A Study On The “Quan Zang” In The Song Dynasty

“Quanzang”,the custom that the deceased was buried in a tomb that was prepared expediently,due to some reasons that failed a normal and proper burial ceremony instructed by the Book of Rites,was one of the important and common funeral forms in ancient China where it had a long history.Not only was “Quanzang” more widely seen and distinctive in the Song Dynasty with rapid economic development,highly cultural prosperity and frequent population migration,but the ideology,social customs and background it reflected were more profound as well.The phenomenon of “Quanzang” in the Song Dynasty has its distinctive features.Influenced by the Buddhistization of funeral customs,a variety of grave temples appeared in large numbers,the phenomenon was more prominent that people from all walks of life were temporarily buried in Buddhist temples,and those became convenient and practical choices for most people before they were formally buried.In addition to this,the duration was usually longer than that in other dynasties,exceeding the rules for the burial period in the Book of Rites under a majority of circumstances.“Quanzang” being a temporary measure was the result of people living in the Song Dynasty thoroughly considering and weighing an array of subjective and objective factors such as time,places,wealth,and other things.The major ones among diverse driving forces were the “Feng Shui” ideology that favors auspices and avoids misfortune,postponement that awaited co-burial,social customs that valued filial piety and grand burial ceremony,helpless expectation that took place during migration,insulation that was caused by the dynasty's combat with Jing,et cetera.Diversification also displayed in the way of handling “Quanzang” during the post time of the Song Dynasty.In addition to the forms of “Guizang” like displacement to ancestral tombs and affiliation burial with paternity ones,it saw fairly common occurrences of burial in a place out of hometown or no handling at all,under the mixed influence of political and military environment,religious ideas and personal preferences.As the long-lasting tradition,the couple co-burial was seen in every category of handling.The phenomenon of “Quanzang” in the Song Dynasty was indicative of some widespread desire society-wide at that time.Under the profound influence of “Feng Shui” ideology,numerous people longed for obtaining family blessings by properly burying their ancestors so as to promote auspices and attain magnificence,in the intergenerational heritage of divination culture.In other words,the characteristics was definitely evident that despite that an ancestral tomb was physically built for the dead,it meant more for the alive.It is therefore concluded that a number of “Quanzang” instances in the Song Dynasty and the way of handling during the post time did not merely come from helplessness that an expedient solution had to be chosen with a grand burial in mind,but also had merry expectation flowing throughout.