Rituals for Chinese funerals

 

Clothing for the deceased is chosen with intention, often traditional and in color schemes that adhere to the symbolism ingrained in Chinese culture. White is the traditional color of mourning in China, symbolizing purity and rebirth, and is often chosen for the deceased’s attire. 

In contrast, family members may wear black, which signifies the loss and lamentation of the bereaved. Red, a color typically associated with luck and joy in Chinese culture, is conspicuously absent from funerals, as it’s considered highly inappropriate and disrespectful in the context of death.

Offerings are an essential aspect of the wake, ranging from the deceased’s favorite foods to paper money and miniature paper replicas of houses, cars, and other worldly possessions. These items are burned as offerings to ensure that the deceased has all they need in the afterlife, a practice deeply connected to the rituals of death.

Rituals performed during the wake and funeral are numerous and vary according to regional and familial traditions. Chanting, prayers, and vigil-keeping are common, creating an atmosphere of solemnity and remembrance. The lighting of incense is an enduring ritual, its fragrant smoke ascending as if to carry the prayers of the family to the heavens.

Superstitions also play a critical role throughout Chinese funerals. Mirrors may be covered to prevent the deceased’s spirit from getting trapped, and certain taboos are observed, such as avoiding crying near the coffin to prevent burdening the spirit. The direction of the deceased’s spirit is also taken into account, with the coffin often positioned to face a certain way before the funeral procession begins.

The funeral procession itself is an elaborate affair. At the front of the procession, there might be a band playing somber music. This will be followed by family members and, finally, the hearse. The length of the procession and its scale might be seen as a reflection of the deceased person’s status and respect.

The burial itself signifies the end of the ceremonies. The deceased is laid to rest based on any auspicious signs and the tenets of Feng Shui. Earth is gently placed over the coffin, signifying a return to the elements and the cycle of life and death continuing.

In these ways, Chinese funerals serve as a final, loving tribute to the deceased, encapsulating a complex interplay of cultural customs, rituals of death, and the universal human desire to honor and remember those we’ve lost.

Mourning periods

The mourning period within Chinese culture is emblematic of the profound reverence for family ties and ancestral lineage — a cornerstone of societal values. This practice of mourning is a manifestation of filial piety, a Confucian virtue of respect for one’s parents, elders, and ancestors.

As Chinese society has embraced more modern approaches, there’s been a change not just in the duration but in the expression of mourning. The contemporary approach is more commonly a 100-day mourning period, which, while significantly shorter than the traditional three years, still embodies the same spirit of remembrance and honor for the deceased. 

The number 100 has its own significance in Chinese culture, often associated with wholeness and completion, making it a fitting period for mourning practices.

Remembering the dead

In Chinese culture, remembering the deceased isn’t limited to the immediate aftermath of passing; it’s an enduring commitment that spans the entire year. This continuous homage is deeply embedded in the Chinese customs for death and the broader cultural fabric. The rituals of death are not seen as a conclusion but as a perpetual cycle of reverence and memory.

One of the most poignant expressions of this ongoing remembrance is the Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day. Occurring in early April, this festival is one of the most significant Chinese customs for death, dedicated to the act of ancestor worship. 

During Qingming, families visit the gravesites of their ancestors to engage in a ritual cleaning — sweeping away the debris and weeds that have gathered, which is an act of care and respect. This tradition is steeped in the philosophy that maintaining the physical grave is akin to tending to the ancestor’s spirit.

Offerings are a central element of the Qingming Festival, with families bringing food, tea, wine, joss sticks, and paper money to the graves. These offerings are not mere formalities; they’re symbolic gestures of sustenance and prosperity for the ancestors in the afterlife, ensuring their well-being and seeking their blessings in return. 

The festival isn’t solely about upkeep and offerings. It’s also a time for families to gather, share stories of their ancestors, and reflect on the legacy that has been passed down to them. It’s a day that reinforces family bonds and transmits the stories and values of previous generations to the young, ensuring that the memories of the ancestors are kept alive.

Beyond Qingming, other days throughout the year are set aside for honoring the deceased, such as the Hungry Ghost Festival, held at a time when the veil between the living and the dead is considered thin, allowing for closer communion with the spirits of ancestors.

Source: Mandarin Blueprint

 

 

 

 

 

Three Teachings of Confucianism

 “The most important thing in life is to be buried well,” is an old Chinese adage that reflects the importance of funerals in traditional Chinese culture. Funerals are the most important life passage ritual, surpassing weddings and birthdays in priority, expense, and significance. For the Chinese, death means becoming either an ancestor who has a continued relationship with its family or a ghost that endangers society. In either case, the spirit or soul exists to have an interactive relationship with the living. Because ancestor reverence is the cornerstone of Chinese cultural belief and social structure, death rituals are of serious concern and are the most important of Chinese religious practices. 

With death, a family member has the potential for becoming a beneficent ancestor, and funerals are the ritual means of accomplishing this transition. A well-disposed corpse will have a safe, peaceful spirit that will reward its family with good fortune for many generations. Corpse and spirit disposition are also community concerns because the improper disposal of the dead will produce an unhappy spirit that will cause havoc and bad luck for all. Such concern with spirit welfare and familial duty is expressed and judged by the funeral procured, particularly if the funeral is for one’s parents. A respectable funeral presentation to show filial duty, respect, and spirit concern becomes necessary to “save face” (Yang 1961:38, 44-53).

In Confucian China, the patrilineal family structure of descent through its males dictates the ritual procedures at funerals. Family members performed rites in the order of males first according to generational seniority. The eldest son or chief mourner started first, then the other sons, then the daughters-in-law, then the daughters. The eldest grandson was next, and so on. When an offering was made to the deceased, the family member, in a prostrated position, bowed three times, with the forehead touching the ground. The offering was concluded with a single bow. Today, many Chinese simply stand and bow from the waist with hand palms placed together in front (Kiong 1990:97; Kiong 1993:136; Yang 1961:39).

For the traditional Chinese, the family is revered, its order valued, and its continuity essential. As an enactment of familial loyalty, funerals are a family concern. Not only does the final disposition create an ancestor, the execution and largesse of the funeral are statements of the family’s social status and filial devotion. According to Confucianism, the physical act of performing the mortuary rituals is a necessary regimen that asserts the hierarchical family order, the obligations of its members, and the family’s social conformity to the group-centered culture (Yang 1961:44-45).

Coins (li shi or lucky money) are given to guests and helpers at various stages of the funeral in exchange for their exposure to the airs of death. The red color of the paper wrapping symbolizes life and is a prophylactic against death airs. Another coin to absorb the death airs is wrapped in white paper (the color of death) and is sometimes given together with the red-wrapped coin. In New York, only the white li shi, provided by the mortuary, is offered. These coins should be spent immediately, preferably on something sweet to remove the bitter taste of death and to transfer out the pollution (Crowder 2002:76-77, 212; Watson 1982:163).

Dispersing the Ritual Area and Eliminating Pollution

Anything associated with the funeral is destroyed or must be purified. Mourning clothes and funeral items are either burned or buried with the deceased. In the Cantonese villages of San Tin and Ha Tsuen, for instance, the termination of mourning on the 7th day after the burial is marked by a ceremony known as “putting on the red” in which the mourning family exchange their white clothes for red ones (Watson 1982:165-66). Rooms that have been occupied by the corpse are purified with smoke, rice, or salt. If a sacred cosmic space was created, the priest disperses it. Funeral guests make a detour on their way home to leave the death airs elsewhere. Like the mourning family, they might purify themselves by stepping over a fire or ritually washing themselves with water infused with purifying red pomegranate seeds or pomelo leaves before entering their homes (Schipper 1993:77; Thompson 1973:167-68; Watson 1982:164-66).

Taboos regarding death are taken seriously, even in the modern urban context. Mortuaries in American Chinatowns are virtually closed during Chinese New Year. This life-affirming festival is a time of renewal for everyone to make a fresh start. Any mention of or activity regarding death is bad luck and will cast a pall over the coming year. To go directly to someone’s home from a mortuary is inconsiderate. For the elderly especially, it is culturally inappropriate to ask them what type of funeral they would like or to show them something related to death. Even going to a florist and seeing a funeral wreath being assembled is considered bad luck, and to accidentally bump into it is worse. Some Chinese will make a detour to avoid passing a cemetery. Most will go to a funeral expecting to receive some good luck charm (red-wrapped money, a piece of red thread) or will carry something with them for protection (garlic or scallions wrapped with bamboo in a pomelo leaf or crucifixes) (Crowder 2002:397; Watson 1982).

Postburial Rites

One or three days after the burial, the family returns to the grave to thank the earth and make simple offerings. Mortuary rituals are held again 100 days or a year later. Offerings are made at the grave on anniversary dates of the deceased’s birth and death and at seasonal festivals such as ching ming, the spring grave-cleaning festival.

Ching Ming / Qing Ming

Throughout the month of April, everyone visits their family graves with offerings. Participation ranges from private sacrifices to grand clan ceremonies at the tombs of the founding ancestor and other illustrious members. Its fall counterpart, chung yeung, is similar but smaller in magnitude due to the less favorable weather.

Feast of Souls / Hungry Ghost Festival

 At the Hungry Ghost or Feast of Souls Festival in August, many families burn paper goods for the comfort of their dead relatives. This community festival is society’s effort to appease and comfort orphan ghosts with food offerings, the burning of incense, and the reading of Buddhist scriptures (Gallin 1966:229-30; Li 1996:138-39; Overmeyer 1986:63-66, 87; Schipper 1993:37).

Conclusion

Traditional Chinese funerals are dynamic, sensory-inundating ritual performances that impress on the mourners the importance of the interrelationship between the living and the dead to the family order and of the need to sustain this order with reciprocating, cause-and-effect rituals. They engage the family in a collective pursuit that is demonstrative of their filial devotion, sense of social responsibility, and social status as a group.

The discourse of Chinese funerals continues to incorporate and define the deceased in group terms, structurally and morally, to an extent not found in the West. Funerals function to safely create an ancestor rather than to primarily memorialize the deceased and to comfort the living, as is typical in Western societies.

There is a Chinese saying that out of crisis comes opportunity. Death is a disruptive crisis that forces open a gap between the earthly existence and the spirit one that is bridged by rituals. Death is also the opportunity to transition a family member from a biological propagator to a spiritual benefactor. As the “white” affair that alternates with the “red” affair of birth, death creates the cyclical change that regenerates the life process. 

Red and white, life and death, are necessary complements of each other. Symbols of regeneration (the symbols of nails, green, the rice measure) and the color red, for the vitality of life, are always present at funerals to balance death by instating its connection to the life, spiritual and physical, that will continue from it. For the Chinese whose identity is group centered around the family, death is a regenerative element to family perpetuity rather than a final end.

Omnilogos