Chinese Attitudes towards death
Throughout the history of mankind, "death" has always been a fascination. People have always wondered about the causes of death, the aftermath of death, and whether it could be stopped. Among these people were the Chinese, who like many other people, believed there was life after death. They performed certain rituals " to help them along their way." Chinese attitudes toward death are reflected in funerary rituals, Buddhist philosophy and reverence for the deceased.Death is a very important issue to the Chinese people. The son of a family has the obligation to give his parents a proper funeral. "This includes such essential elements as; a large coffin, a funeral procession, a well-chosen gravesite, gifts and offerings to the soul of the deceased, a period of mourning, and keeping an ancestral shrine. If a Chinese son fails to follow these obligations, he has committed a serious offense against society."1 The Chinese believed in giving a proper funeral to their elders because when the elders were alive, they had shared their experiences and knowledge with the young. The Chinese followed the requirements to a proper funeral because they believed in remembering the dead, who were once close to them. They wanted to remem
ber the dead by praying to them daily and making them offerings. The Chinese believed that there were certain rituals that were necessary for certain events. For example, during a wedding, the Chinese believed that the couple must bow to the parents and offer them tea. Only then, can the couple be happily married. Because the Chinese believe in performing certain rituals for certain events, anyone who doesn't give his parents a proper funeral would have mocked traditional beliefs. This son would be considered as a pariah in his village and looked upon as "dirty" by his neighbors. - Jones, Constance. R.I.P. The Complete Book of Death & Dying. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1997.
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Approximate Word count = 3971
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page double spaced)
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