A Comparison between Modern China and America in Funeral Etiquette

張靜如

Abstract：Afuneralceremonyisthelastceremonyofaperson'slife. Differentcountrieshavedifferentfuneralsbecauseofdifferentculturaltraditions， religiousbeliefs， socialpsychologyandnationalcustoms.Thisarticlewillbrieflyintroducethemeaninganddevelopmentoffuneralrites， andthenintroducetheimportanceandnecessityoffuneralrites.Finally， throughdetailedcomparisonbetweenAmericaandChinainformationmainfuneralmethodsandpostbereavementsacrificetoanalysethecauseanddevelopmenttrendoftheformationoffuneraldifferences.

Keywords：funeral；etiquette；；post；bereavement；sacrifice；；；between；modern；china；and；America；；

Introduction

1. 1.1TheConnotationofFuneralEtiquette

Thefuneralandburialetiquetteisthecollectionoftraditionalculture， whichoriginatedfromthesoulviewofancientsocietyandtheworldoutlookafterdeath. Itsculturalconnotationisextremelyrichandcomplete， anditssystemisquitelargeanddiverse.

1.2TheDevelopmentofFuneralEtiquette

Thetraditionalfuneraletiquette， withtheprogressofhumansociety， isundertheinfluenceofvariousreligionsandethicsinthecountryandatthesametimeabsorbstheprogressivedevelopmentoftheworldcivilization. Ithasgraduallyformedthemodernfuneralandburialetiquettefromthesimpletothecomplex

2. ConceptofFuneral

2.1DescriptionsofFuneralCultureinDifferentBooks

Dreamoftheredchambertheprocesshadnotadvancedveryfarwhenitbegantopassthedecorated“funeralbowers”andtablesofofferingsputupalongthesidesofthestreetbyfriendsandwellwishersofthefamily. Fromsomeofthemthestrainsoffuneralmusicstruckupasitapproached.

2.2TheImportanceofFuneralCulture

Ifthebirthofalifeislikenedtothebeginningofspring， thendeathisequivalenttotheendoftheyear. Justlikethefestivaloftheendoftheyear - asthemostsolemnfestivalinthefourseasons， theritualofdeathisthemostsolemnceremonyintheritualoflife. Therefore， itcanbesaidthatdeathisthegreatestfestivaloflife， andthefuneralistherepertoireofthefestival.

3.DetailsofEtiquetteinChinaandAmericaonFuneral

3.1FuneralEtiquetteinChina

3.1.1TheFormationofFuneralEtiquetteinChina

ThefuneralritualinChinaisroughlydividedintonineaspects：Mortuaryritual、announcesomeone'sdeath、Ariteofspiritandsoul、ceremonyof“seven”、Condolenceceremony、putacorpseinacoffin、Pickadayandchooseaday、Mourningceremony、Funeralceremony.

NeuralMethodsinChina

SincethefoundingofPeople'sRepublicofChina， cremationhasalwaysbeenadvocatedforprotectingfarmlandandsavinglandresources. theonlyexceptionwasthattheremainsofMaoZedonghadnotbeencremated， butwerepreservedandpreserved. InFebruary8， 1985， theStateCouncilpromulgatedtheInterimProvisionsonfuneralandintermentmanagement.Buttheimplementationisnotsmooth， especiallyintheruralareas.

3.1.3ThePostBereavementSacrificeinChina

AncestorworshipinChinaincludesancestorworshiponNewYear'sEve， ancestorworshipatTomb-sweepingDayandnewonlineancestorworship.

1.ancestorworshiponNewYear'sEve

2.ancestorworshipatTomb-sweepingDay

3.onlineancestorworship.

3.2FuneralEtiquetteinAmerica

3.2.1TheFormationofFuneralEtiquetteinAmerica

TheAmericanfuneralceremonyconsistsofthreeparts： keepvigilbesidethecoffin， thecemeteryandtheburial.

3.2.2TheMainFuneralMethodsinAmerica

1.Buyatomb

AccordingtotheregulationsoftheUnitedStates， noone， includinghisfamilymembers， shallbeallowedtomovethedeceasedwithoutdeath. SoAmericansoftenbuybasesbeforetheydie.

2.Buyacoffin

Americancemeteryalsosellscoffin. Somecoffinsamplesarelocatedinthecemeteryofficebuilding.

3.Condolencesandmourning

Afterthefuneral， theguestsofthedeceasedusuallyhaveadinnerwiththefamilymembersofthedeceasedandhaveamealtogether.

3.2.3ThePostBereavementSacrificeinAmerica

ThereisnoTomb-sweepingDayintheUnitedStates， butthereisafestivalsimilartotheTomb-sweepingDayFestival.Americanshavenofixeddatetomourntheirlovedones. ThecemeteryintheUnitedStatesmustnotburnthings.Themostcommonistobringflowersandmourn.

4.Conclusion

TherootofculturaldifferencesbetweenmodernChinaandAmericaisthatChineseculturehasnevergotridofthedependenceofmanonnaturebutAmericanculturehasgotridofit. Now， withtheblendingandcomplementationofChineseandWesterncultures， modernfuneraletiquettearegettingcloserandclosertoeachother.

Reference：

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[2]LanLinXiaoXiaoSheng，hegoldenlotus[M]XiangjiangPublishingHouse，2017，45-48

[3]SiMaming，FuneralcustomsintheUnitedStates[EB/OL]，http：//www.360doc.com/content/16/0224/19/481379_537102510.shtml

[4]WhatistheknowledgeoffuneralritesintheUnitedStates[EB/OL]，https：//www.sohu.com/a/158314911_775308

[5]Funeralcustomsinvariouscountries[EB/OL]，https：//zhidao.baidu.com/question/348857629.html