When a death occurs in a family all statues of deities in the house are covered with red paper (so as not to be exposed to the body or coffin) and mirrors removed from sight,as 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 will be hung across the doorway of the house and a gong placed on the left of the entrance if the deceased is male and right if female.Before being placed in the coffin,the corpse is cleaned with a damp towel,dusted with talcum powder and dressed in his/her best clothes from his/her own wardrobe (all other clothing of the deceased is burnt and not reused) before being placed on a mat (or hay if on a farm).The body is completely dressed——including footwear and cosmetics if female——but it is not dressed in red clothes (as this will cause the corpse to become a ghost):white,black,brown or blue are the usual colors used.Before being placed in the coffin,the corpses face is covered with a yellow cloth and the body with a light blue one.
The coffin is placed on its own stand either in the house (if the person has died at home) or in the courtyard outside the house (if the person has died away from home).The coffin is placed with the head of the deceased facing the inside of the house resting about a foot from the ground on two stools,and wreaths,gifts and a portrait or photograph of the deceased are placed at the head of the coffin.The coffin is not sealed during the wake.Food is placed in front of the coffin as an offering to the deceased.The deceaseds comb will be broken into halves,one part placed in the coffin,one part retained by the family.
During the wake,the family do not wear jewellery or red clothing,red being the color of happiness.Traditionally,children and grandchildren of the deceased did not cut their hair for fortynine days after the date of death,but this custom is usually only observed now by the older generations of Chinese.It is customary for blood relatives and daughtersinlaw to wail and cry during mourning as a sign of respect and loyalty to the deceased.Wailing is particularly loud if the deceased has left a large fortune.
At the wake,the family of the deceased gather around the coffin,positioned according to their order in the family.Special clothing is worn:children and daughtersinlaw wear black (signifying that they grieve the most),grandchildren blue and great grandchildren light blue.Sonsinlaw wear brighter colors such as white,as they are considered outsiders.The children and daughtersinlaw also wear a hood of sackcloth over their heads.The eldest son sits at the left shoulder of his parent and the deceaseds spouse at the right.Laterarriving relatives must crawl on their knees towards the coffin.
An altar,upon which burning incense and a lit white candle are placed,is placed at the foot of the coffin.Joss paper and prayer money (to provide the deceased with sufficient income in the afterlife) are burned continuously throughout the wake.Funeral guests are required to light incense for the deceased and to bow as a sign of respect to the family.There will also be a donation box,as money is always offered as a sign of respect to the family of the deceased:it will also help the family defray the costs of the funeral.
During the wake there will usually be seen a group of people gambling in the front courtyard of the deceaseds house:the corpse has to be “guarded” and gambling helps the guards stay awake during their vigil; it also helps to lessen the grief of the participants.
The length of the wake depends upon the financial resources of the family,but is at least a day to allow time for prayers to be offered.While the coffin is in the house (or compound) a monk will chant verses from Buddhist or Taoist scriptures at night.It is believed that the souls of the dead face many obstacles and even torments and torture (for the sins they have committed in life) before they are allowed to take their place in the afterlife:prayers,chanting and rituals offered by the monks help to smooth the passage of the deceaseds soul into heaven.These prayers are accompanied by music played on the gong,flute and trumpet.(776)
deityn神；神性
corpsen屍體
talcum powdern滑石粉；爽身粉
wardroben衣櫃；衣櫥
footwearn鞋類
cosmeticsn化妝品
wailn悲哀；哀號
grievev悲傷；心痛
sackclothn麻布片
deceasedn死者
alterv改變
joss papern紙錢
afterlifen死後生活
defrayv支付；支出
vigiln守夜
chantn聖歌
Taoistadj 道教的
scripturen手稿；文件
ⅠAnswer the questions.
1Why do the people remove the mirrors from sight when a death occurs in a family?
2Why is not the body dressed in red clothes?
3What do deceaseds family do with comb?
4Why should the blood relatives and daughtersinlaw of the deceased wail and cry during mourning?
5Why monks will be invited to chant verses from Buddhist or Taoist scriptures at night?
ⅡDecide whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F).
1A black cloth will be hung across the doorway of the house and a gong placed on the left of the entrance if the deceased is male and right if female.
2Food is placed in front of the coffin as an offering to the deceaseds families.
3During the wake,the family can wear jewellery but can not red clothing,red being the color of happiness.
4Sonsinlaw wear darker colors such as black,as they are considered outsiders.
5Gambling helps the guards stay awake during their vigil and lessen the grief of the participants.
When the prayer ceremonies are over,the wailing of the mourners reaches a crescendo and the coffin is nailed shut (this sealing represents the separation of the dead from the living) and yellow and white “holy” papers are pasted on the coffin to protect the body being disturbed by malign spirits.During the sealing of the coffin all present turn away from the coffin,as watching a coffin being sealed is considered very unlucky.The coffin is then carried (with the head of the deceased facing forward) from the house (being a pallbearer is considered to bestow the blessing of the deceased upon the bearer,thus there are usually many volunteers) using a piece of wood tied over the coffin.
The coffin is not carried directly to the cemetery but is first placed on the side of the road outside the house,where more prayers are offered and papers scattered.The coffin is placed in a hearse which moves slowly for a mile (or more rarely,it is carried a mile),with the eldest son and family members following behind with their heads touching the hearse.If there are many relatives,a white piece of cloth links the hearse to family members behind.Order in the funeral procession follows the order of status in the family.A white piece of cloth is tied to vehicles accompanying the hearse,or a white piece of paper may be pasted on their windshields.The eldest son usually sits next to the coffin.A long,lit joss stick is held throughout the journey,symbolizing the soul of the deceased,and is relit immediately if it goes out.Occasionally paper models of objects such as cars,statues,ships etc.are carried with the procession symbolizing wealth of the deceaseds family.If the procession needs to cross water,the deceased must be informed that the cortege is to cross it,as it is believed that if not informed,the soul of the dead will not be able to cross the water.