Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-09-01
Chinese Burial Customs.

Chinese Burial Customs.
Death Is met in China with a great
wall Of protest The dead mans house
Is filled with the sound Of noisy weep
ing almost before the body is cold. 1t
is a piteous sight to see his children
throwing themselves PROSTATE on the
ground. beating their breasts and tear
| ing their hair. They will neither SIT
| on chairs nor lie on couches. They dis
card their silken robes and dol white
garments made OF the coarsast hemp.
| They fast and pray and keep watch
over the dead body Until the burial
takes place priests recite prayers at
regular intervals, and the children of
the deceased weep over the corpse at
stated times. 1t is not customary for
| friends to send flowers, but beautiful
satin scrolls instead, on which the vir-
| tues Of the dead man are set forth. On
| a certain day these scrolls are hung up.
hundreds OF them perhaps. and incense
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
Chinese are very particular about the
good quality of the wood for their cof-
fins. often having them made years
before there is any probability of their
being needed. 1t is well known that
some distinguished high officials are in
the habit of carrying their collins
around with them in their travels.
The funeral cortege is usually very
LN,-sz
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 everybody else
wears band of white about the body
The coffin is borne on the shoulders OF
men. the rank OF the deceased being
indicated somewhat by their number
He must have been low in the socia.
scale whose pail is borne by only two
bearers. Eight is the usual number.
and 80 the number when the deceased
has been high in official circles
In the funeral train Taoist and Budd-
histpriests always occupy a prominent
place. Although the Chinese as ma
ton are followers of Confucius, they
have a feeling that the whole truth
can be known to none. and believe IT
the part of wisdom to insure the flu
ture 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 no
faith in their teachings. Rich families
also have in their funeral procession
people carrying sedan chairs. horses.
and ftlrntrIra ~
things are burned after the burial. the
idea being that the dead man shall not
want for any of his customary COM
forts in another world. Tner.. are Ger
tain coolies in the procession also. car
rying memorial tablets which chronicle
the offices and honors of the dead man.
one for every office. After the funera,
these are brought back to the dead
mans house and placed in the hall of
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 il
often so long as to take an hour 10
pass a given point.
The choice of a buryng ground is
considered matter OF great Importance.
in China. a class OF people who have
great influence there are the Geo
mancers," whose function it is to de-
eide whether place is lucky for A
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. 1t is commonly believed that any |
good luck in the life of a person comes |
az reward for burying his parents OF, |
grandparents in the right spot 1t !
sometimes happens that parents die BE-
fore the lucky spot is found. and in |
that case a little house is hastily con
structed and the body given tempo
rary resting place there. No create
crime is known in China than Of desc
Grating a graveyard. Because graves
are found everywhere in China the first
railroad built there had to follow
very circuitous route in order to avoid |
them. II is better when the people are
poor for railroads to pay them to move
their graves. II the people are rich
and money is no consideration il is
" 49, :" '''"i'st 'iie ioute VI TdllfOdD |
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 AMI
visit their graves. They talk with them
votive candles and frecrackers. meat
and wine. libation of wine is poured
on the ground and the spirit of the
dead rests satisfied.