Introduction
The attitude to death in the countries of the East is considered best of all in the example of China. This is because it is the country where the classical form of the cult of ancestors is the most developed. The Chinese funeral rituals and traditions are deeply rooted in history and are closely connected with religion and beliefs. Various regions of the Celestial Empire have their peculiarities concerning the burial of the dead, although the process itself varies considerably from Western customs. Hence, it is essential to identify the ideas and practices that the Chinese used to conduct funeral rites in the past.
The Chinese Attitude Toward the Dead
Most funeral traditions and rituals have a deep historical background. There is now a tradition of depositing favorite things and objects in the coffin of the deceased and arranging lavish and loud wreaths. The famous terracotta army in the tomb of the Chinese emperor for 2.5 thousand years is proof of the long history of this tradition (Puckle, 2020). It was a symbol of the ruler’s power who wanted to continue his rule in the afterlife. In the Celestial Empire, the color of mourning is considered white. In the past, everyone at the funeral dressed in white; now, this tradition is often observed only in small villages (Puckle, 2020). The process of saying farewell to the deceased usually occurs in a large rented hall or another place.
At such funerals, people rejoice because they believe that the person has lived a long life. In China, burial or cremation is used, the latter being more popular, especially in large cities because of their densely populated areas. The tradition of lighting lanterns on the last day of the Chinese New Year is also associated with honoring the dead (Puckle, 2020). The lanterns light the way for the souls to reach heaven, to prevent them from getting lost in the world of shadows.
Funerary Practices from the Neolithic to the Tang Dynasty
A significant advance in the development of art was ceramics production during the Neolithic period. The Neolithic culture is now widespread in a number of Chinese provinces (Shandong, Anxi, Henan, and others). It was characterized by high-class pottery, including jugs with the high neck on three legs. Apparently, this vessel was used for ritual purposes. Ancient Chinese culture made notable achievements in bronze vessels, which were produced during the Shang Dynasty (1700-1025 BC). The bronze vessels on three legs resembling a mug with a handle are crowned with a lid made in the shape of a stylized bird’s head (Traeger, 2006, p. 18). Many bronze vessels of the Shang period were used for different rituals and as funeral implements. There was a long-standing tradition in funerary practice in China of placing terracotta figurines in the deceased’s tomb to reflect various aspects of life. Since the time of the famous emperor Qin Shi Huang (3rd century B.C.), a life-size terracotta army was placed in his tomb near Xi’an (Traeger, 2006, p. 38). The Chinese rulers installed only scaled-down copies of their subjects in their tombs.
The Buddhist Art of China during the Northern Wei Dynasty elaborated a stable iconographic scheme for depicting Prince Siddhartha. It is essential to remark that the tomb of the wealthy continued to contain products of bronze, but there were gold ornaments and jewels (Traeger, 2006, p. 67). In addition, it should be mentioned that between the 1st and 10th centuries AD, bronze figurines of the Buddha and various bodhisattvas were widely distributed in Buddhism in China and served as individual altars. The figures of warriors were among those that reflected the realities of earthly life from the tombs.
The horse trade and horse breeding held a special place in China, and the cavalry, due to its large spaces and proximity to nomadic peoples, was of strategic importance under all dynasties. Therefore, animal attributes that could be useful to the dead were also placed in the tomb. In the funerary practice of China, there was a tradition of placing terracotta figurines in the tomb of the deceased, conveying different aspects of earthly life (Traeger, 2006, p. 69). Among the wares were figures of animals, particularly horses. Wall paintings became widespread in China during the Tang dynasty.
The Function of the Objects and Ideas
The archeological evidence also provides information about some religious beliefs. For example, the sources on religion that became known through the discovery of the Neolithic Yangshao culture refer only to concepts and ideas related to sacred space, fertility, and death. There was a public building in the center of the Yangshao settlement, and around it, there were smaller dwellings-semi-dwellings. The existence of the belief in the posthumous life of the soul is illustrated by the household items and food placed in the grave. Children were buried close to the dwelling in large ceramic urns with drilled tops to allow the soul to exit and return. In other words, the funerary urn was the “home” of the deceased, a notion widely reflected in the cult of ancestor veneration, the Shang and Bronze Ages (Traeger, 2006, p. 19). Burials were endowed with the same cosmological symbolism and fulfilled dwellings’ functions, and they were dwellings only for the dead. In Neolithic art evolution, the critical principles of the national plastic paradigm were manifested, and stable regional traditions of their embodiment were formed.
The typology of ritual items expanded considerably; bronze utensils were made both for sacrifices and political and memorial occasions. Ritual pendants, figurines, belt buckles, and others were added to the assortment of nephrite goods. In ceramics, the Neolithic and Shan traditions were preserved, supplemented by the techniques of imitation of bronze vessels. The paintwork had become a distinct and highly developed craft by the end of the era. The invention of primed coating on cloth significantly expanded the scope of varnish application to include architectural structures, weapons and armor, dining furnishings, and coffins (Traeger, 2006, p. 43). The Tang era was marked by a new stage of unification of regional artistic traditions, the distinctive feature of which was the combination of profound ethnocentrism and cosmopolitan openness.
During the Tang dynasty, the court calligraphers synthesized the writing techniques and artistic methods of the masters of the previous period. The imperial funerary complexes of the Tang dynasty were built on an unusual scale (Traeger, 2006, p. 59). The terracotta figurines were not only painted but also began to be covered with colored glaze, in addition to traditional images of servants, maids, and actors. Thus, in the funerary culture of China, ideas were constantly improving rather than changing. All the objects placed in the tombs were connected with certain religious beliefs and had a purpose already established by tradition.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be established that the Chinese had a special attitude toward the burial ritual since the beginning of the Neolithic period. At the same time, the tomb decorations and the sculptures and vessels that were left with the dead became more refined as the culture developed. However, their primary goal remained the same, specifically to honor the memory of the dead and help their souls in the afterlife. In today’s culture, some attributes and reverence for death have remained.
References
Puckle, B. S. (2020). Funeral customs: Their origin and development. Read Books Ltd.
Traeger, M. (2006). Chinese art. Thames & Hudson.