Research On The Funeral Customs In Yuncheng Of Ming And Qing Dynasties

Since the Song Dynasty,the rituals had included common people,and the funeral rituals had blended with folk customs.In the Ming and Qing Dynasties,the funeral rituals of the locality were formed by the combination of official rituals and local characteristics.Through the study of the practice of local funeral customs,not only can we distinguish the similarities and differences with the official rituals,but also help to understand the real funeral practice of the folk,and understand the adjustment of the feeling and the rituals.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties,the Yuncheng area was well-connected and salt transport activities were frequent.Besides,the population of the area is complicated,especially the poor people are more than other places.Moreover,The area was one of the four major parishes of the Catholic Church.All of the above had affected the practice of funeral customs.The combination of official funeral rituals and Yuncheng features has produced funeral customs with local characteristics.At the same time,the Yuncheng area has produced different funeral countermeasures for different groups,such as people who died in other places,the poor,the rich,the beggars,the unnamed corpses,the women whose fiancé died,and the Catholics.The ritual is composed of elements such as ceremony,appearance and meaning.The funeral is the most important and most complicated,and the funeral customs adds new features to the rituals.Therefore the funeral contains all the elements of the rituals.Through the analysis of the three elements,we can see the characteristics of funeral customs in Yuncheng in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.In the ceremony,there is a complete system of funeral mutual aid,but corrupt customs still exist;The appearance of rituals often shows excessive performance.Although men and women are different,the old and the young are same;As far as meaning are concerned,funerals are held in accordance with financial resources,and feeling is more serious than rituals.In addition,the funeral custom is mixed with a superstitious explanation.The number of ritual shows the difference between ritual and custom and increases the practicality of the funeral.In short,we can appreciate the adjustment of feelings and rituals in different situations,as well as the subtlety of formulating and discussing rituals.