forms and ceremonies.
Sometimes, to make sure that the houses.
furniture, ETC., will be delivered TO the
proper person, written deed or certifi-
cate is pregared, setting forth to whom
lHe dIllCles DelOIlg. anu IlleH burned with
the rest. This makes 1t dead shot that
there shall be no misrepresentation or
breach of confidence by the festive de-
mons. Pieces OF paper stamped in GER
tain fashion or of a particular shape rep
resent money, and the slips of paper
which we see scattered along the route of
Chinese funeral procession in this city
are nothing else than a donation of coin to
procure the favor of the demons who may
attempt to Obstruct the rites of sepulture.
The removal of the bodies of deceased
celestials to China is generally supposed
to be due to superstition that the de-
ceased cannot rest easy in any soil but
that of the FlOwery Kingdom. 1t is more
probable that the object of this transporta-
ton of dead Cinnamon back to their native
country is to permit each to be buried
with his immediate kindred, which is an
arrangement that is very important ac-
cording to Chinese ideas. They do not
generally inter their dead in common
burying grounds, but each family in good
circumstances has a tomb of its own,
which may be placed anywhere-so that