276 FUNERAL PROCESSION. in a stately coffin, which has quicklime strewed at the bottom of it, the name and titles of the deceased being conspicuously written on a tablet. The name inscribed on the record of death will perish in the dust, but the name written in the Book of Life will endure for ever. When thrice seven" days are passed, the funeral procession moves onwards to the burialground, which is usually surrounded with a wall, or with trees on the side of a hill. Here grow the pine and the cypress, adorning the garden of the grave. Twenty, or more, slaves carry the coffin, while as many others bear over it a rich canopy. All these attendants, as well as the relations that follow, are clad in coarse white cloth; and sometimes the relations have straw wrapped round their feet, coarse cloths around their heads, and ropes round their waists, thereby greatly adding to the picturesque and mournful effect of the whole. The tombs of the rich are large, and are decorated with figures of animals cut in stone, while some of those of the princes and mandarins have a marble table, vases, candlesticks, and perfuming-pot, with rows of lions, camels, horses, tortoises, officers and soldiers in attitudes expressing sorrow. No sooner has the mournful throng arrived at the resting-place of the dead, than an entertainment is prepared; for you must not suppose that a Chinaman can have a procession without a feast. HALL OF ANCESTORS. 277 He is a sensualist and good cheer must mingle with his lamentations. Instances occur wherein the relatives of the deceased remain for weeks in a temporary hall, at the place of sepulture, to show their reverence for the dead by performing dirges with the children of the departed. In these rites they are assisted by bonzes and other priests, and the drum and the bell and the cymbal mingle their sounds with the mournful song. Changes in these obsequies occasionally take place, and priests, in red caps and gowns, kneel, and chaunt, and offer incense, and burn painted and gilded paper formed into various devices. We must not quarrel with the sons of Confucius in these matters, but rather respect them for their filial piety, than censure them for the way in which they express it. On returning home from the funeral procession, the tablet, inscribed with the name and titles of the deceased, is duly placed in the "Hall of Ancestors." This hall is a large room, set apart in the house of every Chinaman of condition, dedicated to the manes of the owner's ancestors. It is fitted up in various ways, sometimes with a table or altar, with a silken, canopy, vases, plates, incense-statues, coloured paper, and other things. In this hall, at certain times of the year, meet the several branches of the family, however numerous, to perform their reverential rites to the dead. During these meetings all are considered as equal, 278 PRAYER AT AN ANCESTOR'S TOMB. -poverty is treated with respect, and rank remains unacknowledged. All guests are equal in that solemn hour, For what has death to do with rank and power? The Chinese mourn three years for a parent, during which time they much seclude themselves, and practise many austerities, seemingly devoting themselves to sorrow. I told you before, that when an emperor dies, the whole nation goes in mourning. Three hundred million mourners! The following is a Chinese prayer at an ancestor's tomb: "This thirteenth year of the reign of Taou Kwang (1833), the year being Kwei-sze (the 30th year of the cycle), in the second month of the spring, after the new moon, the 16th day, at the happy Tsing-ming-term, propriety requires that the spring sacrifice should be offered, the grass mowed down, and the brambles cut away. "Reverently have we prepared pigs, sheep, fowls, and fresh hams, seasonable vegetables, fruits, incense, rich wines, gold, silver, and precious things (i. e. tinsel papers), and venture to announce the same to the soul of our great progenitor, the venerated prince. "Behold! man has progenitors and parents, as water has springs, and trees have roots. When the roots strike deep, the branches are abundant, the foliage rich, and forests are formed. When THE SOULS IN HADES ARE ADDRESSED. 279 springs of water are large, and flow far, they enrich the soil, and diffuse fragrance. We look wishfully, and pray the souls in Hades to shelter and assist us, their descendants; that we may be prosperous; may, age after age, be decked with badges of honour; may long enjoy riches and rank; may, like the melon-creeper and the cotton fibre, be continually happy, and never extinct; may, for myriads of ages, be illustrious spirits. Prostrate, we pray you to come to enjoy and view these sacrifices. With sincerity these prayers are offered up." CHAPTER XXIX. CONTINUATION OF MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. The Feast of Lanterns.-Two Hundred Million Lanterns lit up at once. Festival in the Eighth Moon.-Watching for the Figure of the Hare in the Moon.-General Holiday at the Beginning of the Year.—The Chinese Compass points to the South. The Chinese mourn in White.-Chinese Mandarin Soldiers carry Beads and Fans.-Chinese Old Men fly Kites. The Chinese receive their Guests with their Hats on.-Festival to Departed Relations. Never WHEN you visit China you must accommodate yourselves to the customs of the people. The saying, "when at Rome you must do as Rome does," should, in some measure, be acted on everywhere, always avoiding doing evil anywhere. adopt bad principles nor bad practices, but in other things, looking around you with good humour, quarrel with none about their prejudices. Let Americans speak of land, fat hogs, dollars, and presidents' speeches-Italians talk of statues and paintings, Naples, Florence, and Rome-Frenchmen boast of" La Grande Nation," while Englishmen shout out "Liberty," and sing "Britannia |