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- Mortuary Beliefs
As amply shown by archaeological evidence, the Chinese have believed in the existence of spirits of the dead since ancient times. The earliest reference to an underground abode for the spirits of the dead occurs in a chronicle of the period 721-463 B.c. entitled Zuozhuan, where it is referred to as the Yellow Springs or, sometimes, as the Nine Springs, but no further details about this subterranean world were given. In any case, it was believed that sacrificial offerings would help the spirits to be at peace there. The funerary objects placed with the corpse are the concrete expression of the ideas on the human soul and its destiny after death. It was believed that life continued after death and that objects which one had used while alive would continue to be employed beyond the grave.
Ideas related to what survives of a person after death have differed throughout China�s long history.
In 1972, a T-shaped banner was excavated from a Western Han tomb (c. 168 b.c.) at Mawangdui near Changsha. It shows scenes from the bottom to top of the nether world, human society and the heavens, and is an apparent depiction of the journey of the person�s hun (soul) to heaven (fig. i).
According to some ancient Chinese beliefs, people have the co-existence of two souls: an immaterial or superior soul called shen consisting of yang (male) sub�stance and a material or inferior soul, gui, formed of yin (female) substance. The energy of shen, operating in the live body, was called qi, or breath. After death, shen separates from the body as a refulgent spirit called ming, or hun, and departs to higher regions. Whereas, the gui which operates under the name of po in living people, returned to the earth upon death and remains with the deceased in the grave. According to burial customs, however, the shen is also regarded as residing there or, more correctly speaking, as dwelling about the spot. The objects, including tomb figurines, which were buried in the grave vaults for the use of the spirits of the dead, have since early times been called mingqi or �implements for the ming."
The grave was the meeting place of the living and the dead. Even though both souls of the deceased have left terrestrial life, they still maintain a restricted relationship with the living on whom they rely for sustenance. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement; they needed help and support from the living, just as the living needed the spirits to watch out for their welfare. The living, by fulfilling their obligations of making sacrifices or offerings to the spirits of the departed, ensured that the spirits will speak well of them to the powers of the other world whose ear they naturally have. Should the living neglect their responsibilities to the deceased, however, it would result in malevolent retribution. Thus, it was crucial for the Chinese to appease the departed souls, for they exerted a direct influence on the life and fate of the family. Hence, ancestor worship played a paramount role in mortuary beliefs.
Of utmost importance in the preparation of the funeral was geomancy. A geomantic system called fengshui (literally �wind and water�) was used in choosing the most favourable location for houses, temples, graves, etc. If a favourable choice for a tomb site was made, it would enhance good fortune for the family of the deceased but, if an unfavourable choice was made, it created misfortune. According to the principles of fengshui, a suitable location for a tomb is one where all the powers of nature are in perfect harmony, an ideal spot being on flat land where mountain ranges come into contact with a river basin.
i Banner showing journey of the Soul found in the Western Han tomb of the Marquise of Tai at Changsha.
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