In traditional Chinese culture, funeral culture is a very important part.
Ancient people believed that after a person dies, it does not represent death, but represents the continuation of life in another way.
In ancient China, in addition to paying attention to hierarchy, funeral culture also had many unknown details.
For example, when we attend a funeral, we can often see a huge "dien" in the middle of the spiritual hall.
But in colloquialism, we often "worship our ancestors" during the Qingming season.
So, the same is the mourning of the dead, what is the difference between "sacrifice" and "dien"?
What is a "sacrifice"
"Sacrifice" is actually a huiyi character, and from the oracle bone script, the glyph of the word "sacrifice" is like a scene where a person is worshipping his ancestors.
This scene is actually an act that people make in order to express their nostalgia for their ancestors.
And to disassemble this word, in the upper left corner is a deformed "moon", and this character was also pronounced "rou" in ancient times, which means "meat".
Including in the early years of basic Chinese education, this side is often called "meat moon side".
In the transition time from primitive society to feudal society, when people carried out production activities, the captured prey met the basic food and clothing needs on the one hand.
On the other hand, they sacrifice to heaven and pray for good weather and rain in the future.
Therefore, in the meaning of the word "sacrifice", it represents the worship and good wishes of the gods.
And "sacrifice" composed of "dien" is another way of saying it entirely.
What is "Dien"?
In ancient times, people would set up a spiritual hall for the deceased, and the thing set up in the spiritual hall was called "dien".
In terms of glyphs, the meaning of "dien" is actually more concrete.
The upper and lower parts of this character are separated, with "chief" on the top and "big" on the bottom, in the engraving edition of "Shuowen Xiezi".
"Chief" originally means to ripen wine, and there is the ancient word "Great Chief", which also means the liquor officer.
Liu Xi, a famous writer of the Eastern Han Dynasty, explained about "dien" in his monograph "Shi Ming" on exploring the origin of things: "Funeral sacrifice is dien. Lay, stop also. ”
In order to pay homage to the gods of heaven and earth, the ancients would also set up a small altar in front of the coffin of the deceased.
On the altar are placed items such as wine, water, melons, and fruits, and "wine" is served on the case, and there is also a word for "dien".
Looking at the "coffin" in the funeral rites handed down to this day, it is not difficult to see that "dien" is actually a series of rituals performed by people after their death.
Compared with the detachment of "sacrifice", "Dien" is more grounded.
Same name
Although the word "sacrifice" is one of the worship of gods by the ancients and the other is the remembrance of those who have passed away, there are subtle differences in some subtleties.
In the pre-Qin era, sacrificial ceremonies were usually performed alone, but in the later development process, sacrificial activities increased.
Because the ancients firmly believed in the "six reincarnations", they believed that once the human soul is separated from the body, it will remain in the netherworld, and the netherworld and the yang are exactly the same.
The tomb of the deceased is the house and yard of the deceased in the underworld, and the relics of the deceased will also be preserved with the death of the deceased.
This is also the reason why the ancients valued burial the most, and if they were not buried, it was easy to become a "lonely soul and wild ghost".
Moreover, in the graves of those dignitaries, there are generally many burial items, such as jewelry, jade, bronze, daily necessities, and some even toilets.
And people live in the world, and "food" in clothing, food, housing and transportation is naturally indispensable.
Chinese pay great attention to eating because they feel that eating is the best expression, so in addition to burial, they will also entertain their ancestors with incense from incense burners during sacrifices.
After the sacrifice, families also need to mourn the deceased.
At this time, the deceased's clothes, etc. should be sorted out first, and then the deceased's remains should be placed in an appropriate position, or the remains can be covered with a quilt.
The family then places a glass of wine in front of the deceased's portrait and then places the sacrifice in it, indicating that the deceased has been laid to earth.
This is why nowadays, when people sweep during the Qingming Festival, they not only clean the area around the cemetery, but also light incense candles on the grave.
The "Son of Heaven Festival" thousands of years ago has been passed down to the present day, and has gradually become a kind of mourning for the ancestors of ordinary people.
It's a common practice
As a major country of ceremonies, China's blood flows with ritual order, and Kong Meng is the totem of spirit.
The cultural accumulation of 5,000 years is in the daily work and life of Chinese people.
If you don't master these details, then it's easy to make jokes.
For example, in "Dream of Red Mansions", when Aunt Xue invited Wang Xifeng and Jia Mu to dinner, there was a problem because of the "sacrifice" and "dien", and in the end it was very embarrassing.
And this situation is not only happening in today's scripts, but also often in modern society.
For example, nowadays, for the title of the other party's parents, "family mother" and "Ling Zun" are confused, which is naturally a smile and generosity.
Every New Year's holiday, many young people who have worked hard outside return to their hometowns and look at the families and friends crowded one room after another.
It was not even clear about the relationship between everyone, "uncle" and "aunt" shouted indiscriminately, and blushed in the embarrassed laughter of everyone.
This has also spawned a funny but warm app similar to the "Chinese Kinship Calculator".
In the eyes of the parents' generation, if they don't even know how to call their relatives in the family, it can be called "unfilial piety".
However, with the gradual improvement of social productivity and the rapid development of science and technology, the information explosion.
Those traditional etiquettes have gradually been forgotten with the close integration of cultural context and the improvement of communication efficiency.
But cultural self-confidence comes from thousands of years of accumulation, and today countries around the world are committed to reviving their own cultures.
In particular, certain superpowers regard the export of ideology and culture as a very important way of spiritual unification.
Traditional Chinese etiquette, as an important part of Chinese culture, reflects the characteristics of ancient lifestyles, interpersonal relationships and values.
In modern society, with the development of social changes and cultural pluralism, the practice and meaning of some traditional rituals have changed.
However, they still have a strong sense of cultural identity and historical value, and also have a positive effect on promoting the national spirit and strengthening social cohesion.
In daily life, we should respect and abide by the relevant etiquette, but also need to carry forward it in continuous practice and understanding, so that traditional etiquette can better adapt to the needs and changes of the new era.
And Chinese's insight and insight into the matters of life and death have been passed down from ancient times, and the torch has been passed down endlessly.