Women In History, The 20th CenturyEssay Preview: Women In History, The 20th CenturyReport this essayChina is a land of deep tradition. Nearly all aspects of Chinese life are dictated by long-held rituals. However, even in death, the Chinese have firmly set rites that have to be followed in order for the proper transcendence of the deceaseds soul. These rituals are based on many things, religion, superstition, and other traditions in Chinese life.
The Chinese rituals dealing with death are based as much on tradition and superstitions as they are on any one religious practice. Death is merely the end of the yang and the beginning of the yin life. How good, well and kind a person was when living in the yang world will determine how well or how cruelly one is treated in the yin world. The Yin and Yang being described as the theory of positive to negative, feminine to masculine, or light to dark. “An ancient theory held that personality is a result of the interaction of the two forces – yin (passive, weak, and destructive) and yang (active, strong, and constructive)” (2002, p. 140, Gardiner).
The soul is said to travel thought the Courts of Hell where it is judged. Therefore, a person who has died must be mourned in the “presence of religious leaders and family members with prayers and offerings made to the yin world rulers for leniency and mercy to afford him a less tortuous journey through the gates of Hell” (2000, p 17, Lip). This is why a death ceremony has become an important and elaborate event marking the end of one life, and possible beginning of a better life within Chinese culture.
The burial place for the Chinese is selected with care. The services of a geomancer are acquired to insure the correct feng shui. If a person died a sudden, unexpected death, then the body is held until the correct selection is made. Special burial clothes are made for a person after they turned 60. This is because it is believed that whenever a persons spirit returned from the dead they will always appear in the clothes they are buried in.
Many of the death rituals of the Chinese are still practiced by people who long ago left China. The body is washed and made up by a specialist with water brought to them by the oldest son. The body is then laid into the coffin in the presence of the family. All mirrors in the hall where the dead is placed are covered, so that no reflection will adversely affect the dead. The body lies facing the main door from which hangs a white banner symbolizing the dead persons willingness to enter the yin world. A family alter is set up beside the coffin where offerings are made to the dead and other deities until the priest decides it is time for the funeral to start.
There is a special dress code for the family members. The closest relatives, usually children and spouses, wear black and sackcloth. The brothers family wears black, while a sisters family wears blue, all grandchildren will wear white. If there is a widow, and she has young children, she will wear black; however, if she is older she will join the grandchildren in wearing white.
The rituals will last from seven to forty-nine days depending on how wealthy a family is. Friends and relatives pay their respects by spending time with the bereaved family members. However, meals and snacks are serviced to the guest only in the late evening. Funeral processions even in present day China are colorful, and known to stop traffic. Pairs of white lanterns are carried at the beginning of the procession announcing the surname of the deceased; sometimes a large photograph of the deceased is carried as well. A procession may include musicians and people carrying banners. If the deceased was female, the banner is a decorated phoenix. If the deceased was male, the banner signifies his spirit in the form of a lion. In olden times, the family would walk behind this procession. Today, they follow for approximately a mile and then board cars for the remainder of the way.