Funeral custom in Nanyang

In Nanyang folk, there are many funeral customs, which are based on funeral and have been handed down from Nanyang folk for a long time. However, with the development of economy, the folk funeral customs in Nanyang have changed again and again with the changes of the times.

In the old society before Shang Dynasty, Nanyang people had the idea of immortality. In the Yin and Shang Dynasties, this concept was enriched and strengthened. It is believed that people's concept of death is inseparable from life consciousness, and the soul comes from heaven, belongs to Yang, and is in charge of people's spiritual perception. God comes from the earth, belongs to the yin, and is the flesh and blood of the ruler. A harmonious life for the soul, but a separated person dies. After the separation of the two, the soul ascended to heaven, the spirit landed, and finally returned to the spirit of heaven and earth. After entering the sky, the soul becomes a god, after entering the ground, it decays into water and returns to the soil. The soul has the function of protecting future generations, and the soul of ancestors is worshipped infinitely by future generations. This is the direct reason why the cemetery appeared in the funeral custom of Shang Dynasty. The second major change from the funeral system to the Yin Dynasty was the great polarization between the rich and the poor. The differences between the two are as follows: First, the size of the tomb is different, ranging from tens of square meters of nobles to 100 square meters of civilians. Second, coffins are of different grades. In addition to the coffins used by nobles to bury the bodies, the coffins are also covered with wooden coffins. The coffin is decorated with exquisite patterns, coated with multiple layers of pigments, and even attached with linen and silk to decorate and protect the coffin. There are coffins in the graves of civilians, and even coffins just bury the bodies in the graves. Third, noble tombs are buried with people, ranging from one or two to dozens or even hundreds, while civilian tombs are not buried with people. Fourth, there are a large number of funerary objects in noble tombs. These funerary objects are noble and luxurious, including not only jade pottery, but also bronze bronze Jue and tripod, while the funerary objects of civilians are just pottery or some tools in daily work, such as shovels, mussels and sickles. Bronze funerary objects are rare. As for the funeral ceremony of slaves, the old system was still used in the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and "thick friends were buried in the middle of the field". They have worked hard for others all their lives, and they are often carried by the living and abandoned in the ravine after their death. Their bodies were torn by wild animals, and their bones were beaten by wind and rain.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, according to the practice of imperial clan sharing, the graves were arranged in a planned way according to the specific situation of the same family after death, and each family had a relatively fixed burial place. The burial system and burial custom are relatively consistent, and each branch of the family is embodied as a certain tomb group by combining distance. Various rituals and customs stipulated in funeral culture, such as the choice of feng shui in cemetery, the taboo of funeral period, the difference between offerings and ghost paper arrangements, etc. The Western Zhou Dynasty was relatively stable and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and gradually formed the cultural psychology of state funeral. This ideological system has had a far-reaching impact on the funeral concept of later generations. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the wind of thick burial was still advocated, and some funeral rituals made corresponding supplements to the omissions of the Western Zhou Dynasty. At this time, the burial system decided the existence and quantity of funerary objects according to the identity of the deceased before his death. During the burial period, the Spring and Autumn Period also clearly stipulated that "the son of heaven was buried on the 7th and July; The princes were buried on May 5th and May. Doctors, scholars and Shu Ren were buried on March 3rd. )。 This is an example for future generations to follow. During the Warring States period, due to the unprecedented development of iron smelting technology, iron was widely used in production and life, so iron became an important funerary object in funeral ceremonies. In addition, because of the development of productive forces, the social status of slaves has improved and slaves have been born.

The funeral custom in Nanyang developed unprecedentedly in Qin and Han Dynasties, because the Qin Dynasty was powerful, which made the imperial tombs of the Qin Dynasty more and more magnificent. Because the Qin dynasty advocated thick burial, as a custom, it did not disappear because of the demise of the Qin dynasty. It had a very important influence on the funeral custom in Han Dynasty. Of course, on the surface, the trend of changing Qin to Han is the result of the ruling class's advocacy, but it actually contains rich economic and cultural reasons. Economically, from Qin to Han, the level of productive forces has been greatly improved. Economic prosperity makes it possible to live in luxury. "Death is like life", which leads to the rapid spread of reburial in society. "In today's world, luxury goods are extremely wasteful, and you are tired of it. Cars, clothes, weddings and funerals have all been done, and people want to be effective and sleep in the customs. " "Now people's death system is extravagant. The living have nothing to bear, and the financial resources are in the grave. Wax has no dross, and it is a drink. " Also, bury more treasures, ride dolls, go to Otsuka, plant pine and cypress widely, and worship luxury. "When people die, they try their best to lose everything. People today marvel at the richness of tombs and the luxury of craftsmanship. Generally speaking, the tombs of the Han Dynasty have the following characteristics: the art of stone carving has developed greatly in the Han Dynasty. In the rich families of Han Dynasty, after the bodies are buried, not only a large mound should be built, but also a tombstone should be erected in front, engraved with the identity, official position and life experience of the owner. After the death of the rich, it is necessary not only to erect a monument to recognize the Lord, but also to erect a cemetery, a neutral tomb and a stone statue of man and beast to symbolize the wealth and ostentation of the owner. In addition, it is also common to build graves and ancestral temples in cemeteries for the living to drink sacrifices. On the ground, the catacombs are extremely luxurious. After death, the living are deeply saddened that the deceased can no longer enjoy the happiness of the world. In order to let the deceased continue to enjoy a happy life, they imitated the life of the people in the tomb, built a ceramic or stone courtyard, and prepared groups of animals such as chickens, ducks, pigs and dogs to show a humanistic atmosphere. The size of the courtyard and the number of funerary objects depend on personal financial resources. Carving skills are not only displayed on stone tablets on the ground, but also a large number of stone carvings are buried in tombs. Nowadays, a large number of unearthed Chinese paintings and stone carvings have become valuable materials for studying the tomb culture of the Han Dynasty.

In addition to traditional objects, funerary objects in the Han Dynasty began to bury gold, silver and artworks in tombs. With the maturity and popularization of clay brick firing technology, bricks can not only make people build houses, but also start to build graves with bricks and stones to protect coffins. In a wealthy family, brick tombs are only used as outer coffins, while wooden coffins are still used to cover coffins, which is more durable. Before the mid-Western Han Dynasty, due to the different death dates of husband and wife, the new custom of separate burial was adopted. In order to solve the contradiction of their different death dates, the concept of "wrong" appeared in customs. Hint, location, don't bury it. In other words, put the dead aside and bury them together. This custom has been followed for thousands of years, until now, people still have the meaning of wrong burial. The essence of the measure is long burial, which is an important embodiment of the wind of thick burial. The decoration of tombs has the following characteristics: most of the tombs of Han Dynasty in Nanyang are built with mixed materials of stone, brick and masonry, and paintings are engraved on the stones and bricks. With the change of times and people's ideas, the content of Han paintings is also changing. Paintings appeared on the walls of houses, temples and graves of aristocratic bureaucrats in Han Dynasty. Most of the early Han tombs in Nanyang took architecture as the theme, and portraits were engraved on the main pillars and doors of the tomb door and the main room door. Buildings in real life are carved into pictures to symbolize the living room. The Han Tomb in Zhaozhai, Nanyang, only carved the double que and the main hall on the main body and door of the tomb. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Confucian family dominated, and the Confucian ethical concept of "three cardinal guides and five permanents" also influenced the content of Nanyang Han paintings. Portraits of wisdom, courage and loyalty such as "Bole loves horses", "A dog bites Zhao Dun" and "Two peaches kill three scholars" appeared in the tombs of the Han Dynasty. For example, the historical story portraits unearthed from the stone tomb of Tanghe Knitting Factory account for about 20% of the total number of portraits. The divination superstition in Han dynasty also influenced the content of Han paintings. In the stone tomb of Yangguan Temple, portraits of white tigers, double dragons' feet and cymbals-holders began to appear, aiming to ward off evil spirits and promote immortality. There are also pictures reflecting the life of the tomb owner before his death, such as riding and hunting, riding and riding, acrobatic dancing, dancing in the tomb, feasting and so on. These pictures are often arranged around the tomb front room and on both sides of the tomb main room. There is a circle on the tomb door with the first title, a fierce tiger image, which is intended to be used on the town tomb. There is also an auspicious cinnabar bird on the door, which symbolizes good luck after death. The top of the tomb cover is engraved with the sun gear and the full moon, the three-legged crow engraved on the sun, the toad engraved on the moon, the sun, the moon and the stars, and astronomical charts such as Changhong and the 28 th century Tiangong map, all of which have the significance of divination. Each constellation and astrology symbolizes a social person. At the same time, there are portraits of Fuxi and Nuwa, and pillars are carved on both sides of the main room. This is people's worship of reproduction, hoping to continue to reproduce in the underworld.

During the Han Dynasty, before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Qin Dynasty and the five elements of Yin and Yang were all passed down, and the magic of immortals was very popular among all beings. Worship ghosts and gods and make contributions to Xiu De, so as to gain eternal life through the enlightenment of ghosts and gods. Therefore, at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Gaozu "re-worshiped the shrine". As a witch, he acts as a state official, in charge of sacrifices and major state decisions, and often looks for Wu divination on Sina Weibo. Therefore, in the political, cultural, economic and other social life of the Western Han Dynasty, ghosts and gods have a strong atmosphere, worshipping gods and valuing witches, and witches have become an indispensable link in the communication between man and god. In people's lives, due to the advocacy of the rulers, there are two wonders: one is witchcraft, "Fan was born in Jin, so there are witches in Jinci". Shu left Liu behind, so there was one. Liu followed the girder, so he had it. After abundant, abundant in Jing, so there is. "The temple is thriving. At the time of Emperor Wen, Zhao Xinyuan Ping "talked about begging for gods" and built Wudi Temple in Weiyang. When Liang Wudi conquered South Vietnam, he "ordered wuyue to build Zhu Yue Temple, Temple of Heaven and worship ghosts and gods". ), leading to "there are witches in the street, there are wishes in the street", and the concept of ghosts and gods is deeply rooted in people's hearts, from the king of a country to Shu Ren. In their hearts, they are closely linked with ancestor worship and ghost worship, and are willing to make every effort to create an underground living environment. By the time of Emperor Wu, Dong Zhongshu's admonition of "abandoning a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" was adopted by Emperor Wu, and its core contents such as "the unity of heaven and man", "Heaven is the king of gods" and "Heaven is the destiny of heaven" were regarded as orthodox, greatly deifying the rule of feudal dynasties and becoming a legal tool for ruling the thoughts of all peoples. The three cardinal guides and the five permanent members have become the norms of people's behavior and morality. Monarchical power and husband power, because of the subtle meaning of Confucian interpretation, keep pace with the previous theocracy and are worshipped by the world. In the long-term development in the future, the direct consequence of funeral is the triviality of funeral etiquette.

The troubled times in Nanyang history, from the late Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms, and then to the Southern and Northern Dynasties. At that time, there was constant war, economic depression, aristocratic families of officials and bandits, poor people, grave robbers and unstable ruling class. In this way, when people buried their deceased relatives, they naturally suppressed the wind of reburial in the Han Dynasty. The ruler took the lead and took a step of thin burial, which has been commented in history books. From the Three Kingdoms to the funeral customs in Nanyang in Ming and Qing Dynasties, after the mid-Eastern Han Dynasty, the feudal dynasty was about to complete the cycle of the creation, prosperity, decline and extinction of a dynasty. Political perversion makes wars frequent, the world cold and people young. Foreign Buddhism took advantage of the situation and quickly occupied people's ideological space. His idea of eternal soul, reincarnation and karma was quickly accepted by people. In addition, Taoism began to rise in the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and a large number of Taoist priests appeared in the society. They participate in folk sacrificial activities and advocate strengthening the management of ghosts and gods who communicate freely through spells. Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, after a long struggle in the ideological field, learn from each other's strong points and gradually converge. Judging from the influence of the three religions on people's funeral consciousness, Confucianism plays a leading role in people's behavior consciousness because of its special political background, while Taoism and Buddhism only strengthen people's funeral consciousness. Confucianism dominated people's ideology for more than two thousand years, and the wind of reburial and red tape have been manifested in all previous dynasties after the Han Dynasty, which fully proved this point. Because Confucian ethics restricted the generation and development of people's awareness of thin burial, in the Han Dynasty, thousands of people were willing to bury their wealth underground, regardless of whether their family wealth was strong or not. In terms of funerals, due to limited financial resources, there is only a difference in the number of funerals, and there is no difference in the concept of reburial. From wealthy aristocrats to ordinary people, their views on the issue of reburial are surprisingly consistent. In a sense, the thick burial in feudal society has become a yardstick for people to stand on their own feet. If we dare to do something unconventional and bending the law, it is simply a great criticism of the world. With the continuation of funeral culture in Nanyang, the trend of reburial has formed a great inertia. In the historical process spanning different dynasties, the political, religious and cultural factors in its connotation were absorbed by time, making Hang Seng immortal and eternal, and becoming a distinctive theme of people's funeral activities. This is Cao Cao's note: the world has not yet been decided, and it has not followed the ancient times. After the burial, all the soldiers went out to work, and none of them left the chariot department. All departments perform their duties and keep pace with the times. There is no hidden treasure. And asked his successor to do as he wished. Since then, Nanyang folk worship of thick burial has slightly converged.

Compared with the past, the biggest change of Nanyang folk funeral in Sui and Tang Dynasties was that colored pottery figurines were placed in the tomb, dragons and white tigers were painted on the tomb wall, and the sun, moon and stars were painted on the top of the tomb. Most tombs in Song and Yuan Dynasties used brick tombs with imitation wood structure, and the custom of burning paper for burial prevailed. Make paper figurines and funerary objects, burn them on the way to the funeral or pile them on the grave. Compared with burying a lot of property underground in the past, this custom is really frugal. 1968, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, ending the turbulent political life at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. After more than 200 years of development, social economy has gradually recovered and developed, social products have become increasingly rich, and medium-term capitalism has sprouted, which has greatly promoted the development of productive forces. But it also gave birth to the enjoyment consciousness of Nanyang people. The missionary activities of western missionaries introduced western culture into China, which greatly broadened the horizons of the Ming people and led to the emergence of social thoughts that opposed Neo-Confucianism and emphasized individual liberation. People show unprecedented enthusiasm for money and enjoyment, and all walks of life are full of the adventurous spirit of pursuing money. During this period, impetuous social mentality, restless social emotions, greedy pursuit of lust, carnal desire and material desire, and the resulting arrogance all violently impacted the feudal dogma in traditional funeral customs. The world is frivolous and luxurious, and the living just want to be happy today, regardless of everything behind them. So most people don't want to bury a lot of gold and silver treasures underground, which leads to the content of tombs becoming simpler and simpler, and most of the funerary objects are replaced by symbolic objects. However, due to the restriction and influence of identity, status and etiquette, the tombs of rich aristocrats are still relatively luxurious. Of course, we should treat the problem of thin burial in Ming Dynasty dialectically. The thin burial at this time is very different from that in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Thin burial in Ming dynasty just didn't want to bury money underground, which doesn't mean that it didn't want to spend more money on funeral. In fact, the cross-border trend of luxury goods also has a great influence on funerals. Whenever there is a funeral, the mourner always tries his best to put on a big banquet, reward guests with wine and meat, fast in large rows, and set up a stage for acting. He doesn't care about the dead. Dengzhou Prefecture "has coffins, food and clothing, mourning, hanging drinks and respecting the family." Such as a husband's banquet, the singer's joy, the monk's confession, prison break, initiation day, funerary objects full of spiritual path, and China's view of pleasure. "

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, funeral customs have undergone many reforms and evolutions, which have changed the disadvantages of traditional funeral, and have certain significance of changing customs, reflecting the progress of the times and the improvement of people's ideological understanding. However, because funeral is not a simple etiquette system, the change of beliefs and concepts it contains is more difficult and slow than the change of etiquette, and the inheritance of funeral customs makes it difficult for the traditional funeral etiquette that has been followed for a long time since Zhou and Qin Dynasties to be replaced by brand-new funeral etiquette. What's more, in Nanyang with the same surname, the ancestral temple is heavily guarded. Even those who are willing to change the old etiquette will follow their own will under the siege and condemnation of powerful customary forces to avoid being accused of unfilial and unjust. Therefore, in the vast folk land, funeral ceremony is still a courtesy, and the world may not have a clear understanding of the harm of some bad habits in traditional funeral. This is why traditional funeral customs are still popular.

With the development of the times, influenced by many social factors, the funeral etiquette system has changed greatly in different periods, while the folk funeral customs have not changed much, which is basically in a relatively stable state. In modern times, folk funeral customs generally have the following procedures: mourning, setting a funeral, choosing a tomb, making a fortune, resigning, reporting to the temple, burial, sending to the market, funeral and burial.