Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/45

Rh A young child is often rolled in a mat or old garment and buried without ceremony, and new-born babies are often thrown out to be devoured by the dogs.

Buddhist priests' graves may be known by the small pagoda-shaped stone in front.

It is supposed to have been the custom to level all grave mounds at the beginning of a new dynasty, till the Ta Ch'ing dynasty, whose grace extended to love of the bones of the dead 澤及枯骨 chai chi k'u ku. At the present time much land is occupied by the dead which is greatly needed for the use of the living.

Sometimes the astrologer says the deceased has done something which will shortly cause another death in the family 犯重喪 fan ch'ung sang. Then a coffin is prepared and funeral rites gone through for some imaginary person or perhaps for a known sick person, and the empty coffin is buried. It is hoped this will deceive the demons and prevent the second death.

The Cantonese in Ssŭch'uan often remove the bones of their dead to another place. A grandparent's bones are inurned and kept on the family altar, in some cases being counted and strung together on wire or cord.

The aborigines find out from the astrologer how a body should be disposed of, whether by hanging out for the birds to devour 天葬 t'ien tsang, by throwing to the beasts of the field 地葬 ti tsan, by cremation 火葬 huo tsang, or by throwing into the river 水葬 shui tsang.

National mourning 國服 kuo fu. On the death of an emperor of the Ch'ing dynasty men went unshaved for a hundred days; and no red buttons might be worn on the hat; if the New Year came in this period no red scrolls were pasted on the doorposts, etc., but white or blue scrolls might be put up in sign of mourning. Women did not wear their ornaments, and marriages and theatricals were deferred till the hundred days were over.

During the first three days all officials sat for a certain time on straw in the temple, while no public business was attended to, except urgent cases of life and death.