NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 43 



until arriving at the grave, a live rooster rode on the coffin, a means 

 of keeping away demons. 



The two vessels containing ashes are regarded as containing money 

 that the deceased person can actually use in the spirit world. If the 

 family of the deceased is wealthy, the chicken may be given to the 

 fengshui professor who performs the ceremony, but if they are poor 

 or if they so desire, they may keep it and eat it themselves. Finally, 

 the pig's head, the meat, and the wine are offered to the deceased. 

 The descendants kowtow three times to the deceased, and firecrackers 

 are set off. 



Three days after the burial the descendants of the deceased and a 

 Taoist priest go back to the grave. They burn a deed as a ceremony 

 of purchasing the burial place and report to the rulers of Hades. The 

 Taoist priest urges the dead person not to get angry because he or 

 she has died, and not to do evil things such as turning into a demon 

 and harming people. 



About the year 191 7 a relative of a deacon of the Baptist church 

 of I-pin, Mr. Chao Lan-t'in, died and was buried by Mr. Chao in the 

 burial ground of the church of which I was then pastor. It was later 

 disclosed that Mr. Chao, contrary to the church customs, had secretly 

 engaged a fengshui professor to choose a lucky spot, and at the burial 

 to point the coffin in the right direction. After a discussion by the 

 church executive committee, Mr. Chao was required to remove the 

 dirt from the grave, slightly change the direction of the coffin, and 

 again cover the coffin with dirt. 



In West China coffins are generally not buried deep under the 

 ground. The hole is dug only about one-half or one-third the depth 

 of the coffin ; the coffin is then placed in the hole and covered by a 

 large mound of dirt. Sometimes lime is placed under and around the 

 coffin to keep insects away. It is customary on the first three nights 

 after the burial to burn at the grave three bundles of rice straw 

 called 'Tire-flame packages" in the belief that it will keep the dead 

 person from getting cold. 



On March 27, 1930, I witnessed a funeral at Li-tuan-ch'ang, south- 

 east of I-pin. The following objects and figures, all of which were 

 made of paper and braced by strips of wood, were burned as offerings 

 to the dead person : A large sedan chair with carrying poles and two 

 laborers to carry it, a man mounted on a horse, a manservant and a 

 maidservant, a cook with cooking utensils, four soldiers to serve as a 

 bodyguard, a small house, a gold hill and a silver hill, gold and silver 

 imitation ingots, spirit money, and clothing made of paper. I have 



