Funeral Customs

The burial of the dead is a matter taken very seriously by Chinese. Improper funeral arrangements, it is believed, an wreak ill fortune and disaster upon the family of the deceased.

     To a certain extent, Chinese funeral rites and burial customs are determined by the age of the deceased, the manner of his/her marital status.

     According to Chinese custom, an older person should not show respect to a younger. Thus, if the deceased is a young, bachelor his body cannot be brought home but is left in a funeral parlour. His parents cannot offer prayers for their son: being unmarried, he has no children to perform these rites either. If a baby or child dies, no funeral rites are performed: the child is buried in silence.

     Funeral rites for an elderly person must follow the prescribed form and convey relevant respect: rites befitting the person’s status, age etc. must be performed even if this means the family of the deceased must go into debt to pay for them.

     Preparation for a funeral often begins before death has occurred: if a person is on his/her deathbed a coffin will often have already been ordered by the family. A traditional Chinese coffin is rectangular with three “humps”. The coffin is provided by an undertaker who oversees all the funeral rites.

When a death occurs in a family all statues of deities in the house are covered up with red paper (not to be exposed to the body or coffin) and all mirrors are removed (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 placed to the left of the entrance if the deceased is a male, and to the 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 (all other clothing of the deceased is burned) before being placed on a mat (or hay in rural areas). The body is completely dressed, including the footwear, and cosmetics (if female), although the corpse is never dressed in red clothing (this will turn the corpse into a ghost). White, black, brown or blue are the usual colors. Before being placed in the coffin the corpse's face is covered with a yellow cloth and the body with a light blue one.

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