The Cultural Interpretation On Sweeping Graves Ceremony Of Hefei City Residents

As a particular cultural phenomenon in human social life, "the sweeping graves(Shang fen) " plays an important part in death culture,ancestral culture and the whole culture system in which people live. For thousands of years,"the sweeping graves ceremony" of our country is containing the richly colorful historical culture content and complex diverse culture psychology of the people. We found via literature searches that the academia less about the present culture of "sweeping graves".The majority mainly concentrates about the death culture's research in the funeral aspect.Therefore, said from some kind of degree that at present regarding the cultural research about "sweeping graves ceremony" has a very big theory gap. Our ancient culture needs the comprehensive theoretical analysis and the scientific theory explanation until now.This thesis regards "sweeping graves" (Shang fen) as the object of study and finishes case study in hefei city. Through the literature collection, the depth interview and participated in fieldwork,the author has been collecting the massive first material, presented the picture of "visiting a grave" (Shang fen) ceremony's by Hefei city residents.This article has defined "the sweeping graves" ceremony's related concept first, then starts to introduce the custom of "visiting graves" in Hefei city, and describs the "visiting a grave" ceremony's general process in Qingming Festival of the Hefei city residents. After detailed description of the whole prosess,according to the "visiting graves" ceremony's source and the historical development, the author has carried on the cultural function analysis of the "visiting graves" ceremony, included the origin enlightened function, patriarchal society's political function, modern society's major function (expresses feelings function, approval function, inheritance function,education function, contact function).Subsequently, this article selected some representative symbols of the "visiting a grave" ceremony process, the author analyzes some typical symbols:the grave, the paper money, inserting the willow tree as well as the color group which appears in the culture (yellow, red, white) and the digital group (two, three, seven, seventy two) and so on.The grave is the important carrier that touching history and increasing people's love.The paper money is the symbol that delivers special-purpose currency to the netherworld. Inserting the willow tree is the specific behavior in the Pure Brightness season and occasion.The different colors and different digits are representing the spirit symbol, the approval symbol and the distinctive emblem of the China traditional culture.All of these complex symbols is the expression of people's experience and spirit. This article also further discusses ideological concept and cultural connotation in "the sweeping graves ceremony". The cultural psychology performance of "sweeping graves ceremony" included eternal psychology, dependence psychology, blood relationship psychology and projection psychology. Simultaneously, the Animism belief and the religious emotion of ancestor worship, they all showing the Chinese history culture characteristic and blood relation consciousness.Through the activity of "visits a grave", the filial piety as the central blood relation idea to internalize the Chinese's moral consciousness, the behavior and the custom.Along with the time goes and the technical progress, the ceremony starts to vicissitude gradually. Because of the new civilized factor, "the sweeping graves" ceremony becoming more and more environmental and fashionable. Faced with two major ideological trends:traditional and modern, the new civilization "visits a grave"ceremony begin to arise at the historic moment. The question about the future trend of "sweeping graves" ceremony and how to regard this ancient cultural tradition is the category which this article will discuss.This thesis aims to have a comprehensive understanding of local cultural background.The study of the "sweeping graves" ceremony in this thesis is just a primary try in the related death culture.The author has the urge of research but lack of demonstration, which will be made up in the further research, and make some contributions to the anthropology researeh career.