Rituals in China

7/31/2019 Rituals in China

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(Burial)



Across China many differentreligions are followed, including

Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and

Christianity. Within these religionsthere are variations in beliefsaround death and the afterlife,

but the general religious attitudes

in China are based around amixture of Taoism, Buddhism andpopular belief .



Chinese Buddhists believe that unless a soul is free from sin,it will spend a time in Hell after leaving Earth. Sin can be allsorts of things, ranging from â €œpervertedâ€•sexual views,to stealing, to dying in childbirth, and are not necessarilythings which the person could have avoided. Hell is viewed asa place full of pain and gruesome punishments.

Unlike the Western view of Hell as something infinite andeternal, the Chinese view Hell more like Western religionsview purgatory; as a period of suffering which can be escaped

from once the sin has been atoned for. Upon arriving in theafterlife, the soul is judged by the Ten Courts of Hell whichdecide upon the penalty the soul will be given. After this,horrific punishments such as being drowned in blood areperformed until the soul has atoned for whatever sin wascommitted. Souls can also buy their way out of Hell by payingthe attendant spirits or demons, using money which theyhave taken with them from their earthly life (this will havebeen either burned at their funeral or interred with them). Thesoul can also avoid Hell if a holy person called a Bodhisattva,who has given up their chance to go to Paradise in order tohelp souls who have sinned, atones for the soulâ €™s sin bypraying.



During Neolithic times the dead bodies of thewealthy were buried with jade bi, or discs, on

their bodies. The more prestigious, such asroyalty, were buried in complete jade suitsmade from tiny squares joined together withmetal. Jade has associations with healing,

immortality and preservation, so it wasbelieved that burying the body with jadewould conserve it. Some jade bi have beenfound with discolouration caused by

exposure to heat, so it is thought thatcremations were practised.



Chinese burials are complicated and centre on traditionalrituals and codes of conduct. The traditional burials are stillpractised in rural areas of China, but more Westernizedfuneral customs have also started to be used in most of the

country. Although anyone who dies will receive full burial with the

accompanying ceremony and ritual, only elders can bemourned for. Therefore children who die, or young peoplewho are unmarried and donâ €™t have children, will be buriedin silence. The corpse will be washed and dusted with

powder, and buried in their best clothes, with styled hair andfull makeup if female. Corpses must not be dressed in red, the colour of happiness,

as this means their spirit will come back as a ghost. Usuallydark colours such as black or blue, or white, the colour of mourning, are used. After a death, all images of deities in thehouse are covered with red paper and mirrors are removed. Itis believed that anyone who sees the reflection of a coffin in amirror will have a death in their family. If the person has diedat home then their coffin will be displayed inside the house,otherwise it will be displayed in the courtyard outside thehouse. The coffin is not sealed during the wake.



During the wake, offerings of food will be made tothe deceased. The relatives of the deceased gatheraround the coffin, positioned according to their

status in the family. Wailing and crying is encouragedas a sign of respect for the person who has died. Analtar will be set up at the foot of the coffin with awhite candle and incense burning. â €œHell moneyâ €•(paper money) and paper replicas of household and

everyday objects are also burned. This is adevelopment of the earlier practise of burying gravegoods with the corpse. The wake can last for severaldays, during which time a monk will say prayers andscriptures to help ease the passage of the

deceasedâ €™s soul into the afterlife. The coffin hasto be guarded during the wake, so the deceasedpersonâ €™s relatives play gambling games in orderto stay awake and to lessen their grief.



When the time comes for the funeral, thecoffin will be nailed shut to symbolise theseparation of the living and the dead. Allpresent will turn away while this is being

done as viewing it is considered to bring badluck. For the funeral, the coffin will be carriedto the grave by relatives and other peopleassociated with the deceased. It is considereda great honour to carry the coffin.



If the coffin must cross water, the deceased mustbe told; as it is believed if this is not done the

soul of the person will become confused and beunable to pass on into the next life. Cremation isnot generally practised. During the burial theeldest son of the dead person will take a handfulof earth from the coffin, and place it on the

family altar at home. Prayers are made over thisearth to bring good luck for the future. Clothesworn by the funeral party will be burnt afterwardsto get rid of any bad luck. Traditionally familymembers do not cut their hair for 49 days after

the funeral, although it is only more elderlypeople who still uphold this custom. Themourning period lasts for 100 days.



It is believed that the spirit of the deceasedwill revisit the family home 7 days after thefuneral. Red plaques are put outside thehouse to help the spirit find its way. Family

members are expected to stay in their roomson this day as the spirit takes its last look atits home.



Renato Adriano IVCamille Banaga

Carl Laurence Hertez

Alexa Sheile GerobinArianne Doctolero

Jessa Belle Labilles

Rituals in China

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