A Study On The Soul Cloth Of Obsequies

Soul cloth is a sacrificial vessel that a soul fastened to in the funeral ceremonies.The definition of soul cloth was presented clearly in the Sima's Book Instrument:"Soul cloth is made out of white silk.In the funeral ceremonies,soul coth is coverd with the scarves and set upon the the soul chair,which is in front of the coat hanger in southeast corner.There must be an incense burner and a cup with the wine and some fruit which are set upon the spirit tablet near the soul chair.This is where the soul fastened to." Although the soul cloth was used to represent the place to where the soul of the dead attached for the first time in Song dynasty,the use of a spirit tablet can be traced back to Pre-qin Era.The research object of this thesis is the place where souls meet.In old China,different social classes use different soul clothes.The soul of the dead is attached to the wood which was called Zhong in Pre-qin Era,and this practice has continued to Song dynasty.Then Shubo was used to replace Zhong in Han dynasty,which was made of a bolt of silk.Then Xiongmenbaili of Six dynasties period,soul cloth of Song dynasty,the portrait of the dead of Ming and Qing dynasties appeared successively.At the same time,soul streamers turned up in Tang dynasty.Developing into the period of the Ming and Qing dynasties,soul streamers were fixed up in the stable form.And there was some confusion regarding soul cloth and soul streamer even the mere scutcheon.At its most basic,soul cloth represents a particular place where the soul lay and mere scutcheon represents the dead bier.Under the Buddhist influence during Tang dynasty,soul streamers began to appear and mix the soul cloth and mere scutcheon.All in all,soul is fastened to the soul cloth and mere scutcheon indicates the coffin.They share dissimilarities as well as commonalities.