Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/318

310 TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF HONGKONG, SHANGHAI, ETC. The table is usually square or round, a long table being rarely seen.

Tea and tobacco are always to hand in a man's office or place of business, both for his own use and for that of callers. The tea is regarded not only as a stimulant, but as a desirable substitute for strong drink.

In official circles tea has a curious ceremonial use. At the commencement of a conference cups of the beverage are brought in and placed before the official and his visitor, and when the official, whose ideas of politeness will not suffer him to dismiss his visitor in so many words, desires to intimate that the interview must be brought to an end, he does so by lifting the cup and drinking the tea, whereupon the visitor departs.   FUNERAL RITES. In a country where the veneration of ancestors forms part of the very fibre of the national character it is not surprising to find that the customs and ceremonies attendant upon the disposal of the dead are of the most elaborate description. Before a Chinaman breathes his last his relatives lift him from his bed and carry him into the hall, where he is clothed in full mandarin costume. Every head of a family is entitled after death to lie in state for a certain number of days in the hall, where his friends may perform the last rites and pay their respects to the memory of the departed. Coverlets of silk or cloth are sent by his kinsmen and more intimate friends, and are laid upon the corpse, the colours white and red — the Chinese mourning and lucky colours, respectively — alternating. The red is supposed to augur well for the man's posterity. The hour at which death occurs is made known to a priest, who thereupon makes certain calculations, and writes upon a piece of paper inter alia the time when the body may be encoffined, and when the soul of the departed may be expected to return to visit the family. Many superstitious Chinese actually believe the latter prediction to be true, and at the time indicated by the priest, a table, spread with wines and cakes, is placed in the hall for the refreshment of the returned spirit. They aver that invariably something is taken from this table, showing that the soul of the departed has actually come back, and has consumed a portion of the food in order to manifest its return. During the lying-in-state, Taoist or Buddhist priests are called in to say mass, and to perform other religious rites, and more often than not nuns are also in attendance. A vigil is kept every night, candles, sent by relatives of the deceased, are lighted, and the subtle fragrance emitted by burning joss-sticks rises continuously. Sounds of mourning mingle with the prayers muttered by the priests in an unknown tongue, incense is offered, and paper money, gilt or silvered, cut or fashioned in the shape of coins, is burned in the belief that the departed will be able to make use of it as currency in the nether world. Round the hall the members of the dead man's family, with hair dishevelled, sit upon mats or straw thrown upon the ground, wailing and bemoaning their loss.

The heir of the departed, attended by different members of the family, and possibly by some friends, goes out at a time appointed by the priest to buy water for the last ablutions before the body is placed in the coffin. In a country district the water is taken from a stream, and a few cash are thrown in for payment ; but in a town where there is no stream available the water is obtained from a bucket placed at a street corner near the house. In days gone by the body was actually washed, but nowadays a white cloth is dipped in the water by the heir of the family and passed in front of the face and limbs of the deceased, without coming into actual contact with them.

The coffin is often of the most expensive description, costing sometimes as much as several thousands of dollars. Pine from Laochow, in the Kwangsi district, is generally used in its construction, and the price varies according to the fineness of the wood. Great care is taken to place the body fairly on its back, exactly in the centre of the coffin. The coffin is then packed with small bags of lime, obtained from the cuttlefish, and these serve the double purpose of keeping the body in position and of absorbing moisture. Putty is used in fitting on the lid of the coffin, so that, when fastened down, the receptacle is practically airtight. The screws used are of brass, and are a foot or more in length. When the coffin has to be carried a long distance tarred ropes are placed round it to facilitate handling and to render the fastening more secure.

The wearing of unhemmed white dresses of some coarse material is enjoined upon children mourning their parents, and over this dress a sort of surplice of sack-cloth is worn. The head-dress for the male is woven of bamboo and coarse cloth, with tassels of cotton ; but that for the woman is a hood of hempen sack. The shoes are of coarse straw. Each of the chief mourners carries a curious stick, usually of bamboo,