From Cultural Differences funeral etiquette

[Abstract] funeral ritual is a ritual to treat dying and death, but also living the life most direct interpretation. Chinese traditional funeral ritual form of expression in compliance with the rules of life on earth, heavy body, light soul, Young Life groups The suppression of individual life, the Western religious funeral ceremonies to solemn, solemn and simple principles affirmed the existence of the individual spiritual life and the human soul's salvation.

Etiquette is a human relations norms, funeral rites are no exception, it is between the living and the dead "invisible relationships", this relationship incommensurability come out of the question, for whom the funeral? With this question, we go back to the funeral of the different manifestations of Chinese and Western.

. Analysis of Chinese funeral rituals.

<<That the text>> to "gift" explained that "rites, Lu also. So God gvc things are." Therefore, "Li" is not the original meaning of a code of conduct for the purposes of human society, but of God reverence, salute to sacrifice to God. "From Heaven to Earth", the God give the location of people, all "gift" will follow the "Respect" and "kiss" principle, the Confucian funeral rites are is carried out on this basis. Confucius attached great importance to funeral of "sorrow" ingredients, such as "sub-tour, saying: 'To lose almost sad full length. ... ... has Master said:' I have heard various Master: To people not from the who have, will also lose almost pro! '"��" sad "to filial piety," the' dead 'of filial piety, from the nature of sense, is the emphasis on burial and funeral mass. <<The Analects of Confucius>> said, "' reverence for his ancestors ', "<" The Golden Mean> emphasize the' do death like life, things die if kept '. "" reverence for his ancestors, "that the living parents mourning to make a courtesy. sacrifice to make pious." has Master said': reverence for his ancestors, China and Germany owned by thick carry on. '"�� and" filial piety "is because there is a hierarchical relationship, as Fei Xiaotong President said, "the Confucian emphasis on the 'filial piety' Road, is in fact a means of maintaining social stability, the interpretation of filial piety is the 'no breach', that is, recognition of the elders of power. Elders represent the traditional, compliance will be no breach of the traditional parent of Education. "�� Because elderly center system dominated all funeral rites, the funeral of Chinese red tape was shown obviously not accidental, death ceremony eventually met a social sense. obituary notice, complained, buried, died even different ways of address is different, go beyond the dead without any possibility of secular authority, as funeral rituals of the entire social and ethical norms and political order and stability. "filial piety" is not some spiritual, because There is no freedom at all. Confucian filial heart --- the so-called "benevolence" based on the general lack of a universal standard of human nature, because filial piety is actually a relationship based on kinship and personal virtues, which people often praised the "Culture of filial piety" are actually not on the "people" respect, but unconditional submission to external norms. "filial piety" is either incompatible with the ultimate "gift", "Health, do with propriety, death, burial to ceremony, the festival with propriety ". �� such as <<Book of Abraham next song>> on the death of the title," said the emperor died collapse, princes said death of a prince, the doctor finally said, who said, not Paul, common people say die. " Only poor people are the dead, Wang Gongshi doctor will have to mask the death of a layer of earth's aura, funeral rituals for the living expression of the glory, complained also very particular, requiring the "owner tick, brother cry, woman cry leap" , cry the way personal identity is consistent, not a cry you can cry tears, complained that cry to see the living, cry of the living erased all the sins of the dead. Traditional Confucian filial piety is mainly targeted are related by blood relatives, especially the elderly, but even for a relative lack of filial piety is the most basic "humanity" meaning, in fact, the ceremonial funeral for the living out of their guilt has become the way. Xun understand the nature of the national no doubt is profound, and Hu Shi on China during the May Fourth tradition of liturgical reform of funeral ceremony, in fact, made only in the subtraction, but did not touch the root cause of this ritual Culture.

Look at the "lay" is the word to express our concept of death. "Lay" is a Xiangxing Zi, the above is the "Emirates" or "wine", the following things like put the base material. The original meaning is located in Food & Wine Festival, Te Preparation refers to the time of the early death of offerings salute. <<that the text>> explained as "offered, and the festival is also set." Like the dead as the living worship, we value the spiritual life is clearly not dead, but the flesh, we understand of life as Feuerbach says, "food, clothing, shelter" that corresponds to this funeral ritual is the food and wine offerings, shroud and coffin tomb. infinitely closer to the distance between the deceased and the living, that is "Health on something", it is indeed unique Culture of Chinese funeral. <<Propriety of>> says: "The funeral who played dead to the living also, of its students to send their elephants die" treat the dead as living, crude appears to be a noble courtesy, it is not. Chinese Culture, understanding of life and Westerners Instead, we try to exclude the soul, abstract body, Xu Shen in the "<said text>> in the "death" is defined as "dead, disappear also, people from as well. from the E, from the people" refers to the separation of body and soul. Liqing Huan study this in depth, "after death the existence of a soul, the soul of dead loved ones is just out of personal and 'them' over to the other world, life, earth will be blessed. So should 'die of their parents', not to dead relatives as a 'dead man', when 'as dead as students' ". �� funeral ceremony in China, you see are the living rights of the deceased, the deceased was no dignity, because" people die if the lamp is off. "While the Chinese believe that the existence of the soul after death, can and do not agree with the uniqueness of the soul, Westerners say "immortal soul" is the eternal spirit of the people, the Chinese said the "soul" is like an entity of things, perhaps people are more willing to call it "the ghost "or" ghost "is good and bad fortune would have its own secular impact. is, therefore, becomes necessary sacrifice to the dead. In general, in addition to" three years of the festival ", the people and are failing in the world not ring true when it is thinking about worship and the dead, because the communication between the dead and offerings, hoping the dead to apparitions, bless their lives in the world accessible. Chinese society funeral ritual affirmation of life but in reality the expression of the human body life, it completely ignores the spiritual characteristics of human life, its understanding of life is actually quite abstract.

. Funeral rituals in Western Culture.

Western funeral rituals probably very simple, basically in the form of a religious type. Funeral and the funeral mass generally agreed upon by the priest or relatives of the deceased, including prayer and scripture, then the Holy Communion, and finally for the farewell ceremony. West Funeral mainly by the Christian culture. the soul of every Christian to direct a relationship with God, not allowed to idol worship, respect for the soul of sublimation and neglects the body, so is Jane West Funeral Funeral Funeral Customs. Christian funeral is more pray for the dead, I wish his soul rose early one heaven, the pain relief during his lifetime. Christian view that after death the soul must have peace, so very solemn funeral. under the influence of the Christian culture, from the nobility down to the civilian population, basically be a simple funeral, that is the so-called God "the soul of equality" principle. complained to both the initial and final or in the church, but also whether it is buried in the funeral procession on the road or when relatives can not be crying out loud, can only weep silent tears, or trained, trained, which means do not disturb souls of the dead quiet. �� In Western eyes, with all the dead and the dying out of existing social rules. living the feelings of the deceased is above the law above all social authority and individual life and the infinite value of an individual. Similarly, in the West, death has brought the sacred funeral rites of the unique expression, religious funeral ceremony can only use the real comfort to the soul of the deceased, "the death of religious ceremony to arouse feelings in the hearts of its followers, let people know to the way people care about a human who, no doubt, this is the real function of ritual. "�� Westerners to comfort the dead and the earth in the hands of the angel of God --- pastor, he would say:" Father, my Lord, on earth as in heaven, please forgive us, as we forgive those who offend us, but the glory is attributed to you. "Westerners funeral ceremony in a Christian original sin and the resurrection Gainian started. Western history's most meaningful Si than the death of Socrates and Jesus. Socrates told his family and friends before dying, do not be sad cry for him, death is the best way to get rid of the body, the body dead, the spirit was born, his last words were left to the world, "I die, you go live, who's way better, only God knows", after the death of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection gives the same inspiration, life The real secret is out of spiritual transcendence from the physical body.

Funeral ritual from the western Chinese and Western social and cultural differences between the different ideas from the difference between Chinese and Western funeral rituals can be found in the funeral scene of the Chinese people are often grand and lively, the grief and loneliness relatives of the deceased, the Chinese really painful fact of death ethnic vitality is weak, a unique individual rather than the demise of the Western kind of quiet funeral ceremony is a kind of waiting and listening, waiting for the perfection of heaven come and listen to the echo of heaven, living in the ceremony and the deceased together receive this extraordinary moment, death has revealed even greater significance than death itself.

Traditional Chinese funeral ritual subject to the Confucian principle of hierarchical order and the elderly, individual life is an abstract understanding of the biological activities for the earth, the soul after death is about a person can be good and bad fortune of the entity. Because of this, funeral Chinese people seem etiquette is a direct experience of death, in between this side and the other side, people are more focused on this world and the present, this situation is rooted in the Confucian tradition, as Weber says, "Confucianism and believers relationship, regardless of the nature of witchcraft or ritual in nature, in terms of its original meaning, is this side of ", �� Western Christian funeral rites put the deaths associated with original sin and resurrection, the sanctity of individual life and uniqueness of the hinges on the concept of immortality of the soul, the spirit of eternity. Comparing the two, can say, Westerners funeral rites express more individual understanding of and respect for life itself and death to survive meaning, Chinese funeral rites, whether in the form of how to behave in a refined or complicated, it is nothing more than to express the meaning of "reverence for his ancestors" type of helplessness and loss, which in addition to indulge in "life is short," the pessimistic no sense in addition to death Chaoba from out of courage. of course, with the further deepening of reform and opening up, Chinese people in the funeral ritual has quietly undergone some subtle changes, people began to accept the simple form of the West, to send flowers, memorial service, etc., but people in the death of the deceased and how much on the nature of the concept of change is still a problem, but in any case, this form of change is a start, it is perhaps conceived meaning of life deeply understand and appreciate.

Notes

1980 ��,�� 202 �� 6 �� 13 ҳ. �� �� �� Yang Bojun: <<Analects Annotation>>, Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 1980, p. 202, 6, 13.

2004 ��,�� 110 ҳ. �� Fei: <<Rural China>>, Beijing Publishing House, 2004, p. 110.

2003 ��� 8 ��. �� Li Qinghuan: "<<Shuo Wen Jie Zi>> Funeral Culture in Ancient China", "<Nanjing SOCIAL SCIENCES">, 2003 8.

http://www.heaven3.com/xiview.asp?id=1&ssid=1 �� http://www.heaven3.com/xiview.asp?id=1&ssid=1

[ �� ] ŵ���ء�������˹:<<��������Ȩ����֪ʶ>>,�Ͼ���ѧ������, 2005 ��,�� 104 ҳ. �� [Germany] Norbert Elias: <<paper out, Power and Knowledge>>, Nanjing University Press, 2005, p. 104.

[ �� ] ���˹��Τ��:<<��������>>,����:����ӡ���, 1997 ��,�� 195 ҳ. �� [Germany] Max Weber: <<Confucianism and Taoism>>, Beijing: Commercial Press, 1997, p. 195.