Tao Jun

Abstract: "White marriage" is a popular saying in China, and it is the name of natural death in China. This proverb, which seems to be contrary to the national tradition of saluting, filial piety and mourning for ancestors, well reflects the understanding of China people on death and life. It embodies China people's life spirit of living happily and dying happily, as well as their view of death.

Keywords: Bai's optimistic view of death.

Because "white wedding" is a common saying, it is only handed down from generation to generation among the people, it is difficult to find out whose mouth it comes from. It is not recorded in all kinds of texts handed down from generation to generation, nor is it included in the current proverb dictionary. However, a careful analysis of all kinds of historical materials, customs and habits about funeral etiquette can still give us a glimpse of it and analyze China's folk view of death.

First of all, simply study the origin of white wedding events.

First of all, the "white" in the "white wedding" should be related to the widespread use of white as the main color in funerals. In China people's minds, bright colors such as "red and green" have long been formed to symbolize happiness, while plain colors such as "black and white" represent sadness. This should come from the agricultural civilization characteristics of observing astronomy, observing geography and working in four seasons in ancient China. People who have worked in the natural environment for a long time naturally learn from nature, and they get an understanding from the spring and summer series of nature: the red flowers and green leaves in spring are full of vitality, indicating the hope of bumper harvest; In winter, the snow closes the mountain and the black wood dies, which means the end of production. People bring the enlightenment from this production activity to people's social activities, such as wearing red and green at weddings to set off the festive atmosphere, which has accumulated a living foundation for people to call marriage a "red happy event" later; In contrast, in people's funeral activities, people wear linen and mourning clothes to set off their sadness and mourning, which also accumulated a living foundation for people to call funeral activities "white wedding events" later.

The definition of "white" as a special color for funeral is also directly related to the Confucian etiquette culture, especially the formation of its funeral. Although historical data show that as early as the pre-Qin period before the formation of Confucian funeral rites, white had been used as the color of funeral activities. "It is still dark, and the events are faint, and the military affairs are based on Li, and the sacrifices are mysterious. Yin people are still white, and great events take days ... sacrifice is white. Zhou people are still red ... "○1But this is only spontaneous and accidental, and has not been consistently customized in plain text. It is the Confucian school that, based on its etiquette thought, refines and sorts out the existing customs of predecessors in funeral activities, formally writes "mourning is still white" into their etiquette thought, and gradually implements it to people. Because the funeral activities can best reflect its main color is the mourning clothes people wear, and the appearance of mourning clothes is a late thing, which is also the contribution of Confucianism. "Mourning refers to the special clothes worn when mourning the dead ... not very early, and it was still not recorded until the Xia and Shang Dynasties. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, although ancient documents were occasionally involved, they did not form a complete ritual system, and there were more and more records in the Spring and Autumn Period ... Finally, Confucianism established a complete five-grade funeral system with reference to the Zhou Rites to restore kinship under the patriarchal clan system. " ○2 More importantly, the mourning advocated by Confucianism is plain white, and the "Three Rites" (Zhou Li, Yi Li and Li Ji) in Confucian classics stipulate that plain white should be worn when mourning. "Losing parents ... is short ... and short-lived ... living in bed ... plain linen." ○3 Relevant experts demonstrated in detail: "... the color of mourning clothes advocates originality, so all mourning clothes are not dyed, keeping the true color of hemp (white). This is also the difference between mourning clothes and auspicious clothes. " ○4 The formation of the white funeral system was promoted by the government that adopted Confucian etiquette theory to govern the country. Wearing white mourning clothes has formed a fixed pattern in people's minds, which is still observed and pursued by China people. This is the origin of "white" in white wedding events, from which we can know that this proverb "white wedding events" should appear after the Spring and Autumn Period.

Secondly, the appearance of white wedding events is also related to "elegy" entering funeral activities, in which "happiness" comes from people mourning the dead in the form of "singing and music". Although in human childhood, human beings are as ignorant about death as they are about other human activities and nature. "If they are close to death, they will be entrusted to the valley." However, the affection of caring and caring for each other cultivated in the long-term life with relatives, as well as the phenomenon of "sheep kneeling on the chest and feeding back gracefully" inherent in nature, have caused people to "stop all physiological activities such as talking and laughing" to their relatives. Therefore, in the early funeral activities, people naturally used "mourning" to vent their feelings about the death of their loved ones. It is on this basis that Confucianism wrote "mourning" into the funeral. "Now that the body is dead ... there are scholars crying in the hall ... foreign women lead foreign families to cry in the hall ... whoever cries in the room, the master will cry second hand." ○5 "Living in a cabin ... crying for a day and a night ... worrying ... crying for a while. I practice ... I have been crying. " ○6 Even based on this sad "rational" requirement, many complete funeral systems have been stipulated, from diet to daily life to speech. This is another story for the time being, but "mourning" has become a widely recognized funeral requirement, and mourning is used to express filial piety.

However, folk people who have a unique understanding of life and life have not completely stopped in this sad wail. With the deepening of the understanding of "death phenomenon", they gradually understand that the decline of human life is as inevitable as the birth and death of all things in nature. People began to choose other ways to vent their feelings about the death of their loved ones. Singing is the best way to transcend people's bereavement and other emotions. Long song always cries. Elegy appeared in folk funeral activities very early. For example, the song coronach "Bury, Bury, Bury ..." can still be heard on the grassland today. We buried our relatives. Bury, bury, bury ...; The people we buried returned to heaven; Bury, bury, bury ... Who will bury me in a year ... "Although this song is very exciting, it is also very sad. But among them, there is already the power of sadness, which is beyond the power of sadness. Although the origin of the earliest folk elegy is not documented, some researchers believe that the poem "Na" in the Book of Songs is the earliest elegy seen in words:

"Easy and that and (how great! How beautiful! ),

Set my drum (set our big drum and small drum).

Simple drumming (the sound of drums is beautiful and loud),

Salute my heroic ancestors (entertain our heroic ancestors).

………… "○7

Later, with the gradual popularization of elegy in folk funeral activities, elegy was formally incorporated into the funeral system. "In the Eastern Han Dynasty, elegy was incorporated into the funeral system." Etiquette History of the Later Han Dynasty: (Dengya) There were 20 people in Huangmen and 20 people in Hu Ben. It is common to choose soil to make holes. Grandmaster Bree ... all hold medals when Sima Cheng is the leader. Sixty orphans in Yulin, and six singers in Bayu. Division and Sima are eight in all, and Division is the first. "At that time, from emperors to generals to ordinary people, elegies were widely used when they died."

People wear white mourning clothes, singing and dancing to die for the dead. Isn't this just like holding a festive event? These phenomena provide the soil and external form of life experience for the emergence of "white marriage" proverbs. Moreover, from this we can infer that the proverb of "white marriage" should be formed after the elegy was formally included in the Confucian funeral in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Secondly, the spread of white wedding and the analysis of China's folk concept of death.

I have seen some details in several counties and cities in Jiangxi and Hubei provinces. Funeral activities in different places are different. For example, some places are Bai Changxiao (usually a long white cloth that can be worn on the back. Wear it for relatives. ) and white short filial piety (usually a small piece of white cloth that can be wrapped around the arm. For relatives who are alienated from the deceased. ) or Bai Changxiao black short filial piety. Cover the portraits of relatives with black silk or white silk. But people call the funeral of their loved ones a "white wedding".

According to some data:

"In the funeral customs of many ethnic groups, song and dance are regarded as an indispensable part of the funeral. Tujia people have "drum mourning", Miao people and Shui people have "reed dance", Yi people have "tap dance", Dai people have to "amuse themselves to death", Wa people have to dance "mortar dance", Jingpo people have to dance "Bugongo", and the most interesting thing is the "Mocuo" burial custom of Hani people. The whole village, men, women and children, are outside. Colorful flags are fluttering, young men and women love each other and choose their partners. It' s really crying and laughing, making trouble and jumping, making people wonder whether they are holding a funeral or a wedding. " 09

These folk music and funeral forms are even worse than the "drum and basin songs" written by the great philosopher Zhuangzi.

The formation of proverbs is based on certain living habits. Its wide spread, crossing the barriers of regions and dialects, requires a long-term and extensive life foundation. "White wedding" is a popular saying in China that refers to the natural death of the elderly, which is based on the funeral custom of mourning the deceased in this way. Not only do people who have their own national language regard the funeral as a white wedding, but some people who don't have their own language also inherit the custom of "white wedding" from their ancestors through their traditional habits. As can be seen from the above written records, some even completely broke through the requirements of Confucian funeral etiquette in the form of funeral.

Most scholars believe that the funeral custom originated from the concept of "immortal soul". But this "immortal soul" cannot reduce people's instinctive fear of death and bereavement. We can see this kind of psychology well from the procedure of Confucian funeral. According to the Book of Rites? According to the funeral ceremony, there are some procedures in the funeral: first, a "belonging ceremony" is held, and a thin silk or cotton wool is placed in front of the dead person's nose and mouth to judge whether he is dead or not. This is a physical way to judge death, and then a "recovery" ceremony is held in the second step. "Fu" means evocation. Relatives or waiters of the deceased hold the chair of the deceased, and relatives or waiters hold the coat of the deceased (such as foreign clothes, official clothes, pajamas, etc.). ) and climb on the roof, holding the collar with his left hand and the waist with his right hand, facing the north, waving the clothes of the deceased, calling the name of the deceased (the name of the man and the name of the woman) three times in a long voice, and then rolling up the coat of the deceased. This is the spiritual way to judge "death". Although this is a fable, it is enough to show that the living can't bear the heart of the dead and hope that the "soul" of the dead will return to the body, so that the dead will wake up and turn over a new leaf. ○ 10 "When you get it back, you can love it, and you have the heart to pray at the shrine. Looking back at the secluded place, you can seek the way of ghosts and gods." ○ 1 1 After this double sentence, it was officially confirmed that the deceased had died. Then, people related to the funeral, relatives or people who helped with the funeral changed into "white cloth and green clothes", and after "taking the spirit", that is, after the body was "beautified", they began to "cry and sacrifice" ...

People use tears to express their grief for the dead and their worries and fears about their future. However, after thousands of times of "recovery" and "dying crying", people finally understand that they can't keep the dead, let alone bring them back to life, and death is inevitable in life. The proverb "People die like lights go out" well illustrates people's rational understanding of death. If the lights go out, there will be no Buddhist thought of death, and there will be no Taoist thought of the flesh soaring into immortality, which is somewhat similar and coincident with the Confucian "I don't know life, I don't know death" and "I don't know ghosts and gods". This determines their attitude of paying attention to "this life" in the real world and seeking more happiness for themselves. According to Cui Bao's analysis in the Notes of Ancient and Modern Music in Jin Dynasty, two elegies in the pre-Qin period, Autumn Record and Haoli, said that "dew is easy to destroy people's lives ..." "Perishability" will inevitably cause people to cherish life, and then guide people to pursue and explore the meaning of life, especially this life, and cultivate their feelings of actively entering the WTO. "Nothing to ask for" just reflects people's philosophy of life that they try their best to follow Heaven. All these have laid a psychological foundation for the popularity and popularization of elegy in funeral.

The change from "crying" to "singing" in the funeral seems to violate the etiquette, righteousness and filial piety, but it reflects the great changes in the folk "death view" and the progress in understanding human life. I once asked several villagers in the countryside why they called the natural death of the elderly "white marriage". They replied: "First, the life span is up, and second, they have no regrets when they see their children and grandchildren." "Life is at stake" is their understanding of human life and death and their obedience to the laws of nature. This is also the embodiment of their happy life spirit in know life. "I have no regrets when I see my son" stems from the long-term self-sacrifice spirit of the Chinese nation to protect future generations. For the living, it is a pleasure to serve their parents and enjoy their old age; For the deceased, it is also a pleasure to be able to raise the younger generation to get married, support themselves and see their successors. This is the psychological basis for the formation of "white wedding", and it is also one of the important sources that some scholars believe that China culture belongs to music culture.

The dead are gone, and the life of the living will continue. A long period of sadness is not good for the living and the dead. Although we can't live forever, our children and grandchildren can still reproduce. The most gratifying thing for the deceased is to let the ancestors see his descendants living happily and laughing. This is the psychological background that ordinary people should have. In this way, people can accept singing to vent their feelings for the dead and express their detachment from death. Perhaps most of them can't "understand" death as rationally as philosophers like Zhuangzi, but they at least minimize the negative impact of "death" on people emotionally. Life is passive, and death is passive. Only the process of life can grasp the initiative. So, why do we always stay in the infinite sorrow for the dead and the fear of death? Our life can continue through our children and grandchildren. Isn't this the "resurrection" of the "dead"? Our life can be controlled by our own happiness, and we can put the end of our life in a happy life and do our best according to heaven. Isn't this a gratifying thing? Bai nationality is unique to China people. It expresses the concept of death that China people face death directly, attach importance to this life, and regard death as life.

Three simple conclusions

Life and death matter. No matter how humble a person's social status is, how much wealth he has and how profound or shallow his knowledge is, it is equal to death. Therefore, as long as people with normal perception, they should face the time limit of death to reflect. As ordinary people in the world, they are unlikely to understand death from the height of pure religion or philosophy or science. But they can understand death from the common sense of caring for each other's interpersonal relationships and the way of natural birth and death according to destiny, and humorously call it a "white wedding." Writing here will naturally remind people that people call weddings "red weddings", and some even simply call weddings "red weddings and white weddings". Marriage breeds the beginning of a new life, and death marks the end of life. But in the eyes of China people, life is a happy event, and natural death is also a happy event. This is very different from the concept in some religious civilizations.

In western religions, such as Christianity, people have "original sin" and life is to atone for it. Eastern religions, such as Buddhism, which originated in India, were born in the sea of life and death, and the Tao was destroyed by bitterness. It seems to be an indisputable fact that the lack of religious belief is a general evaluation of China people, especially the folk masses in China. Even Taoism, which originated in China, does not regard life as a bitter road. From the psychological analysis of the "white wedding", we already know that in the minds of China folks, the life journey of "getting old and having a family business" is a road of joy, so why bother? This custom can also be seen in some farmhouses. On the cabinet in the purlin (often referred to as the "god cabinet"), three pillars of high incense are lit all the year round. Say: respect the grace of the sun and the moon; Second, respect the essence of heaven and earth; Three words: respect the kindness of parents. This can explain the simplest concept of life among the people in China, and it is also the reason why they are unwilling to entrust the spirit of life to religion. Joy and death run through the whole process of their lives.

It is true that there are some formal misunderstandings in the process that China people regard funerals as happy events. For example, a thick burial that is too extravagant or even incomparable; The "ghost house" is becoming more and more luxurious, occupying a lot of land, causing the "dead" and the living to compete for land; The funeral form of the emerging civilization is difficult to implement, and some people try their best to refuse cremation. This is mainly related to the relative backwardness of funeral education in China. At present, a university in Hunan Province has a funeral department, but universities in other provinces are still blank in this respect. Not to mention introducing some more civilized funeral methods such as "garden burial" and "tree burial" to the people. However, because people have the psychological basis of treating natural death as a happy event, if proper publicity and guidance are carried out, the "white happy event" of people's death can become a happy event in people's civilized life.

Reference books: ○ 1 Book of Rites Tan Gong Yue Lu Bookstore, 298 pages 1997 edition.

2 Funeral History of China Zhang Zhu Publishing House (Taiwan Province Province) 46 pages 1998 edition.

3 The Book of Rites is published by Yuelu Bookstore on page 522 1997.

○4 The History of China's Funeral System, Ding, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 17, 2000.

○5 The Book of Rites, Mourning Memories, Yuelu Bookstore, 453 pages 1997 edition.

6 "Funeral" Yuelu Bookstore 2 18 pages 1997 edition.

7 The Book of Songs, China Drama Publishing House, 193, 2002.

○ 8 09 0 10 General History of China (abridged edition), Funeral History1/page 0/9, 2 10/page 0/999 edited by Chen Bingzhong Economic Daily Press;

1 1 Book of Rites? Tan Hongxia Yuelu Bookstore 3 15 Page 1997 Edition

Author: Department of Philosophy, School of Humanities, Nanchang University, majoring in ethics in 2004.

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