Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/541

 CHAPTER XXXII ROYAL death demands universal lament. The entire nation must assume a mourning garb, the colour of which is not black, as with us, but the natural colour of sack-cloth, - a dirty yellow. The chief mourners must be particular as to the colour, but the populace as a whole adopts white. As this is the ordinary colour for Korean clothing, it becomes necessary only to doff their black hats and put on white ones. Those who are very poor can compound with the law by pasting white paper over their black hats. No bright colours must appear on any portion of the body.

The body of the dead is partially embalmed, and laid in an artificially cooled room, where it remains five months, the legal interval within which the royal dead cannot be interred. A few days after the announcement of the death all the high officials meet before the great gate of the palace, and, seated on their mats, lament the departure of the illustrious deceased. Then the preparations begin. Money pours in from the provinces, the guilds are informed what services will be required of them, the geomancers are sent out to find a propitious site for the tomb, and thousands of men are set to work making the various paraphernalia that will be needed to bring the occasion off with sufficient eclat.

As the day for the grand procession draws near, people begin to flock in from the country to see the sight, and every inn is full to overflowing. All the government departments are intent upon nothing else, and ordinary business is at a standstill. Several days before the great event, there are trial processions in which the participants are trained for the performance of their