Burial Rituals: The Early Chinese
From Early Chinese periods, starting roughly from the Shang Dynasty, the Chinese community have been of the belief that the souls of those who demise subsist in another world. This world is referred to as the netherworld and that graves were their earthly dwellings (China Highlights, 2016). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the different burial rituals and customs that were practiced in the ancient Chinese period.
Spirit Rituals
The appropriate manner of the burial ceremony has always been an aspect of great significance to the Chinese. A person's soul was believed to leave the physical body at the time of death, with the purpose of taking its place in the spirit realm. Therefore, according to the Early Chinese, an elaborate funeral provided the spirits in the subsequent world, together with the bereaved persons left behind, a proper indication of the rank of the dead person. The parting of body and soul was sensed to bring about some dread and misunderstanding to the new spirit, therefore the living members of the family made attempts to provide it with all the sustenance it required. The reasoning of the Early Chinese was that they were capable of enabling and facilitating the passage of the spirit into the next world, then the dead individual would not transform into an evil spirit, that would come back to haunt and cause trouble for the living. Containers packed with food and drink offered sustenance on the passage to the spirit world. Other substances found in graves indicate that life henceforward was believed to be quite similar to this one on earth (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016).
The Vibrant Role of Mingqi in Early Chinese Burials
Burial statuettes and ornaments of elegant dancers, mystic beasts, and ordinary objects disclose the manner in which both people in early China took death into...
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