Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-07-11
A CHINESE FUNERAL.


was disturbed one day during my
midday meal at Hong-Kong by COM
motion in a street adjoining the one in
which l was residing, caused by
Chinese funeral of more than the usual
pretensions. AS very little is known
among foreigners, even those residing
in China, in regard to celestial OBJ
sequies and their meanings, took some
trouble TO gather information regarding
the strange pagentry which l that day
witnessed.
It-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 Fh-kien are in the habit of placing
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 Elysium
and receives judgments; another abides
with the tablet which is prepared to
commemorate the deceased; and the
third dwells in his tomb.
Whether all these practices are observed
in sHong-Kong, / am unable to say;
probably the setting open of the win
dows and doors is regarded as prefer
able proceeding to making hole in the
roof, more especially when the death
happens to occur in the lowest room of
q three-storied house. Here, however,
rs elsewhere, the intelligence of the
death of the head of family is COM
municated as speedily as possible
to all his relatives, and the household is
dressed in white-the mourning color
of China. Priests and women hired to
mourn are sent for at the same time;
and on their arrival, a table is set out
with meats, fruits, lighted candles and
joss-sticks for the delectation of the souls
of the deceased; and the wailing and
weeping by the mourning-women is re-
lieved at intervals by the intoned prayers
of the priest or the discordant ''tom-
tomming" of musicians who have
also been called to assist in the cere-
monies. The women weep and lament
with an energy and dolefulness which,
if genuine, would be highly commend
able; but ungenerous "barbarians" of
extensive acquaintance with the Chinese
assert that this apparently overwhelm-
ing grief is, at least in the majority of
cases, mere sham. In regard to the
nearest relatives of the deceased, it
would be uncharitable to presume there
is not considerable amount of real
grief beneath all this weeping and wall
ing; but hired mourners, who are usual
ly the most demonstrative on these oc-
casions, can hardly be expected to
launch every other day into convulsive
lamentations of genuine nature over
the death of individuals they hardly
know by name. As it is, the priest
usually directs these emotional demon
strations much in the same way as
conductor controls the performance of
band of musicians; now there are a few
irregular 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 oc-
casional litter from the latest comers.
One of the strangest features in the
obsequies witnessed was the erection
of structure in front of the house in
which the death occurred, to enable the
cof1incd body to be brought down to the
roadway from the room in which it was
lying. The house being a three-storied
one, and the body lying in one of the
topmost rooms, the erection, which fur
nished sloping footway of planks from
the room to the road. and landing at
the top, had necessarily not only to be
lofty but substantial. Communication
was of course had with the room
through the window. These structures
are, | believe, erected for two reasons
first, because strange families i'm house
object, on superstitious grounds, to %
corpse being taken through their rooms;
and secondly, because it is almost i'm
practicable to get a heavy Chinese coffin
down the narrow tortuous stairs of
many of the native houses. For sim
liar reason, no body in course of trans
portation 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 al
lowed to be carried across landing
place or to pass through gateway
which can in any way be construed as
pertaining to the Emperor. The Chinese
are, indeed, so superstitious in regard TO
death as seldom to mention that word
itself, preferring to take refuge in a cir
clmlocution, such, for instance, as
''having become immortal"
What may be particularized as the
public obsequies of the deceased, on the
special occasion l refer to, were COM
menced by procession issuing from
the house on the mission known as
"buying the water whercwith 70 wash
the body of the deceased. First came
the musicians" (save the word); then
priest, wearing long robe of dark
erd color and sort of college cap; and
lastly, the white-clad mourners. On the
mainland, the procession would prob
ably have repaired to the nearest river,
well, or even the wet ditch of the city,
for the water; but these antiquated con-
veniences being scarce in Hong-Kong.
the sorrowful cortege on this occasion
was compelled to wend its steps to the
Government hydrant at the end of the
street! The leading actor in this cere-
mony of "buying the water" was, as
usual, the eldest son of the deceased, a
boy about seven or eight years of age.
Notwithstanding his youth, however, his
part was performed with an cxactncss
that must have resulted from consider
able amount of previous instruction.
Bearing in his hand wand covered with
white indented paper, supported on
each side by female relative, and bend
ing nearly double in token of his intense
grief, this young scion of the deceased
proceeded slowly and gravely in the di-