Chinese Funeral Customs

Howard Yin

 September 9,2010

Chinese Funeral Customs

The Chinese people take the funeral customs very seriously. In this case, they bury the dead. They don’t cremate their dead but they bury them instead. [H1] They go through a process that is very important[H2] . If they don’t have a proper funeral arrangement, they can wreak disaster on the family of the deceased, or dead. [H3] The customs of burying the dead are very strange. Burial customs and funeral rites are determined by the age of the dead, cause of the death, status and position in society.             There are many strange customs. For example, during a funeral, an elder should never show respect to someone younger. Also, if a bachelor dies, his body can’t be brought home and must stay at the funeral. His parents can’t offer prayers. If an infant or child dies, no funeral rites are performed because you can’t show respect to a younger person. So, the child is just buried.

Preparations for a funeral begin before the person dies. They order a coffin when the person is on their deathbed. When the death occurs in the family, all statues of deities in the house are covered with red paper (not to be exposed to the body or coffin) and all mirrors are removed. [H4] (It is believed that one who sees the reflection of a coffin in a mirror will shortly have a death in his/her family) A white cloth is hung over the doorway to the house and a gong is hung to the left of the entrance if the person dead is a male and to the right if a female.

Before the deceased is put in a coffin, the corpse is cleaned with a damp towel with talcum and is dressed in its best clothes. White, brown, black, or blue are usually its colors. [H5] The corpse is never dressed in red because it will turn it into a ghost. [H6] 

Then, the coffin is placed on its own stand either in the house, if the person has died at home, or placed in the courtyard outside the home, if the person has died away from home. Food is placed in front of the coffin as an offering. The dead person’s comb will be broken in half, one will be in the coffin, and the family will retain the other. During that time, the family doesn’t wear jewelry or red clothing. The children and grandchildren won’t cut their hair for forty-nine days after the death. Blood relatives and daughters in law are to wail and cry loudly during the mourning as a sign of respect and loyalty to the deceased. Special clothing is worn. Children and daughters in law wear black, showing that they grieve most. [H7] Grandchildren and great grandchildren wear light blue. They sit in a special order. When the prayer’s ceremonies are done, the coffin is nailed shut. [H8] 

The Chinese bury the dead in the hillsides. Then, even though the funeral is over, the mourning in the family continues for a hundred days. The sleeve of each family member wears a piece of colored cloth during the hundred days to also signify the mourning. [H9] Some families even wear them up to 3 years. However, mourning is not needed when a child dies.

Afterwards, seven days after the death[H10] , the Chinese believe that the soul of the dead will return to their home. On the day when the soul returns, family members are expected to remain in their rooms. Flour or talc may be dusted on the floor so that they can detect the visit of the dead. [H11] 

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 [H1]Merge these Sentences.

 [H2]The burial ceremonies are very important.

 [H3]If a funeral is not arranged properly, it is believed that it can wreak disaster on the deceased.

 [H4]Or so as, not to be exposed

 [H5]The corpse doesn’t have turn into these colors!

 [H6]The corpse’s soul will become a wandering ghost!

 [H7]“They grieve THE most”

 [H8]When the ceremony is done, the coffin is nailed shut.

 [H9]Sleeves don’t wear clothing!

 [H10](AFTERWARDS), Seven days after the ceremony, “     “

 [H11]Flour or talc may be left on the floor, so as to detect the visit of the soul.