Evening journal., 1900-07-25

regular intervals, and the children of
the deceased weep over the corpse at
stated times. lt Is not customary for
friends to send flowers. but beautiful
satin scrolls instead, on which the viz
tues Of the dead man are set forth. On
a certain day these scrolls are hung
up, hundreds Of them perhaps, and in
cense burned.
The funeral frequently does not oc-
cur until two or three weeks after
death, but the body lies all this time in
state in its handsome coffin. Rich Chi
nese are very particular about the good
quality of the wood for their coffins.
often having them made years before
there is any probability Of their being
needed. IL is well known that some
distinguished high officials are in the
habit Of carrying their coffins around
with them In their travels
The funeral cortege IS usually very
imposing. Friends are present IN their
most official dress. and note of
mourning added to their splendor BY
the dark upper coat dOnned
for the occasion. Relatives are
clad in the coarsest white, and every
body else wears a band of white about
the body. The. coffin is borne on the
shoulders of men, the rank Of the de-
ceased being indicated somewhat byI
their number. He must have been low
in the social scale whose pail is borne
by only two bearers Eight is the usual
number. and thirty-two the number
when the deceased has been high i'm
Official circles. In the funeral train
Taoist and Buddhist priests always oc-
cupy prominent place. Although thel
Chinese as q nation are followers oil
Confucius, they have a feeling that the
whole truth can be known TO none. and
believe IL the part ef wisdom to ensure
the future on all sides. Priests OF these
two sects are accordingly always called
in to say prayers for the dead. even
though the deceased may have had mol
iaith in their teachings Rich families
also. have in their funeral procession
people carrying sedan chairs. horses
and furniture made OF paper. Thesel
things are burned after the burial thel
idea being that the dead man shall not
want for anything of his customary
comforts In another world. There arel
certain coolies In the procession also
carrying memorial tabletswhich chron-
icle the offices and hOnOrs of the dead
man. one for every Office. After the
funeral, these are brought back to thel
dead mans house and placed in the hall
or his ancestral home. Mourning music
made by the doleful beat Of drums and
the shrill plant Of pipes and flutes is
also part of the procession. which is
often so long as to take an hour to PASS
a given point
The choice of a burying ground is
considered matter OF great import
ance in China. A class OF people who
have great influence there are the
"Geomancers," whose function it Is toI
decide whether a place is lucky for al
burying ground or for building a house.
Rich people spend a great deal OF time
and money in going about selecting
burial places for their dead. Sometimes
they spend years in their search. When
a lucky place is found, the Geomancer
may say, If you bury your father here
you will be rich yourself before YOU
die" It is commonly believed that any
good luck in the life Of a person comes
as a reward for burying his parents or
grandparents in the right spot. 1T
sometimes happens that the parents die
before the lucky spot is found. and in
that case a little house Is hastily con-
structed and the body given a tempor-
airy resting place there. No greater
crime is known in China than that of
desecrating a graveyard Because
graves are found everywhere in China
the first railroad built there had to fol-
low very circuitous route in order toI
avoid them. 1t is better when the peo-
pie are poor for railroads to pay them
to move their graves. If the people are
rich, and money is no consideration. I'D
is wiser to change the route Of a rail-
road than to rouse the wrath OF the
people.
The graves of the dead are carefully
tended by the living. Every year, at
about Easter time, men of all classes
over the empire ask leave to go and
visit their graves. They take with them
votive candles and fire crackers, meat
and wine. A libation of wine is poured
on the ground, and the spirit OF the
dead rests satisfied.
There are several public festivals
during the year, when the Chinese Join
hands in general rejoicing. They bunch
their holidays together and
take month off about New
Years time. The shops are
closed then and the streets given
over to carnival sights. Houses. are
gayly decorated people are clad in hOl-
iday attire. and there is an Overabund-
ance of eating, drinking. gambling, Jug
Cling and drum beating. Elaborate dis
plays II fireworks are a feature of that
| festive month.
Strange power Of customi To the
minds Of most men, what has been is
sufficient reason for what shall be-
And yet in the course of centuries the
most deeply-rooted customs have been
! known to change. But In China the
power of precedent is strong.